Dr. Ruby and the Rain

Ruby and I were poking along on our walk yesterday.  It was hot and humid, and there were a lot of things to sniff out, so we weren't in a hurry-- at least in the beginning.

 Most of the time, Ruby stays on the path, but sometimes she just can't resist following a scent thru the taller grass.  She can't SEE much, but the smells are enticing I guess!

Ox-Eye Daisies are very pretty, and we'll forgive them for not being native.  Mrs. William Starr Dana wrote in her book, 'How to Know the Wildflowers', first published in 1893, that the name Daisy came from the true daisy of England (Bellis perennis).  Its flowers opened in the morning and closed at night so it was called the "day's eye".  Our Ox-Eye Daisy is actually in the Chrysanthemum family and doesn't open and close with the sun... but I still like the name "Day's Eye".   Mrs. Dana gives another common name... she says in Scotland they are called "Dog-Daisy".  Ruby likes that one!

Ruby is a good girl and knows "Please don't eat the Daisies", however she does like her veggies, so she chews on some grass.

 Like I said, it's hot, so Ruby and I head towards home and to the little creek.

She cools off (at least her feet and the bottoms of her ears)!
Then I tell her we'd better head back to the house because there are storm clouds coming.

We barely get inside before the wind picks up and the rain starts.
It gets darker and darker.

"I don't mind, I'm ready for a nap anyway!"

But what do the other animals do in the rain?

The red-winged blackbirds don't seem to mind it, and they keep coming to eat sunflower seeds... although they do have to stop and shake every once and awhile!

This poor male oriole sits and waits for me to refill the grape jelly feeder.  I will as soon as the rain lets up a little!

Not yet!
This oriole eats from the orange in the rain...

It, too, gives a shake every little bit.

Finally the rain lets up and I go out and put some jelly in the feeder.  The birds quickly line up to eat, looking rather damp.

Rose-breasted Grosbeak

This morning, there are almost 3 1/2 inches of rain in our gauge.

The little creek is gushing.  I don't think Ruby would like it today.

This morning the swamp is filling up with brown run-off.

But through the rain and the mud, the animals keep on with life... the baby wood ducks are getting bigger.

The bunnies are, too.  This one better be careful though.  The puddles in the road are not a good place to play!

Good, little bunny.... run away!

An Amazing Tail

Be prepared to be amazed! (and possibly get a little dizzy when looking at the acrobats in the following photos)!

 We're going to look at two Grey Squirrels -- and what they can do with their beautiful tails!

 As you can see by the Grey Squirrel on the left, they can use their tails to help themselves balance in precarious situations.  

As you can see by the Grey Squirrel on the right, sometimes they can't fit their tails into places that are a little too small for them.

 But, usually the whole balancing thing outweighs that.  

Except once and awhile, when there's a game of "Squirrel Tapping" going on...

"Squirrel Tapping" happens when a poor, unsuspecting, too-large-for-the-bird-feeder squirrel can't see what's coming at him...

He gets a tap from a gentle but unexpected hand...

Then his tail helps him 'fly' - almost like a bird, out of the feeder!

Disclaimer:  No squirrels were harmed in the making of this story!

Some other things their beautiful tails help Grey Squirrels do - in hot weather, they can actually help their bodies stay cool by providing shade as the squirrel can arch its' tail above its' body.  In the winter, their tails can do the opposite, helping to keep the squirrel warm when it wraps it around itself.  

Squirrels can also communicate with their tails - flicking it at another squirrel when it is alarmed or fluffing it up when it is confronting him.

All in all, I think Squirrels tails are pretty amazing.  But on days as hot as today, I'm glad I'm not a squirrel - all covered with fur, from my feet to the tip of my tail.

 

Squirrels around here have a pretty good life, except for the occasional chasing by a human who thinks the birds should have a chance at the bird feeders, too.  

"Hey, are you talking about me?"

 

Furred and Feathered Babies Abound Around Here!

It's a busy time of year for both furry and feathered parents! We don't have a name for our place, but last night I was thinking it ought to be called 'Rabbit Hill'.  I could see rabbit families in three directions from our front deck!  There was lots of nibbling of grass and playing going on.  I probably wouldn't be happy if they were nibbling my flowers or vegetables, but our yard provides plenty of clover and yummy weeds for them to eat, and so far my plants have been safe.  

These bunnies were in the front yard:

 You might remember the next bunnies from my other post.  They are growing fast.

And having fun, too!  They were bouncing around and chasing either other.

Still more bunnies... and you can see the white clover in bloom that they love to eat.  The yellow flowers are Yellow Hawkweed (which I don't think they were eating).

There's also quite a bit of action at the bird feeders.  I used to take my feeders down once winter was over, but then I discovered how much fun it is to feed them during the spring and summer.  (Though we have to bring them in at night, because otherwise we have visits from Black Bears.)  

When the birds have babies in the nest, the parents will carry food back with them to feed their nestlings, like this Red-bellied Woodpecker with a chunk of suet.

You can see the red belly for which they are named in this photo!

Once their babies have fledged, they bring them along to the feeders to show them a good place to eat, like this Mourning Dove and baby.

