eagle in snow

everyday gift: a majestic visitor in a snow storm

what's for supper, mom?

just because they can fly does not mean they don't need their mama anymore!



well, my boy "flew" today. he went on a week long mission trip with the youth group from church. during the week they will hook up with various service projects in the community and through their service they will share the love God and the gospel. i can not tell you how much it blesses me to see C with a heart that is anxious to serve the Lord. he was quite independent about preparing for this trip and i can see him maturing in so many ways...

and yet, i know he'll always come home and stand with the refrigerator wide open asking,

"isn't there anything to eat?"

if you feel led, please pray for this group of jr. high students: for safety on their trip, for the love of God to be demonstrated through their service, and that they would grow and mature in their relationship with the Lord through this experience.

everyday gift: young hearts willing to serve

am empty nest

mr. and mrs. robin have an empty nest.

their hatchlings are now fledglings. i've been watching them from the front porch, the chicks leaving the nest and trying out their wings. newly found freedom! one lands clumsily on the ground and peeps for his mama, who lands not far away than flies to a nearby tree and calls. he is wary of me circling him with my camera so he takes off and flies to a pine tree, near his nest, looking for safety. meanwhile, mama and papa are hovering and watching anxiously, trying to keep track of all four of their babies. i am sure it must be nerve wracking...

although i have years to go before i experience an empty nest, i am feeling the growing pains of a teenager trying out his wings! he has informed me that he no longer needs me to tell him "lights out" at night (my night owl, pushing the boundaries and staying up well past midnight!), he doesn't see the need for his parents to supervise his activities, oh and, by the way, did we know that farm kids can get a permit to get a driver's license early?

i liked it better when he didn't challenge me so much.

but isn't the whole idea of parenting to give them wings and independence?

Train a child in the way he should go,

and when he is old he will not turn from it.

Proverbs 22:6

.

he should go. when the time comes, he should go. and with God's help, we will have shown him the right path, following God's plan for his life. so i will try to have patience with my boy as he tries out his wings. at times he might land clumsily, but i will hover nearby and show him the safety of the tree, until he is ready fly away...

look mom! i can fly!

everyday gift: giving them wings and learning to let go

acadian flycatcher

as dad had coffee by the patio door yesterday morning, a little bird flew into the window. he scooped up the dazed bird and held him for us to study. soon he perked up and perched on his finger, seemly unafraid of the humans surrounding him. although the picture may not show it, he was very olive green; two bars on the wing; underneath was slightly buff with a white throat. the beak was black and heavy looking for its size. after reading through our field guides and studying the many small olive colored birds, we believe it was an acadian flycatcher.



after a short visit, he recovered from his bump on the head, and flew away.

acadian flycatcher (Empidonax virescens)

dad with our little friend.

everyday gift: an unexpected visitor

nestled in

as i peeked into this nest, i found 4 baby robins napping...oops, one woke up and looked up at me, too naive to be afraid. B gently held the branches aside so i could snap this picture. sadly, the nest i photographed earlier this spring was abandoned when the newly hatched chicks disappeared. i suspect a raccoon found the nest built too near the ground. but this nest is a bit more secure in a pine tree. i find this image so comforting and peaceful. what is mother bird's secret to having 4 siblings share a room without conflict?!

everyday gift: baby robins snug in their nest

sightings...

about half way down the road between our present home and future homestead site is a hill which is shaded by trees on both sides. there is a steep bank along one side and hidden away between the roots of the trees is a fox den, surprisingly close to the road. i suppose most cars zip on by without taking notice, the nearest house is set back far from the road, and rarely does anyone scale the side of that hill, making it a safe, albeit exposed, location for a den. mark has noticed that a little after 8 o'clock each night, just before dusk, the fox pups poke their noses out of the den and play along the ridge of the hill.


as we came home from a scout meeting last night, mark took us to the place in hopes of spotting them. i had my camera ready. window down. up over the hill...and there! two little orange pups, ears perked up, watching us watching them. oh, are they cute. but, sadly, i choked on the picture taking. they were only there for a few seconds before they bounded into the den and out of sight.


