Dixon Lanier Merritt



Naturally


  I wanted to applaud the lovely combination but I was driving. I watched a long, twisting line of blackbirds flying past a double rainbow on my way home from a church where I’d done readings and led prayers at a funeral. The deceased’s wife hugged me and said she and her husband had been arguing over the identification of a woodpecker and a finch—red-headed or red-bellied, house or purple. “We each said, if Al was here, he’d know.” She paused before adding, “Thank you for being here today.”
 Ruby-throated hummingbirds don’t travel in flocks during migration. Each bird follows its instincts as to departure dates and routes.
  A skunk smelled as if it wanted to be left alone. Multi-colored Asian lady beetles and minute pirate bugs sampled Al Batt. They are biting beetles and bugs, but I’ve not been stung by a wasp. Yellowjackets are hangry at this time of the year. This summer, they were well-behaved pollinators and beneficial predators. I like boxelder bugs. They’re beautiful and they don’t bite.


The Lower Rio Grande Valley


 I stayed in a camper in Mission, Texas, where a common sound was “Kis-ka DEE! Kis-ka-DEE!” The great kiskadee, a feisty, striking-colored flycatcher, shouted its name. Named for its loud "kis-ka-dee" call, it aggressively protects its nesting territory. One of its most feared predators is the coral snake and the kiskadee stays away from anything with the same color pattern as the coral snake. Several harmless snakes are similarly marked, but never with the red and yellow touching. Coral snakes are found in the southeastern half of Texas in woodlands, canyons and coastal plains. The rhyme of caution is “Red touches black, venom lack. Red touches yellow, kill a fellow.”


The Old Farmer’s Almanac


 Snowfall will be above normal, so we’ll need to keep a shovel at the ready early, because snow will arrive beginning in November with storms, showers and flurries continuing through the start of spring. Along with above-normal snow, we’ll see normal to colder-than-normal temperatures. To sum it up in four words: cold, snowy and normal.


Q&A


 “When goats are brought in to browse vegetation from a park, do the buckthorn seeds they eat still germinate?” University of Minnesota research published in The Natural Areas Journal found that 2% of buckthorn seeds passed through goat guts intact and of the seeds that appeared in the goats’ feces, 11% were viable. For comparison, 63% of seeds not eaten by goats were capable of germination. 
 “How do I tell if it’s Virginia creeper or woodbine?” Virginia creeper has aerial roots and hairy leaf stalks and stems. Woodbine lacks aerial roots and has hairless stalks and stems.
 “When do pelicans migrate?” American white pelicans migrate to the Gulf of Mexico with October and November being the peak migration months. In “A Sand County Almanac,” Aldo Leopold described migrating pelicans this way: “Let a squadron of southbound pelicans but feel a lift of prairie breeze… and they sense at once that here is a landing in the geological past, a refuge from that most relentless of aggressors, the future. With queer antediluvian grunts they set wing, descending in majestic spirals to the welcoming wastes of a bygone age.”
 “What is the world’s most dangerous bird?” The cassowary, although ostriches and emus can be dangerous. The cassowary is a flightless bird native to Australia and New Guinea and has killed humans with slashing blows of its feet, which have long dagger-like toenails. It will surprise few people to learn that a pet cassowary killed a man in Florida.
 Darwyn Olson of Hartland asked where multi-colored Asian lady beetles lay their eggs. They’re laid on the undersides of leaves of low-growing ornamentals, trees, roses, wheat, tobacco, soybeans and other plants. Common buckthorn is a woody shrub or small tree and is the overwintering host plant of the soybean aphid, which lays eggs on buckthorn in the fall. The eggs overwinter and hatch in the spring.
 “How do I register a large tree?” Minnesota's Big Tree Registry covers 53 native tree species. You’ll find the application here: https://www.dnr.state.mn.us/trees_shrubs/bigtree/nominate.html
 “What is the electric light bug?” It’s a nickname for the 2-3-inch-long giant water bug that’s attracted to stadium lights.


