May 23, 2013 by buffalostevep
Its only the 4th time in 3 years i’ve seen a Hooded Warbler here in NW Arkansas. I photographed him on Thursday at 10:35 AM in the Little Buffalo River bottom field across the river. He is a striking small bird of eastern hardwood forests, the Hooded Warbler prefers forests with some shrub understory.
Cool Fact
- The Hooded Warbler is strongly territorial on its wintering grounds. Males and females use different habitats: males in mature forest, and females in scrubbier forest and seasonally flooded areas. If a male is removed, a female in adjacent scrub will not move into the male’s territory.
Photo taken with a Canon 50D with a Canon EF400 DO IS lens from about 25′ and I got about 100 insect bites for my effort.
Posted in Wild Birds | Tagged Arkansas, Hooded Warbler, Little Buffalo bottoms, Little Buffalo River, nature, near Parthenon, scare warbler in the Boston Mountains | Leave a Comment »
May 22, 2013 by buffalostevep
I believe southeastern Newton County and Pope County got a bit more rain (3-4″) the we did here near Parthenon. A Flash Flood Warning was issued for the Richland Creek Campground yesterday afternoon, then more rain came in the evening. I felt that early this morning would be the best time to drive over and check it out. Falling Water Creek was only up about 6 inches at 8 AM; which was a disappointment to me. I expected to see it in flood stage. It was pretty anyway and the azaleas are in bloom at this time:
Posted in Caves and Waterfalls, Mountain Scenery, The River, Weather, Wildflowers | Tagged Arkansas, azaleas, counties, falling water creek, Newton, pope, rains, richland creek campground | Leave a Comment »
May 22, 2013 by buffalostevep
We got 1.82 inches of rain from dusk Monday until dusk Tuesday. It never rained hard, just a continuous gentle rain for 24 hours.
The White eyed Vireo, a great songster, also, has a beautiful set of white eyes. They are widespread birds across the Ozarks; heard often but rarely seen. this photo was taken right next to the LIttle Buffalo River:
Posted in Weather, Wild Birds | Tagged Arkansas, boston, Little Buffalo River, Mountains, nature, near Murray, parthenon, white eyed vireo | Leave a Comment »
May 20, 2013 by buffalostevep
We luckily have both species here in Arkansas. The Summer Tanagers are more plentiful than the Scarlet Tanagers (by about 10 to 1). The Scarlet tanager requires a territory of about 10 acres and the Summer Tanager only about an acre or so. Notice the black-grey wings on the female Scarlet Tanager and the absence of black-grey on the female Summer Tanager. The female Summer Tanager has a bit more rose pigment in it’s feathers:
female Scarlet Tanager
female Summer Tanager
Posted in Wild Birds | Tagged Arkansas, female Tanagers, in Murray Valley, parthenon, scarlet, scarlet tanager, summer, summer tanager | Leave a Comment »
May 19, 2013 by buffalostevep
Yesterday, I noticed a pair of Northern Orioles (Baltimore) working together to weave a nest. They were so “deep” into their work that they didn’t notice me only 30′ away. They have been eating mulberries by the hundreds every day; the supply is plentiful on one tree in particular. The female mostly weaves while the male watches.
We are expecting lots of rain and strong storms (possibly severe) over the next 3 days with a slow moving front. There is plenty of moisture in place here; its been so hazy I can’t see the mountains:
Posted in Shrubs and Trees, Weather, Wild Birds | Tagged Arkansas, Baltimore oriole, grass and bark, Mountains, mulberries, northern oriole, orioles, parthenon, storms, weaving nests | 2 Comments »
May 17, 2013 by buffalostevep
I am so glad it’s been a rainy and foggy spell here. Last year, at this time, I couldn’t even get a shovel in the ground. I got about 0.65 of rain over a period of 2 full days and all the vegetation looks really good. The fog was thick, close to dense, this Friday morning at dawn and actually took 2-3 hours to burn off. Drove in to Jasper to run errands this morning; got breakfast at the Ozark Cafe, and then the grocery store, farm store, bank, and gas station. On the way home I got a photo if a Eastern Kingbird looking directly at me (obviously, this is just prior to his departure):
Posted in Weather, Wild Birds | Tagged Arkansas, Boston Mountains, eastern kingbird, foggy may day, friday morning, jasper arkansas, rain | Leave a Comment »
May 15, 2013 by buffalostevep
I was lucky enough to get a look at a pair of warblers nest building on Monday this week. They were in a Little Buffalo River bottoms; I had my Canon 400mm DO IS lens on my Canon 7D; they were both curious about my whistle and came faily close to me. The Male has a black mask like a raccoon:
Posted in Wild Birds | Tagged Arkansas, black mask, Boston Mountains, canon 400mm, canon 7d, Common Yellowthroat, Little Buffalo River, May 2013, nest building, nesting, river bottoms, warbler, warblers | Leave a Comment »
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