Posted in Wild Birds, tagged arkansas cute, Eastern Bluebird, fledgling bluebirds, group, more, parthenon, playing, young on July 30, 2014| 1 Comment »
Today in the light rain (it’s heavier now) this group of very young bluebirds have discovered a nest box on the corner of my utility shed made for phoebes and barn swallows. They are playing “King of the House”. Each one takes a try to takeover the platform and eject the previous occupant. Several fly to the ground to pick up and a piece of straw for nest building, as instincts take over. They are mischievous and cute:
Posted in Wild Birds, tagged Arkansas, bathe, bird bath, bluebirds, Eastern Bluebird, fledglings, parthenon on July 30, 2014| Leave a Comment »
Taking their parents lead, these fledglings hatched from my trail, about 15, have taken to the water in a big way as their parents watch:
Posted in Mountain Scenery, The River, Weather, tagged Arkansas, early, great fishing, in the day, late, little buffalo, parthenon, smallmouth bass, sunfish spawning, water clear and flowing on July 28, 2014| Leave a Comment »
We have had lots of rain this July; nearly 8 inches, That has kept the Little Buffalo floatable all July, even in its mid-section. Smallmouth Bass are plentiful and Sunfish are still spawning; there are plenty of aquatic insects hatching early and late. All the fish seem interesting in the larger Mayflies. The river is alive !
Posted in mammals, tagged Arkansas, Boston Mountains, fawn, parthenon, whitetail deer on July 27, 2014| Leave a Comment »
Her Mom was bedded down in the tall grass in 95F degree heat (index 109F) and the young fawn was ready to play. She lays next to a large doe, that is her mother, and finally annoys her enough that she gets up out of the grass with her baby and grazes with her. They all are pretty covered with ticks, especially their ears:
Posted in Wild Birds, tagged Arkansas, flying abilities, gnats, juvenile, nectar, parthenon, ruby throat hummingbirds on July 26, 2014| 1 Comment »
By my very patient good friend Janice using her Canon T2 and a EF400mm f/5.6L Lens at 1/3000th of a second. They are snatching gnats out of the air with their long sticky tongues. Gnats make up 60-65% of the juveniles diet in the summer after they are fledged (maybe 2 weeks ago), and the rest is nectar which makes up 35-40%. They need copious amounts of protein to continue their feather growth before migration south:
Posted in mammals, tagged 7 point, Arkansas, Boston Mountains, buck, parthenon, whitetail deer on July 25, 2014| Leave a Comment »
Posted in Unusual Insects, tagged butterflies, butterfly, Butterfly Bush, late July 2014, Newton County, parthenon, Pipevine Swallowtail on July 24, 2014| Leave a Comment »
Butterflies have been scarce due to the heavy rains of July. I saw a few Pipe-vine swallowtails on a butterfly bush this afternoon – the sun just now came out – this photo taken with a 300mm telephoto lens:
Posted in Wild Birds, tagged Bosotn Mountains, Carolina Wren, down, Fledged, natal, parthenon on July 22, 2014| Leave a Comment »
Still injured and it is hard to get around. This baby wren was in a tree at the bottom of my back porch. They are so cute with their natal down. Look at their short tails; but they can fly. To me, that is amazing:
Posted in Unusual Insects, Wild Birds, tagged Arkansas, honeybees, Hummingbirds, juvenile, parthenon, sharing on July 21, 2014| Leave a Comment »
This morning, I watched as mostly baby Hummingbirds and Honeybees shared a feeder after it was filled. They seem to get along quite well and both need nectar right now. The males Hummingbirds seem to be on the decline; and I see fewer and fewer adult Females. They are now drinking 2 gallons per day. My guess, is that they are largely juveniles; born within the past month. Photos were taken this morning as 10:00 AM; all photos taken in a 20 second period:
Posted in Wild Birds, tagged Arkansas, Barn Swallow, Boston Mountains, murray road, parthenon on July 19, 2014| Leave a Comment »
The skies are finally clearing and Its not as cold today. I saw a Scarlet Tanager in the tree-line in back of the yard. A few minutes later I saw a barn swallow on the fence in the front yard and took a long range photo with a 600mm Canon on a Canon 50D body. They are very interesting birds; here a some cool facts:
The Barn Swallow is the most abundant and widely distributed swallow species in the world. It breeds throughout the Northern Hemisphere and winters in much of the Southern Hemisphere.
Barn Swallows once nested in caves throughout North America, but now build their nests almost exclusively on human-made structures. Today the only North American Barn Swallow population that still regularly uses caves as nest sites occurs in the Channel Islands off the California coast.
Barn Swallow parents sometimes get help from other birds to feed their young. These “helpers at the nest” are usually older siblings from previous clutches, but unrelated juveniles may help as well.
An unmated male Barn Swallow may kill the nestlings of a nesting pair. His actions often succeed in breaking up the pair and afford him the opportunity to mate with the female.
Although the killing of egrets is often cited for inspiring the U.S. conservation movement, it was the millinery (hat-making) trade’s impact on Barn Swallows that prompted naturalist George Bird Grinnell’s 1886 Forest & Stream editorial decrying the waste of bird life. His essay led to the founding of the first Audubon Society.
According to legend, the Barn Swallow got its forked tail because it stole fire from the gods to bring to people. An angry deity hurled a firebrand at the swallow, singeing away its middle tail feathers.
The oldest known Barn Swallow in North America was 8 years, 1 month old.
Life and Wildlife along the Little Buffalo River 