i had another sighting yesterday. i thought i heard an unusual and melodious bird song yesterday afternoon. i watched the trees until i saw it flit from one tree to another. the brilliant orange and black of the baltimore oriole. so, like every spring, i cut a few oranges and put them out on the deck. the ants seem to enjoy them, but so far, the orioles won't come near. this is the best picture i could get from a distance:

(it is no wonder that i didn't get the job at animal planet as a wildlife photographer. )

everyday gift: fox pups and orioles

nesting

B ran in the house with big news! she had discovered a robin's nest in the lilac bush...and there are eggs! oh, i love such excitement over the discovery of beauty in God's creation. there is nothing that compares to the blue of a robin's egg. i am amazed every time see them.

mama robin watched with concern from the cherry tree as i photographed the nest. she returned shortly after i walked away and seemed satisfied that her babies were safe. she really is an attentive mother. i am in awe of her patience while sitting on that nest. and when the eggs hatch, mama never rests, but is constantly feeding those little peeping beaks! i know the feeling! :o)


B is keeping a bird notebook. she is anxious to add the robin with photos from our own special robins. i must say, she does a thorough job of researching; reading books from the library, finding pictures on line, carefully coloring the birds to be realistic. she really is a joy to teach!

for the past 6 years, or so, we have had a pair of robins nesting under our deck. it is in an ideal spot for us to observe and we watch for the building process to begin each spring. this year, i couldn't figure out why they weren't collecting straw and wool from the sheep pen for this years nest. they were hanging around in the maple tree next to the deck as usual. yesterday, the reason became clear: they are re-using last year's nest! i didn't know they ever did that, but there she was, sitting on that old nest. through the slats in the deck above we can peek into the nest. 3 eggs this year.

everyday gift: blue robin eggs

cedar waxwings

the cedar waxwing is one of my favorite birds because of its beautiful and unusual markings. i read that the tiny red tip on the wing is the reason for the name as it looks like red sealing wax. we once found a dead waxwing by the road and were able to look closely at the intricate markings. i love the yellow tip to the tail.

the first time i saw cedar waxwings was in 1995 while mark and i were canoeing on the rock river. we saw a flock of them swooping out of the trees over the water to catch bugs. it was a memorable sight.

a few years ago we planted a row of american cranberry bushes. it is a native plant that provides food for wildlife and we hoped to lure the waxwings in with the berries. all winter i watched for them. well, they finally came! i counted about 7. now if i can just get the baltimore oriole to come to our slices of oranges. sometimes in the early spring we see them flitting in the trees, their brilliant flashes of orange, keeping a safe distance from the house. but so far, they won't come near.

cedar waxwing on american cranberry bush

Knowing Birds Through Stories is one of my favorite vintage books for children about birds. other references we use in our bird studies are The Burgess Bird Book for Children and the Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Birds.

everyday gift: a beautiful bird in the garden

an avian mystery

mark found this feather in our woods while hunting a few weeks ago and we are stumped as to what bird it belonged to. there are not that many birds that are so yellow. the gold finch is too small and at this time of year they are actually olive colored.

*check out the update at the end of this post! :o)

i love the brilliant shaft of this feather.

opposite side

can you identify this midwestern bird?

*i believe the mystery has been solved! thanks to kate at the five in a row message board. check out the pictures of the northern yellow shafted flicker. kate! you are awesome!

everyday gift: a beautiful feather

eagles gather

with the cold northern weather and the freezing of the mississippi upriver, the eagles come every winter. there are areas in our community that have open water all year round which the eagles gather round to fish. and the numbers of the eagles have been increasing! yesterday we spotted a gathering of birds around a deer carcass in a corn field that was so interesting to watch. several of the birds were obviously bald eagles, but we were a little baffled by the others. the size of the birds ruled out most of the raptors and hawks that frequent our area. ospreys are uncommon here and almost exclusively fishing birds; golden eagles would be a most rare sight here, so far from the rocky mountains. we consulted our friend, steve, an avid bird watcher.