"There's nothing here, dearest, but wait til we get up on the deck."

"I'm following you, Momma."

After wandering thru my herb bed, they came up on the deck, where the baby tried to figure out what was food and what was not!

"Nope,  just dirt!"

A trio of House Finch babies relentlessly chirped at and followed their parent around, asking to be fed.

 Everywhere he went, they were right behind!

 Our rain gauge became a baby House Finch measuring stick.

And down underneath the deck was another furry baby... the cutest one of all!  I think he's going to be a nature explorer.

"I will see what is under here!"

"I am examining these plants closer... yes, they are FERNS"

"Hi, my name is Mac!"

The Wily Wood Ducks or My Continuing Saga to Find an Active Nest

There are Wood Ducks living in our swamp.  I'm not certain, but I think there are 3 pairs this year.  We see them when they arrive back from their migration from the southeastern United States, usually around the middle of March.  I have our first sightings of the year listed as early as March 7th to the latest, April 2nd.

We hear their calls and cries.  They sure do produce some interesting sounds.  You can listen to them on the Cornell Lab of Ornithology website by clicking here.   Or if you want to imitate them yourself, here is how Sibley spells them in his field guide.  ooEEK ooEEK.... jeweeep or sweeooooo, kip kip kip!

The males are quite handsome with their colorful plumage, while the females are more drab, but still beautiful, I think.  The easiest identifing mark of the female is her white eye ring, though they do also have a beautiful (if usually hidden) splash of color on their sides.

This female that I photographed last year must have had babies somewhere nearby. She knew I was watching from the bank and was doing her best to distract me from her babies by putting on a show of flapping around like she had a broken wing.  

Which brings me to the story I wanted to tell you about the continuing saga of my search for an active Wood Duck nesting cavity.

A number of years ago, I was heading to a watercolor class to which I was supposed to bring my own project to paint.  I had been busy and not picked anything out.  I mentioned it to my daughter and she came to me with a picture and said "Here, paint this." It was a page from her daily calendar-- of a baby Wood Duck, just getting ready to jump from the nest.  I probably would not have ever tried painting this without her suggesting it, but once I did, it really gave me more of an interest in these birds and their unique habits.

Wood Ducks nest in cavities... in holes in trees-- sometimes old Pileated Woodpecker holes, or sometimes in man-made boxes provided for them.  My field guide to nests says they can be anywhere from 3 to 60 feet above the ground!  Shortly after they hatch, the babies jump from the cavity and make their way to water (if they aren't already over it) being called along by their mother.  Cornells's webpage about them says the babies jump up to 290' without injury!

In my wanderings, I've been keeping an eye out for their nests.  I missed the one in the next photo until after it was too late.  It was right behind our dock, and I guess I was always looking out over the swamp instead of behind me!

I really missed this next one...since I didn't see it until the tree had fallen over!

One day I was walking my usual path thru the woods when I saw a large bird fly thru the trees.  I guessed it was a Pileated Woodpecker from its size and the location.  However, when I found it in my binoculars after it landed in another tree, I was surprised to see it was a male Wood Duck!  

So I immediately started looking around the area for a nest!  Sure enough, I found this.

Here's a closer look.

I started checking the area and the nest often, but I never saw another Wood Duck.  Of course that doesn't mean they weren't there!  Within a week it was hard to see the nest at all because of the leaves on the trees.  I kind of thought it was rather far away from the water but then I read that they can nest up to 1.2 miles away from it!

In this next photo (taken from a kayak), that nest is in the woods all the way in the top of the picture.

 On Saturday, my husband saw something that makes me think that nest was a Wood Duck's.  He saw a female Wood Duck in our lawn!  She did the "look at me, I've got a broken wing act" which made him look for babies!  Sure enough, he saw five tiny fluffy baby Wood Ducks huddled together nearby.  The mother Wood Duck flew into our little woods.  I was down at the mailbox, but my husband quickly came to get me and we looked for them again together.  They were already hidden away and we didn't see them.  I watched from a distance for awhile and didn't see the female either.

However, Sunday morning while we were getting ready to go to church, my husband looked out our window at the swamp and said, "I think there's a duck over there sitting on a log."  Just as I grabbed the binoculars and found her in them, she jumped off the log into the water, then one after the other five little babies jumped off and followed her!  It all happened so fast I wasn't able to get any photos.  But I think that means the mother and five babies who where in our yard made it safely over to the water.  At least, I hope it was them!

Seems like it would be a lot easier for them to use the boxes my brother made which are right in the swamp.  But they know best, I guess.

 I'm just happy when I see the mothers and their babies - this photo was taken Sunday afternoon.  I think it must be another mother because the babies seem quite a bit bigger (and there are only four, and I'm hoping the other mother still has five).  

Here's another photo from a previous year of a mother with two little ones.

They are beautiful and amazing birds that God gave just the right habits and lifestyles to live in the woods and swamps here, and I'm thankful He did... even if I still haven't found an active nest!

Update:  For those of you who might not see this in the Comments, here is a link to a really neat video of a baby Wood Duck leaving the nest!  (Thank you to Laura!)