Thanks for stopping by


 “Oh, a wondrous bird is the pelican! His bill holds more than his belican. He can take in his beak enough food for a week. But I’m darned if I know how the helican.”–Dixon Lanier Merritt.
 “Here is your country. Cherish these natural wonders, cherish the natural resources, cherish the history and romance as a sacred heritage, for your children and your children’s children. Do not let selfish men or greedy interests skin your country of its beauty, its riches or its romance.--Theodore Roosevelt.
 Do good.

©️Al Batt 2023

The sequence of hues commonly described as making up a rainbow are red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo and violet. A mnemonic used for remembering this color sequence is the name Roy G. Biv. When the light is reflected twice in a drop, a double rainbow appears. The secondary rainbow is lighter in color than the primary and has the colors reversed. Double rainbows are often seen as symbols of good luck and happiness. I hope seeing this photo brings you both. Crummy photo by Al Batt.

A chipmunk not only chased its tail, it caught it.

A Great Egret and a Painted Turtle look at the world.

Eyeshine is the mirror-like reflection of the light from the eyes of opossums and many other animals.

The Minnesota Vikings should change their name to the Screaming Pihas

Naturally


 The sweet smell of wild cucumber greeted me on my walk. Having a bird feeder is like having a backstage pass. I watched mourning doves drink at the birdbath. Pigeons and doves suck up water like a horse and both males and females produce pigeon milk in their crops which they feed to their young. Rock pigeons were introduced to North America from Europe in the early 1600s.
 If the Vikings have a poor year, I hope they will consider changing their name to the Minnesota Screaming Pihas. The pihas are famous for their loud, whistled three-part song, one of the signature sounds of Amazonia. 
 I watched pelicans herd fish into the shallows for easy eating. It ended in a fierce feeding frenzy. It was a great fish drive, similar to but wetter than the cattle drives Rowdy Yates participated in as the ramrod of the crew that drove bovines on the Sedalia Trail in the TV series “Rawhide.” Rowdy, played by Clint Eastwood, worked under trail boss Gil Favor. They moved cattle from San Antonio, Texas, to Sedalia, Kansas, while being prodded along by Frankie Laine’s voice singing, “Move 'em out, head 'em up, Rawhide.”
 I have a cat. I like the cat. It never leaves the house, which keeps it healthy and increases its chances of having nine long lives. I have cats hunting my bird feeders. They’re not mine and I don’t appreciate their visits. If my cow went over to a neighbor’s yard repeatedly and ate their garden, my cow would be in trouble even though it was doing what comes naturally. If a cat comes to my yard and kills the birds I’ve been feeding (they kill whether or not they’re hungry), it has worn out its welcome.


Q&A


 “I found a few dead moles on a trail. What happened?” Moles rarely come to the surface where owls, hawks, weasels or snakes might get them. Because of their musky odor, moles are unpalatable to some mammalian predators, but raccoons, coyotes, foxes and skunks dig them out. Moles are killed by domestic dogs and cats but are rarely eaten. Maybe it was the work of a cat. A mole eats earthworms, Japanese beetle grubs, cutworms and more.
 Dean Muesing asked if hummingbirds can smell sugar water? They find food sources by sight. Hummingbirds aren’t believed to have a well-developed sense of smell, but it’s still a sense of smell. I’ve not heard of them being able to smell nectar. Fall migration is more complicated than the spring migration for our local hummingbirds. There is more overland travel than flying across the Gulf of Mexico in the fall because there isn’t quite the urgency as there is in the spring. It’s good to feed hummingbirds, as many live their lives a few hours from starvation. You could clean the feeders with a vinegar solution (1 part vinegar to 2 parts water) and an old toothbrush. Rinse thoroughly with clean water before refilling. 
 Jerry Viktora of Ellendale asked how long to keep hummingbird feeders up and when rose-breasted grosbeaks leave. I keep my hummingbird feeders up until October 1 to catch latecomers and stragglers. The grosbeaks are mostly out of here by the end of September, but I do see some in October.
 Jim Muyres sent photos of something digging for grubs in a cemetery and asked what they could do to prevent this. Skunks create holes by pushing their noses into the lawn and using their front paws to dig out the area. There can be many holes merging into a large, disturbed patch of grass. Raccoons use their front paws like hands to lift and flip pieces of sod over. It appears as if someone rolled it back for transplanting. Management is difficult as extensive digging can happen overnight and there are few reliable controls for the animals. An insecticide could be applied to kill the grubs in the soil, a curative insecticide application that is most effective if done in August and early September. 
 “What eats yellowjackets?” Black bears, raccoons,  skunks, badgers, opossums, shrews and birds (summer tanagers are noted for it, gray catbirds, blue jays, kingbirds and others) feed on the protein-rich food.
 “Where did “naked as a jaybird” come from?” It has an uncertain origin. The expression from the 1800s was naked as a fledgling jaybird, naked as a fledgling robin or naked as a fledgling. At some point, the word “fledgling” was dropped from the idiom. In the 1920s, J-bird was an abbreviation of the word jailbird. When new inmates were processed in jails, they were stripped naked and disinfected before receiving uniforms.


