Wildlife Wednesday - February 2015

I'm excited to showcase the wildlife that has visited the garden over the past month because of my new toy - a Nikon D7000.  It was a late Christmas present from the hubby.  He originally wanted to buy me some jewelry, but after being indecisive about picking out the jewelry that I wanted, I decided I would get more use and enjoyment out of a quality camera. This is my first DSLR, so I'm still getting use to all the bells and whistles.

Feathered Friends

Being the middle of winter and natural food sources running low, the birds have really been flocking to the yard and feeders to supplement their diet.  And with more birds in the yard, there are also more predators hanging around.

I believe this is a Cooper's Hawk (please correct me if I'm wrong).  He has been seen in the yard frequently over the last month, usually making his daily visits at sunrise.  

I love watching this magnificent creature.  I'm still waiting for my "National Geographic moment" where I get to actually witness him make a kill.

The most distinctive bird sound that can be heard out in the garden right now is the pecking of the ladderback woodpecker.

This female ladderback is the more frequent woodpecker visitor right now.  Every once in awhile I'll catch a glimpse of her red-headed mate.

She especially loves grabbing a delicious snack of suet on the chillier winter days.

The visitors that warm my heart the most right now are the yellow-rumped warblers.

The warblers can be seen daily flitting through the trees and nibbling on the suet cakes that I've put out for them.  There have probably been at least 12 of these warblers hanging out in the yard.

And then there are the frequent patrons...

...like the cardinals and sparrows...

...the wrens (not sure what kind - looks kind of like a Carolina wren, but different from what I at least thought was a Carolina wren)...

...the lesser goldfinches...

...the house finches...

...the pesky white-winged doves and brown-headed cowbirds...

...and then there is this mystery bird.  At first glace, it looks like it may be a finch or sparrow.  However, if you knew the relative size of the tree that it is sitting in, it is closer to the size of a crow.  Anyone have any idea what it may be?

Other Critters

While the winged creatures have been the highlight of the garden this month, I cannot skip out on showcasing some of the other critters that have visited the garden.

This Easter fox squirrel is munching on his winter stash of pecans.  The squirrels are generally pretty good about leaving the bird feeders alone, thanks to the several pecan trees in the area, plus the acorns that were finally present this year after the oaks received enough water this summer.

The scariest critter was this hairy guy.  I saw him creeping along the back deck at night (after almost stepping on him)!  After some help with identification, I believe he is a giant leopard moth caterpillar.  If so, I certainly hope I get to see him when he is transformed into his adult stage.  What interesting looking creatures!

While I'm disappointed some of my broccoli bolted before ever producing decent harvestable heads, I'm glad these bees are enjoying their blooms!  There are probably at least 20-25 bees constantly buzzing around the broccoli flowers at all times on warm, sunny days.

 Finally, there are the Eastern black swallowtail caterpillars that have been chilling on the parsley for the past several months.  I was shocked that they made it through some pretty chilly nights and days over the past couple of months.  However, I believe they finally met their fate about a week or two ago with some of the freezing rain conditions that they just couldn't make it through.

That's all the wildlife for this month.  Be sure to stop by My Gardener Says... where this meme is hosted by Tina every month and where many other gardeners showcase the wildlife in their gardens!

Ice Ice Baby

We've been having bi-polar weather here in Central Texas the last few weeks.  Last Saturday was in the 80s.  Last night was in the low 20s and today was freezing rain.  I'm pretty sure that I've lost some of the plants that I planted last weekend with this crazy weather, which is a real bummer.  Just to be sure there are no more freezes, I plan to wait a couple weeks before I plant anymore spring plants in the garden.

Everything is not bigger in Texas.  These baby icicles are proof.

Cardinal and red-bellied woodpecker at the feeder

The ice sparkling in the sunlight

Poor, poor veggie plants

January Bird Watch

Today we had a heat wave come through, so we got outside to do a bit of yardwork.  Turns out that the wildlife was really enjoying the weather too.  I saw numerous birds in the yard that I don't often see around.

 Eastern Bluebird

House Finch

And the ones that I was most excited about - the Cedar Waxwings.  I've always seen these beauties in the bird books, but never saw one for myself until today.  I think their markings are so exquisite.  There weren't just a few of them either - there was an entire group of them, also known as an "ear-full" or "museum."

 A museum of waxwings...sprinkled with a few white-winged doves.

So pretty.

A waxing, bluebird, and red-bellied woodpecker all in one pic!  I really felt like our yard was a menagerie for wildlife today!

December Bird Watch

At the end of October, I finally got around to thoroughly cleaning and refilling my bird feeders, which have been sitting empty since the end of last winter.  I made sure to get all the old moldy seeds out of the Droll Yankee Squirrel Flipper and my Perky Pet Copper feeder, let them completely dry, and then filled them with some general bird feed mix from Target. Then, I waited for my birds.

After about two weeks, I still had seen no birds and was getting discouraged that I had lost all the flocks that I catered to from last winter.  We had a lot of rain in the Austin area at the end of October and early November, so I checked my feeders again.  Sure enough, the mold was back from all the wetness and from not being eaten.  So, I went through the process again of cleaning out my feeders.

Finally, after a break in the weather, about three weeks after putting my feeders out, the birds finally returned.  Hurray!

I got to enjoy watching my birds over the long Thanksgiving weekend.  The birds will feed throughout the day, but the highest traffic hours are around 7:30-8am and 3:30-4pm.

Here are some of the birds that were in the garden today:

Here is a host of house sparrows that live in a large bush on the side of our house.  This is definitely our most prominent bird here in suburban Central Texas.  I have counted about 20-25 feeding and sitting around at one time.  The males have the black on their throats.  Apparently, this is the male's fall mating plumage. 

Female house sparrows eating on the copper feeder, near the covered porch, and closest to their nesting bush.

Here is one of my favorite visitors right now - my woodpecker, pecking away at the suet.  I'm pretty sure this is a female ladder-backed woodpecker.  The males have a red crown, while the female's is black. She certainly doesn't like to share.  Some of the sparrows have tried to get some of the suet while she is eating, which is a big no-no.  She viciously pecks at them until they fly away.More sparrows adorn the Droll Yankee Flipper. 

Here we have a dule of white-winged doves.  They are my second largest species that visits, with around 15-20 birds that I've seen in my yard at one time.

A couple days ago, when we were having a cold spell (30-40 degrees), I saw these three little Inca Doves huddled up on the window ledge, probably trying to capture some of the escaping heat from the house.

Other birds that I've seen in the yard in the past week:
-House Finches (2-3 total)
-Carolina Chickadee (only 1 little guy so far)
-Blue Jays (2)
-Hawk (1) - I didn't get a very good look at the markings, so I'm not sure what kind of hawk it was, but it was probably 12-16 inches long when I saw it sitting on our back fence.

I hope to get some Northern Cardinals, Goldfinches, and Titmice in not too long!  A few more Chickadees would be nice too.