he concluded that they were all, in fact, bald eagles. the brown and streaked birds were immature and have not gotten their adult plumage yet. our field guide did not show such variation for the immature eagle, but mark had guessed this. how amazing to see so many eagles gathered for a feast. S took the pictures from the car window, didn't he do a great job?

not a very pretty sight, not the kind of photo you'll enlarge and frame, or put on a greeting card, but we found it so amazing and fascinating...our own backyard wild kingdom!

altogether there were about 10 eagles including the 3 at the carcass, the 4 or more keeping a distance in the field, the several soaring overhead and the ones in the nearby tree.

everyday gift: a majestic and sublime sight

bird houses

the keeper girls worked on their bird badge a few saturdays ago. out in the barn, mark and C helped them put together wren houses. i must say, those girls were mighty with those hammers! it took quite a bit of muscle and patience to get them nailed together and i was glad to see them persevere. then we learned about the best location to put the houses to attract wrens. if they put them up right away there is still a chance for a nest yet this summer since they commonly will have two broods and will build a new nest each time.

that morning we also learned about hummingbirds and filled a feeder with red sugar water. i was hoping we would see one visit the feeder right away, but they waited until everyone had gone home before showing themselves.

i put out a challenge to them to keep track of all the different birds they see in a week. the one who sees the most will win a prize. i can't wait to hear the results of their week of bird watching!

Even the sparrow has found a home,

and the swallow a nest for herself,

where she may have her young-

a place near your altar,

O LORD Almighty, my King and my God.

Psalm 84:3

everyday gift: girls determined to pound those nails straight!

hummingbird

as i am weeding my flower beds, i hear a faint, miniature helicopter coming near...so i freeze. slowly, moving only my eyes, i look around and observe a hummingbird just inches away from me, moving efficiently from flower to flower collecting nectar. if i am still, he will not mind me watching him. i am mesmerized by the iridescent green and red. i am so amazed as i study the blur that is his wings. God has engineered this tiniest of all birds to do, without effort, feats that man has struggled to accomplish with inventions, contraptions, and clumsy flying machines. in a flash he is gone, zipping off to find more flowers. and i sit in the midst of my garden, amazed once again at God's creation.

everyday gift: hummingbirds

sweet sounds of summer

the wrens have taken up residence in one of our blue bird houses near the garden. they were singing to me yesterday while i was working. i tried to get a good picture of them, but they flit from fence post to fence post so quickly that i didn't do very well. oh well, i will have to be content with these inadequate snap shots to remember my pleasant summer mornings in the garden.

everyday gift: serenades of the house wren

blue bird

everyday gift: a flash of blue in the garden

chipping sparrow nest

S found a chipping sparrow nest in a pine tree near our house yesterday and took this wonderful picture. he has sharper eyes than anyone i know for spotting a bird or a critter. i think he also has an artist's eye for photography.

everyday gift: baby birds

they're back!

the blue birds! the sun has been peeking out of our partly cloudly skies to begin the long awaited thaw. that's when i saw the flash of blue lighting upon the fence post. i got the binoculars to be sure, and there he was! time to do some spring cleaning in our bird houses!

everyday gift: welcome signs of spring

winter visitors

we have enjoyed watching the visitors who have come to the bird seed buffet:

cardinal
black capped chickadee
dark-eyed junco
downy woodpecker
mourning dove
chipping sparrow
song sparrow
eurasian tree sparrow
common house sparrow
starling
crow
nuthatch
blue jay

lucky, our pet duck (she loves to glean the seed that falls from the feeder! it is so funny to see her big webbed prints alongside the little sparrow tracks)

other visitors to the feeder: rabbits, mice, and cats hunting mice!

(please pardon the amateur photography!)

soaring overhead we have seen bald eagles, turkey vultures, red tailed hawks, and another hawk we have yet to positively identify, maybe a merlin? or a sharp-shinned hawk?

everyday gift: feathered friends