July 25, 2008
The butterflies are pleased with the Canadian thistle which bloomed this week and seem to dance together as they move between flowers. The ruby throated hummingbird was seen to chirp madly at a hummingbird moth while they were trying to feed at the same flowers. And, a blimp was seen over the backyard yesterday with a big picture of Snoopy on the side of it.Backyard tip of the week:
Summer is a great time to provide water for the birds and other wildlife in your yard. Anything from a simple dish to a flowing water feature will work. Just rinse and re-fill your birdbath daily and brush it off as needed. Be sure to keep an eye out so you'll see what interesting birds visit to bathe and drink. Sometimes you'll spot birds that don't come to feeders. Either way, you're sure to love it.
Backyard sightings for last week:
Including northern cardinals, American robins, northern flickers, rose-breasted grosbeaks, bluebirds and catbirds. Chipping sparrows, white-crowned sparrows, Carolina wrens, house wrens, eastern goldfinches, house finches. Red-bellied and downy woodpeckers, white-breasted nuthatches, a ruby-throated hummingbird. The tufted titmice, black-capped chickadees, blue-jays, American crows, three or four grey squirrels, a red squirrel, a mostly white skunk, some bunnies, and a doe. Also, European starlings, common grackles, red-winged blackbirds, mourning doves, chipmunks, butterflies, and a yard full of fireflies!
Cool sighting of the week:
Early Sunday morning, while talking on the phone to Rich Kubisch, during "That 80's Show" here on WDVR, I was sitting outside looking up at the mimosa tree. Suddenly, what looked like a hummingbird appeared and began to feed at the flowers on the mimosa tree. It seemed very late for such a bird to be out, and upon closer inspection, I realized that it wasn't a bird at all, but some kind of moth, sort of floating and moving around just like a hummingbird and it was about the same size. Much larger than a hummingbird moth, this thing was three to four inches wide and was probably a White-lined Sphinx . Whatever it was, it had wings like a moth and a body the size of a short cigar. It was very cool!
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