Thanks for stopping by


 "Nature is not a place to visit, it is home."—Gary Snyder.
 "In every walk with nature one receives far more than he seeks."—John Muir.
 Do good.

©️Al Batt 2023

Feathers are made of lightweight material called keratin, just like our fingernails and they don’t last forever. They need to be replaced and molting is the process of replacing feathers. Molt is variable with patterns differing by species, by individual or from year to year. It requires a lot of energy to build new feathers and birds typically time molts to avoid other high energy demands like nesting and migration. A molt can be a hard on a guy. Cardinal photo by Al Batt.

At the Freeborn County Historical Museum, Library & Village in Albert Lea, Minnesota.

A hummingbird flies backward to keep the dust out of its eyes

Naturally


 The surgeon told me to think of a pleasant place before I went under the knife. I thought of staring at a chimney. I’m not a chimney sweep, I haven’t even played one on TV, but I travel around each year, hoping for a good crop of chimney swifts. When the swifts go into a chimney to roost, the bats begin their nightly hunt. I’ve seen flocks of swifts zoom into chimneys. Swifts may look like flying cigars, but they are memories on the wing. In tough times, I remember those moments.
 I listened to the clucking or chucking of chipmunks. They issue these warnings of a predator in the sky while stationary.
 Pale green corn rootworm beetles wander away from cornfields in late summer to visit gardens where they feed on flowers and vegetables.
 I’m seeing murmurations of starlings, those wondrous shape-shifting flocks. I listened to the hummingbirds—the hum of the wings and their chittering. Hummingbirds drop their internal temperature, inducing a temporary state of torpor, and need less energy, and therefore less food, to withstand frigid temperatures. If you spot a motionless hummingbird, don’t be alarmed. It’s torpor. Young hummers migrate along the same routes and winter in the same places their ancestors have, some making an 18-hour flight across the Gulf of Mexico.
 One group of pelicans will drive prey towards another group of pelicans. The American white pelican eats up to three pounds of fish per day. It also eats salamanders, tadpoles and crayfish.
 The downy woodpecker makes a whiney call that descends in pitch at the end. The hairy woodpecker’s call is similar but doesn’t descend in pitch at the end.
 Mast is a term used to describe the fruit of trees and shrubs. A mast year is when a particular species produces more fruit than normal. Oaks have cycles of high and low yields. Oak masting happens every 2-5 years. In a mast year, seed-eating animals are unlikely to eat all the seeds produced, leaving the rest to sprout. An abundance of acorns is said to augur a bad winter—not true.
 In September, monarch butterflies congregate in large numbers and by the end of October, they have left the state in a mass migration to their winter grounds.


