How I spent Earth Day

Tweet Spent this Earth Day out working in the yard. I started off with sowing some butterfly weed seeds in a raised bed. I have not had much luck with butterfly weed in the past, I have only had it actually come up once. I used to grow common milkweed in the front yard for the monarch butterflies, but the neighbor would harass me about growing weeds despite my attempts to educate her about how it is the host plant for the monarch butterfly. From what I have read, monarchs are going to need all the help they can get this year due to the loss of 50% of the population on their wintering grounds in Mexico. While preparing the bed, I heard my first of the season (FOS) Baltimore Oriole singing high in the maple trees. I also heard and then seen a Brown Thrasher fly over my head, heading for the birdbath.


It then gave me a look like "what you lookin' at!"


I could hear the sound of numerous Eastern Meadowlarks singing their "It's the spring of the yearrr" song. I love that sound! I managed to spot one very far off at the top of a sweetgum tree.


Knowing it was Earth Day, I tried not to have to use the lawnmower, but I couldn't. Have to get caught up before the rain. While coming in from putting my lawn tractor away, I came across this cool looking Isabella Tiger Moth Pyrrharctia isabella in the driveway.


This is what those brown and black wooly bear caterpillars (the ones that are supposed to foretell how bad the winter is going to be based on the amount of black on them) turn into when they become an adult. Tweet

Ahh, Spring, love is in the air...

Tweet Last Saturday while on the way to the store, I stopped by the Ohio River in downtown New Richmond, OH like I always do to see what birds I can see. As soon as I got out of the car, I could hear a Wood Duck whistling. It didn't take long to spot it. This lonely male Wood Duck was calling and displaying to a couple of female Mallards. He would tuck his bill into his chest and whistle, then bring his head back up. They did not want any of that and quickly abandoned him.


He then swam up by the marina/floating restaurant and out from underneath the marina/floating restaurant an American Coot appeared. The Wood Duck swam towards it whistling, and the coot went back under the structure - didn't want any of that either.


Thinking back, I can only remember seeing 1 female Wood Duck at this location ever. Hope he's able to find a girlfriend Wood Duck! Tweet

Morning walk and avipoxvirus again

Tweet Being such a beautiful day, I decided to take a walk down the road. Eastern Meadowlarks are everywhere! Broom sedge is coming back to many of the fields that I used to remember it in. The meadowlarks are taking advantage of it. When I was a child, I remember finding lots of Bobwhite in broom sedge as well, I would love to hear that sound again.

My curse of finding dead or sick birds on my walks seems to be back :-( . This female American Goldfinch landed not too far from my feet in a driveway as I was walking. The bird must have been able to see somewhat, as it flew away when I got closer. Here is a dead bird from avian pox that I found last year on a local walk down my street.


I have never seen avian pox on the birds that visit my feeders. I clean them often and I usually don't feed birds in the spring and summer (a money saving strategy!). My birdbath (cleaned daily) has been empty since I moved it to mow and never put it back. I found this bird near where the grackle was found last year. I really would like to find the source of this, maybe a neighbor's feeders? Tweet