Discovering the world around me.
A huge bird just flew in over Owl Acres. Its wings stretch to eight feet as it flies, and its dark brown body and wings contrast with its stark white head and tail. It lands in the big elm near the driveway. Clearly, it is a living representative of America’s symbol of strength, courage, and […]
Continue reading America’s Bird: The Bald Eagle
The weather is harsh today. Snow covers the ground. Wind is expected around 30mph from the northwest, driving temps below zero where they’ll stay for several days. The trees in the woods to the north and west of the house moan and creak as they sway bare branches in the wind. The wind chimes on […]
Continue reading Winter Strategies: Black-Capped Chickadee
She’s lying in my hand, still, but whole. A beautiful little creature, expired for no obvious reason. Her wings are folded; her feathers are exquisitely soft. Her half-ounce weighs nothing in my palm. Her little round, acorn-size head with its cone-shaped beak lies against my finger. Her legs are like little twigs, thin and bare. […]
Continue reading Wintering in Iowa: Dark-Eyed Junco
Throughout the year, I’ve heard a distinctive bird call that sounds like a loud, nasal “yank” repeated several times in a row. This tells me that at least one pair of white-breasted nuthatches (Sitta carolinensis) live on Owl Acres year-round. They have mated for life, and have established a territory in the woods. We’ll hear […]
Continue reading A Tidy Housekeeper
One day while we were driving along a county road, a wild turkey shot out of the ditch just in time to collide with the mirror on the car. Needless to say, that was the turkey’s last flight. Instantly, it seemed, a buzzard dropped out of the sky to claim his thanksgiving dinner. Nature’s efficiency […]
Continue reading Turkey Day
It’s a sunny day in late October. There’s no breeze to speak of, and most of the leaves have fallen from the trees. A flock of several hundred black birds have landed in the trees in the woods on Owl Acres, and are chattering in a cacophony of sounds. They’re working on the bare twigs, […]
Continue reading A Plague of Visitors
White-throated Sparrow (Zonotrichia albicollis) It was an unusually cold, wet spring last May when the white-throated sparrows sailed through on their way to the Canadian woods. The clear whistled song calling “O sweet Canada Canada Canada” if you’re Canadian, or “Sam Peabody Peabody Peabody” if you’re not, rang through the trees, announcing their visit. They […]
Continue reading O Sweet Canada
We are having a party, barbecuing in the yard, using the open garage as a staging area for the food and utensils. Suddenly something whizzes past into the garage, startling Bryan, a giant insect? No, it’s a hummingbird come to inspect the bright red handle on the rope that allows you to raise and lower […]
Continue reading Tiny Warriors
The barred owl is one of my favorites. I love to hear its easily recognizable call and its mate’s response. This year we’ve had at least one pair calling in the afternoons and evenings. They call and respond, and once in a while they have a more heated conversation and even a bit of squawking. […]
Continue reading Who Cooks for You?
American Robins Photo credit: Richard Wilson I am trying to sleep in. It’s the third day of my retirement, and I don’t want to get out of bed. But the robin outside my window has other ideas. He sings his cheery song loud and clear. Some people think of it as “cheerily, cheerily cheer up […]
Continue reading Cheerily Cheerily Get Up Get Up