Q&A


 “Which bird builds the largest nest?” Bald eagles build the largest nest of any bird in North America. The nests are reused annually and increase in size.
 “Why does a hummingbird fly backward?” To keep the dust out of its eyes. A hummingbird's wings are unlike any other bird's and allow them to fly forward, backward, hover, and fly upside-down for a short period. Their shoulder joint is a ball and socket that allows the hummingbird to rotate its wings 180° in all directions. Hummingbirds don't flap their wings, they rotate them. When hovering, they move their wings in a figure-eight motion.
 “What’s the most populous landbird?” According to Partners in Flight, here are the numbers in millions. Starlings and house sparrows have 93 million each in North America, the same population as the yellow warbler. The common grackle is 67, not as many as the indigo bunting at 77. Blue jay is 17 million and American crow 28. Red-winged blackbird, savannah sparrow and yellow-rumped warbler are 170 million each. Dark-eyed junco is at 220, chipping sparrow 230 and leading the flock is the American robin with a population of 370 million.
 “Do bats open their mouths to echolocate?” Bats open their mouths to improve sensory localization.
 “Do yellowjackets or bald-faced hornets reuse a nest?” Nests of both species are abandoned and not reused.
 “Do pelicans mate for life?” American white pelicans are monogamous and likely pair each year on their breeding grounds. Adults breed when three years old and bonds last through the breeding season, but whether pairs continue in subsequent years is uncertain, although many people believe they do mate for life.
 Kevin Linn of Belle Plaine sent a photo of a bald cardinal. When northern cardinals and blue jays finish nesting, it’s time for them to molt and replace old feathers with new ones. Some cardinals and jays lose all their head feathers at once.
 “Do birds sleep while flying?” The Avian Sleep Research Group at the Max Planck Institute for Ornithology found frigatebirds sleep in flight, usually only one of their brain hemispheres sleeps, but occasionally both. The birds sleep around 42 minutes of each 24 hours flying with each sleep phase lasting an average of 12 seconds.
  “How old are turkeys when they begin to roost in trees?” By two weeks of age, poults can fly to low branches to roost. 


Thanks for stopping by


 “Let us try to recognize the precious nature of each day.”―Dalai Lama XIV.
 “If you can’t be in awe of Mother Nature, there’s something wrong with you.”—Alex Trebek.
 Do good.

©️Al Batt 2023

Not all black birds are blackbirds and not all blackbirds are black. Members of the blackbird family, Icteridae (ick-TARE-a-dee), include blackbirds (red-winged, Brewer’s, rusty, yellow-headed), grackles, cowbirds, meadowlarks, orioles and bobolinks. Baltimore orioles are named for their orange-and-black plumage, the colors of the heraldic crest of England’s Baltimore family who also gave its name to the city. Photo by Al Batt.

What to do when a hummingbird parks in your garage

Naturally

 My wife had left to volunteer at the food shelf. I had a Zoom meeting of a board I serve on in Alaska (I’m the token Minnesotan) and then I was going to a local in-person Audubon meeting. She sent me a text alerting me to a hummingbird trying to get into the garage. A hummingbird had gone in and out of the garage before she could get the door closed. Why did the tiny bird want in the garage? Was it hoping to find a 2010 Hummer parked there? No, it was attracted by the dangling red handle on the garage door pull, which if you have a good imagination and a hummingbird does, resembles a hummingbird feeder. Once inside a garage, the hummingbird flew up because hummingbirds don’t understand a roof. How do you evict a hummingbird from a garage? Open the garage door so it can fly out on its own. If it’s slow in leaving, place a hummingbird feeder or a red object near the open garage door to lure it outside. 
 I didn’t see many toadlets in my yard this year. The tiny toads eat small insects. A toad has parotoid glands producing a poisonous secretion that helps the toad defend itself against predators. All toads are frogs, but not all frogs are toads.
 I came across a spiderweb holding a few raindrops. It was so beautiful, it could have been a construct of a highly skilled jeweler. I was birding at a state park. There were waves of warblers and some were waving goodbye—mostly American redstarts with a pleasant mix of other species. Patient green herons opened offices for foraging. Deer walked through the sucking mud, leaving the ungulates black-legged on shore after quenching their thirst. The drought caused turkeys and squirrels to make the same long muddy walk to drinking water. A great flock of great egrets and a leucistic eastern kingbird glowed in the leafy green foliage. I savored every moment. As I drove home at dusk, I was presented with a lovely sky of common nighthawks. Their bat-like flight earned the bird the nickname "bullbat." I saw a couple of bats hunting the twilight with the nighthawks. The tiny bills of the nighthawks become commodious mouths when consuming flying insects on the wing at 12-35 mph. Primary insect prey varies with availability—ants, beetles, moths, true bugs and caddisflies.


