birds

Summer is Here

Rae Spencer2 Comments

The thermostat insists that it is not as hot this week as it was last week, but I’m not convinced. The difference between high-nineties and triple digits is barely perceptible. Both are too hot for comfort.

Even so, the yard remains active. A new dove nest is taking shape, a new wave of dragonflies has arrived, and a clutch of praying mantises have hatched in the ginger lilies.

(I believe this is a Yellow-sided Skimmer.)

While chasing this praying mantis through the ginger lilies, I stumbled across a young katydid. Both creatures were very wary of the camera. It didn’t help that I tend to be too clumsy for stealth.

Fledgling Photos

Rae Spencer3 Comments

The robin family has moved on, as families tend to do, and the yard feels empty and quiet. Almost eerie, after such a whirlwind of exploration and clamor.

Maybe I’ll fill my empty hours with the manuscript that has been molting in my office, shedding pages all over the floor, sprouting new subplots and dialogue as it matures…

Robin Fledglings

Rae Spencer3 Comments

Yesterday afternoon, a pair of robin fledglings tumbled out of a nearby tree. They hopped through a rabbit’s crawl-space under the fence, then spent several hours exploring our back yard…

Failed Nests

Rae Spencer4 Comments

The yard’s nests are having a tough year. In April, I discovered a robin’s nest in the wax myrtle. A few days later, a heap of feathers hinted that hawks had claimed another victim. Broken eggs soon joined the feathers.

Now the recent dove’s nest is also empty. I don’t know what happened, only that the nest held two eggs one day, none the next.

Both losses tempt me toward sadness, but how dare I claim sadness? Failed nests are blissfully minor tragedies. Wouldn’t it be a joyous day, if the only news worth reporting involved bird nests?

Wings in the Yard

Rae Spencer2 Comments

We bought this speedwell because it was advertised to attract butterflies. I haven’t seen any butterflies on it, but it draws a lot of wasps.

The wasps chase everything away from the speedwell’s bed, but Blue Dasher dragonflies patrol all the other beds.

And, as predicted, Halloween Pennants have begun to arrive.

The bird feeders get less traffic than the flower beds, but not by much. Doves are our most frequent diners. And the hungriest. This one ate so much it could barely fly.

Doves are the most numerous birds in the yard, but the blue jay fledglings are the loudest.

However, their cries cannot compete with the Blue Angels, who are in town for a weekend airshow. The show’s flight path takes them right over our yard…