Posted in Weather, Wild Birds, tagged Arkansas, buffalo, hawk, Little, parthenon, red, Red-shouldered, shouldered, snow showers on February 26, 2014| Leave a Comment »
I woke up to cold and snow showers this morning but as soon as the sun came out, I took a drive and fought the beautiful Red-shouldered Hawk hunting crawfish along the upper little Buffalo. This photo taken with a Canon 7D and a Canon EF 300 f/2.8 IS:
Posted in Wild Birds, tagged 2013, black feathers, blackbird, buffalo, cold weather, late spring, Little, Little Buffalo River, nature, red winged, red winged blackbirds, river, spring on April 13, 2013| Leave a Comment »
Despite the cold weather, and late spring, the red winged blackbirds are coming in flocks and roosting along the Little Buffalo River. I like this shot — because its hard to get a photo that distinguishes the back eye from the black feathers on this bird:
Posted in Wild Birds, tagged animals, Arkansas, buffalo, food, Little, mating, nature, nesting, Redheaded woodpecker, redheaded woodpeckers, river, woodpeckers on April 2, 2013| Leave a Comment »
The redheaded woodpeckers must be getting ready to mate and lay eggs real soon – perhaos later this week. This pair began working together on Monday 4/1/13; eating wasps and carrying nesting material and stuffing this hole:
Posted in Wild Birds, tagged Arkansas, buffalo, County, headed, Little, Little Buffalo River, murray valley, nature, Newton, outdoors, red, red headed woodpeckers, redheaded, river, river bottoms, woodpecker on April 1, 2013| 1 Comment »
Yesterday was a gorgeous day; the temperature here in Murray Valley reached 40F. I spotted a pair of Red headed woodpeckers in the Little Buffalo River bottoms near their forage area. They are nesting high in some dead trees not far from the river. The pair spent the day removing old material, possibly forage, from the hole they selected; maybe making 30 trips around the tree in the hour I watched. They ate lots of wasps also. Guess they are plentiful on these sunny warner days. They are magnificent birds !!!
We are expecting a cool down the first part of this week an then much warmer next week. I now expect the main warbler and vireo migration to begin around April 15th; nesting always begins in late April and early May:
Posted in Wild Birds, tagged Arkansas, belted kingfisher, buffalo, County, Little, mud bank, nature, Newton, outdoors, river, spring floods on March 31, 2013| 1 Comment »
It is a beautiful day; the rain fizzled out and we are stuck with just 0.25 inch of the 2.0 + forecast. I noticed that a pair of Belted Kingfishers was beginning to nest at the Little Buffalo Crossing down the hill. They make lots of continuous racket and are fun to watch as they rattle around. Photo taken with a 7D and a 300 mm f/2.8 lens. They have chosen a high mud bank about 10′ above the river; hope it’s high enough to protect from spring floods. The bird was in a willow tree next to the river for this photo.
Belted Kingfishers are stocky, large-headed birds with a shaggy crest on the top and back of the head and a straight, thick, pointed bill. Their legs are short and their tails are medium length and square-tipped.
These kingfishers are powder blue above with fine, white spotting on the wings and tail. The underparts are white with a broad, blue breast band. Females also have a broad rusty band on their bellies. Juveniles show irregular rusty spotting in the breast band.
Belted Kingfishers spend much of their time perched alone along the edges of streams, lakes, and estuaries, searching for small fish. They also fly quickly up and down rivers and shorelines giving loud rattling calls. They hunt either by plunging directly from a perch, or by hovering over the water, bill downward, before diving after a fish they’ve spotted.
Kingfishers live near streams, rivers, ponds, lakes, and estuaries. They nest in burrows that they dig into soft earthen banks, usually adjacent to or directly over water. Kingfishers spend winters in areas where the water doesn’t freeze so that they have continual access to their aquatic foods.
Posted in Wild Birds, tagged Arkansas, buffalo, hawk, Little, Little Buffalo River, march history, murray valley, nature, red shoulder, red shouldered hawk, river, weather, winter on March 26, 2013| Leave a Comment »
This past two weeks has been two of the coldest in NW Arkansas late March history. Today it is sunny and supposed to reach the mid-40’s; possibly the 60s by Friday. I sincerely hope this is the beginning of spring. I lost most of my peaches this past weeka and my green “winter wheat” has gone back to a winter looking color. Here is a photo of a Red Shouldered Hawk down along the Little Buffalo River hiding in the brushy cover in the sun trying to stay warm:
Posted in Caves and Waterfalls, General, tagged Arkansas, beckham, buffalo, cave, creek, Little, lodging, nature, outdoors, pathenon, river on March 7, 2013| 1 Comment »
Whether you agree with this “environmentally” or not, this is an unbelievably beautiful overnight facility. Beckham Creek Cave is located a mile down the road from me, on Beckham Creek, a tributary of the Little Buffalo River. The is a world famous cave located in the heart of the Boston Mountains in NW Arkansas.
They’ve been featured on NBC Nightly News, Home and Garden TV, People Magazine, National Geographic and Four States Living.
Set on a 280 acre estate, the Beckham Creek Cave Lodge was built with the philosophy that the ongoing preservation of natural beauty is paramount. With its perfect blend of magnificent craftsmanship and technology, it took nearly four years to complete. Everywhere one looks, the superior design and attention to detail is obvious.
Putting you directly in touch with nature, the lodge boasts natural living cave walls and ceilings. By maximizing window areas along the wall facing outside, and maintaining large, open living spaces, natural sunlight floods the living area, game room, and kitchen, bringing the outdoors inside the cave.
This is truly a modern accommodation literally fit for royalty. From the moment you walk in the door, the area itself encourages one to shed all of the cares of the daily grind and concentrate on finding true inner peace. The cave’s natural ambiance is complimented by beautiful workmanship, which lends a casual elegance to the interior. There’s no closed-in feeling here, and central heating/air boosts the normal cave temperature to the comfort zone you select. In addition, dehumidifiers remove any suggestion of dampness.
Totally secluded, the cave lodge delivers a comfortable and relaxing vacation. Located in the Buffalo National River country with all the wild beauty of the Ozark countryside. Life here has so much to offer including many activities outside of the cave lodge.
Each room offers its own natural cave walls and all the rooms are beautifully appointed and luxurious considering that you are inside a cave. You will have a tendency to forget that fact during your stay, also available is a Honeymoon Suite which is set apart from the other rooms to allow for slightly more privacy. This amazing bit of architecture is located on 280 acres of land in Buffalo National River country and no matter what you are looking for in a vacation these accommodations have it all and allows you to get back to nature in a most unique way.
The accommodations are quite pricey; so check with them, prior planning a trip.
http://www.beckhamcavelodge.com