Roadside pheasant survey


 The numbers in Minnesota DNR’s annual roadside pheasant survey increased 101% in the southwest region and 38% in the west central. Other areas saw decreases, with numbers dropping 39% central, 63% east central, 11% south central and 50% in the southeast regions. Pheasants averaged a 10% increase statewide over 2022 and 26% above the 10-year average. This year’s statewide pheasant index was 53 birds per 100 miles of roads driven, compared to 48 in 2022. Weather and habitat are the major influences on pheasant populations. Weather causes annual fluctuations and habitat drives long-term population trends. Populations benefited from favorable weather in the southwest and west central. An area’s increase in pheasant numbers doesn’t continue without a corresponding increase in habitat.


Q&A


 “Why are there turkeys along the roadside?” They aren’t hitchhiking. They have no thumbs. Roadsides become courtship areas in late winter and flocking areas before spring breakup. Juvenile and adult hens use roads in early spring because green forage, seeds and insects are more abundant in open, sunny habitats. Roads can be a source of food or a crossing point.
 “Do we have hornets in Minnesota?” All our hornets are wasps, but not all wasps are hornets. The bald-faced hornet is a wasp. All species of “true hornets” (genus Vespa) are endemic to Eurasia and northern Africa; none are native to North America. The northern giant hornet was formerly named the Asian giant hornet and nicknamed a murder hornet.
 Glenda Batt of Albert Lea asked when hummingbirds leave Minnesota. They migrate south as early as mid-August, with most leaving the state by the end of September—although stragglers are found well into October.
 A River Falls reader asked why hummingbirds dance. It could be a courting or territorial display, or hunting flying insects which can look like dancing.
 Ken Nelson of Clarks Grove asked when barn swallows and house wrens leave? Barn swallows gather in migratory groups in July with a peak migration in August. They winter in Central and South America. House wrens become secretive and silent after nesting (two broods). The secondary cavity nesters leave in September for southern US or Mexico. 


Thanks for stopping by


 “In nature, nothing is perfect and everything is perfect. Trees can be contorted, bent in weird ways, and they’re still beautiful.”—Alice Walker.
 “When you do something noble and beautiful and nobody noticed, do not be sad. For the sun every morning is a beautiful spectacle and yet most of the audience still sleeps.”—John Lennon.
 Do good.

©️Al Batt 2023

 A tall white bird with a yellow bill, black legs and long S-curved neck has made the great egret a chiropractor’s dream. At the beginning of the 20th century, it neared extinction due to market hunting. The egrets’ feather plumes were used to adorn women's hats. The great egret has been called the American egret, common egret and great white egret. Photo by Al Batt.

A condensation of swallows.

A disagreement at the old swimming hole.

