Love is in the Air

Waking in the morning to a couple of star-crossed owls in love is a thrill.  The hoo hoo-hoo hoo hoo of the great horned owl makes my heart skip a beat.

Looking out upon the gleaming snow blanketed in moon light, I search for the silhouette of a water melon-sized bird sitting in the top of a tree.  Oblivious to my presence, the owl calls to his mate that I can't see or hear.

Great horned owls begin nesting when it's freezing and there's still snow on the ground.  This guarantees plenty of baby critters to feed their owlets in the spring.

Nature is so efficient.

Trumpeter Swans Everywhere!

I just spent a week up north in the frigid weather.  On my way up, I spotted two places along the road where I could have pulled over to take pictures of Trumpeter Swans.  Since I wanted to get up north asap and I had my parrotlet in a cage behind me that needed to stay warm, I passed on a perfect opportunity.

Early in the week my husband and I stopped at our dock on our lake to check on the progress of a beaver lodge that had popped up near our boat landing and sure enough, while we were there a flock of a half dozen Trumpeter Swans flew across the lake away from us.

On the second to the last day, my husband's bad luck turned into good luck for me.  He stopped to talk to our neighbor and locked his keys in his car.  He came back home to look for his combination for his lock.  Luckily he found it.  He mentioned that at this very moment our neighbor had up to 26 Trumpeter Swans below his house on the lake.  I grabbed my camera and headed to the neighbor's yard and was able to click off about fifty shots.  My hands turned to ice, but it was well worth it.

A family of Trumpeters stands on the ice as they preen

Crazy September

I didn't get a chance to post in September.  Things were a bit crazy.  That didn't stop me from getting out once in a while to see what birds were moving through.  One evening my trees were dripping with yellow-rumped warblers.

I did make several September submissions of my children's stories and entered a creative writing contest, so I do feel good about that.

Now that the weather is getting colder I don't feel so guilty about staying inside to write.  I'll continue to keep one eye on the window though.

Saying Goodbye

Even though there is still a little summer left for us, birds are beginning their journey south.

I am on a birding list serve and folks on the list are sending in posts with long lists of shorebirds and warblers they are seeing passing through.  I watched as waves of Common Nighthawks flowed overhead starting their journey south.  It was quite a spectacle.

Migration has begun.  It is just part of an inevitable uncontrollable cycle.

I appreciate living in the north because the seasons are noticeable and the migration contributes to the change.

I take comfort it knowing it will all happen again.

Osprey

Better Late Than Ever

The breeding season is gearing up for a bird that is one of the latest nesters. American goldfinches don't start building their nests until late July into August. They use thistle down to build their cup nests and the thistles aren't ripe until late summer.

In the morning when I have the windows open, I can hear the males displaying rambunctiously with their "potato chip, potato chip, potato chip" calls. They fly up and down like a roller coaster trying to impress the females.

Male goldfinches wear cheery bright yellow plumage that is unmistakable as they visit gardens.  Some gardeners might not be pleased when they eat petals from flowers, but I have planted my prairie garden just for wildlife. They can eat as many coneflower and ox-eye petals as they please.  That guarantees a goldfinch visit to my yard.

Surprise Visitor

As a bird watcher it is always fun to see a new bird in your yard, but when you've been watching birds for many years it gets much harder.

This weekend up north we had a visiting family that I have not here seen before in the ten years that we have owned the place.  Our visitors were a family of turkeys -- an adult female with 10 poults.

This occasion called for a scramble for the camera and a lot of commotion from an excited dog and husband. Of course once the camera was secured, the turkey family was almost gone, but I was able to get a few shots off to document the occurrence.

Beautiful, But Brief

I have woodland wildflower gardens in both my backyard at home and at our lake place up north.  The blooms in these gardens are usually brief, so you need to enjoy them when you notice.  Some blooms, like Bloodroot, only last a few days while others may last a week or two.  Then they are gone.

I spent the last week at our lake place and timed it just right to observe the yellow ladyslippers pop open.  I could have easily missed them because they only remain open for about a week.

The Trilliums were about to bloom at home when I left, but when I returned home they were almost done. Thankfully, I enjoyed them along the roadsides as I returned from the northern climate.

Bird migration has mostly wrapped up in southern Minnesota, so my interest outdoors turns to other things like my woodland and prairie gardens.  The first flowers to bloom in my prairie garden are the Golden Alexanders.  They were surprisingly here to greet me in full splendor when I returned.

                                                         Yellow Ladyslipper