It’s vulturific



It’s vulturific

Nature by the yard


 The new crop of chipmunks looked impressive.
 Young robins swamped the birdbath. The enthusiastic and pugnacious birds were splishing and splashing. 
 Chickadees and cedar waxwings kept the yard entertained. Waxwings are named for the waxy red tips on their secondary wing feathers. According to Doug Tallamy, professor of entomology and wildlife ecology at the University of Delaware, a pair of chickadees needs 6,000 to 9,000 caterpillars to raise one brood. Insects are best for feeding fledglings because chickadees can’t afford pizza or cheeseburgers.
 The sultry afternoon didn’t stop the red-eyed vireo from singing, “Here I am. In a tree. Look at me. Vireo.” The ornithologist Bradford Torrey said, "The red-eye's eloquence was never very persuasive to my ear. Its short sentences, its tiresome upward inflections, its everlasting repetitiousness, and its sharp, querulous tone long since became to me an old story; and I have always thought that whoever dubbed this vireo the 'preacher' could have had no very exalted opinion of the clergy".
 Most of our woodpeckers have black and white plumages, but the northern flicker is brownish with a white rump patch that's conspicuous in flight.
 An eastern screech owl called persistently, waiting to go to voicemail. The pop-can-sized screech owl is all beak and eyeballs.
 Grasshoppers rubbed their legs together—stridulation. Crickets and katydids used their wings to make music.
Naturally
 I’d been watching roadside LBJs (Little Brown Jobs). Juvenile vesper sparrows are similar to adults, but their plumages contain little or no rufous color. They are larger than song sparrows and hit peak migration in October. Young horned larks are nondescript and look like what they aren’t. Horned larks molt out of juvenile plumage by August and resemble a washed-out version of an adult the rest of the year. 
 Migratory populations of sedge wrens have a nomadic breeding cycle. Northern breeding populations breed from May through June. Breeding occurs in the southern U.S. from July into September, coinciding with the departure of northern breeding populations. This suggests that sedge wrens migrate to their northern breeding range for the first nesting, then migrate farther south to nest again. The latter breeding season could be by late arrivals or in response to habitat quality in the southern portion of the range.
Vulturific
 The first Saturday in September each year is International Vulture Awareness Day. Vultures are recyclers and prevent the spread of harmful bacteria. They have acidic stomachs that kill harmful bacteria in rotting meat and their intestines have bacteria that make them resistant to diseases from rotting meat. Vultures commonly eat roadkill, making them targets for car collisions. Please avoid littering, which attracts animals onto the roads. 
Everyone is important
 The American biologist Paul Ehrlich likened the loss of species from an ecological community to randomly popping out rivets from the wing of an airplane. Remove one or two and the plane will probably be fine. Remove ten, or twenty, or fifty, and at some point, there will be a catastrophic failure and the plane will fall from the sky. 


Q&A


 “What are predators of adult hummingbirds?” Cats, sharp-shinned hawks, bullfrogs, merlins, roadrunners, kestrels, spiders, snakes, robber flies and occasionally dragonflies and songbirds. 
 “Do bees sting hummingbirds?” Bees could sting hummingbirds, but it would be a rare occurrence as both creatures are too focused on gathering nectar to look for a fight. Hummingbirds avoid bees by being agile and using quick flight movements, tail flicking or aggressive displays. Hummingbird feeders attract both and bees feed alongside the hummingbirds, but will chase them if they feel threatened. When many bees are at a feeder, the hummingbirds opt to leave and find other nectar sources. Red attracts hummingbirds while yellow attracts wasps and bees. Avoid feeders with yellow insect guards or flower accents to make your feeder will be less attractive to insects.
 “Why are there tiny holes in acorns?” It’s because acorns are tiny. If the holes were big, there’d be no acorns left. Acorn weevils chew a small hole in the acorn while it’s attached to the tree, lay an egg in the hole and plug it to camouflage their activity. After the eggs hatch, the larvae feed on the inside of the acorn, which can make the acorn non-viable. When the acorn falls to the ground, the weevil larvae chew their way out, creating a perfectly round hole, and burrow into the soil to spend the winter underground. The reason you find many holey acorns under trees is because the squirrels leave them behind.


Thanks for stopping by


 “A true leader is one who is humble enough to admit their mistakes.”—Author unknown.
 “Joys come from simple and natural things; mist over meadows, sunlight on leaves, the path of the moon over water. Even rain and wind and stormy clouds bring joy.”—Sigurd F. Olson.
 Do good.

©️Al Batt 2023

A tall white bird with a yellow bill, black legs and long S-curved neck has made the great egret a chiropractor’s dream. At the beginning of the 20th century, it neared extinction due to market hunting. The egrets’ feather plumes were used to adorn women's hats. The great egret has been called the American egret, common egret and great white egret. Photo by Al Batt.

It did what a December 15 tornado does

One side of a block of the main drag of Hartland, Minnesota, is now leveled from my brother’s old hardware store through the beauty shop, post office and one of L&D Ag buildings (once upon a time it was Thompson Brothers Gas Station—it was a Texaco).

Now the city of 314 will have room for a five-story parking ramp.

I miss these murals depicting Hartland’s past. They went down with one of the buildings.

Would you like some nectar, Hector?



Would you like some nectar, Hector?

Naturally


 I watched a murmuration of starlings move as if it were inside a lava lamp, which made me think of hummingbirds. That’s because it’s a small world after all. In Minnesota, four native plant species—eastern columbine, Indian paintbrush, jewelweed and cardinal flower—rely on hummingbirds for pollination. The ruby-throated hummingbird’s wings beat an amazing 53 times every second and its heart throbs 1,260 times a minute.
 I had a pleasant visit with Donald Mitchell and Ron Windingstad at the wonderful Henderson Hummingbird Hurrah in Henderson, Minnesota. I didn’t find out if all male hummingbirds are named Hector, but I tried.
 Mitchell conducted field studies of hummingbirds and the plants they pollinate, and is a hummingbird bander. He said to attract hummingbirds, it's best to create a nectar farm that maximizes the amount of nectar available. One way to do this is to plant many red, tubular flowers that bloom in mid to late summer. Advertise your nectar farms with red flowers and the red on hummingbird feeders. Mitchell has seven hummingbird feeders located outside his home near Red Wing. In September, he goes through a gallon and a half of nectar every day. According to him, adding red dye or boiling the water is unnecessary. You can create the nectar solution by mixing 4 parts of water with 1 part of table sugar. You don't need to be too strict with those measurements. Ratios like 3:1 or 5:1 could be used. 
 Mitchell listed hardy perennials native to Minnesota that thrive in Zone 4: columbine, red buckeye, coral bells, trumpet honeysuckle and royal catchfly. Bee balm is recommended as its runners can be transplanted in spring, summer or fall. The native monarda attracts pollinators but is often overlooked by hummingbirds. Tall larkspur, standing cypress, cardinal flower and penstemon are other great choices. Anise hyssop is a native plant that's perfect for pollinators but not ideal for hummingbirds. Mitchell said perennials form the backbone of a hummingbird garden. In order of bloom: Eastern columbine (native and hardy), coral bells, bee balm (select red flowered mildew-resistant cultivars), tall larkspur (also pollinated by bumblebees), royal catchfly and cardinal flower. 
 Annuals include salvia (avoid fall-blooming salvias) with scarlet sage being an excellent choice. Flowering tobacco isn’t red but is a fine hummingbird plant as long as the scented species and hybrids are avoided as they are moth-pollinated and short on nectar. Propagating annuals such as salvia, flowering tobacco, canna (with small red flowers) and standing cypress is quite easy. Hummingbirds love jewelweed, but it’s important to note that deer love to eat orange jewelweed (spotted touch-me-not).
 Vines that make good hummingbird plants are trumpet or coral honeysuckle, trumpet vine, scarlet runner bean, cypress vine and cardinal creeper.
 Chimney swift expert Ron Windingstad is a friend from way back. People refer to chimney swifts as "flying cigars" due to their short, stout bodies and long, pointed wings. They breed across much of eastern North America. They nest and roost in chimneys, but changes in chimney construction and the development of modern heating methods have reduced the availability of nesting and roosting sites for swifts, and consequently, their numbers. Windingstad helped construct over 100 artificial chimney swift towers. I remember him doing a cartwheel whenever he saw chimney swifts.


Q&A


 Jack May of Mankato asked what kingfishers eat. Belted kingfishers feed on small fish (usually those less than 4-5" long), crayfish, frogs, tadpoles and aquatic insects.
 “Why are squirrels gnawing on my deck?” They aren’t eating the deck; they’re gnawing it to wear down their teeth, which grow constantly. I watched squirrels gathering acorns. The acorns from the white oak family are the tastiest. Red oak acorns are nutritious but intensely bitter because they have more tannin. Research found squirrels eat about 85% of the white acorns and cache 60% of the red acorns. The white oak acorns sprout in the fall and are more perishable when buried. Red oak acorns don’t germinate until the spring. 
 “How far apart should bluebird nestboxes be?” The North American Bluebird Society recommends 125 to 150 yards apart with boxes mounted in pairs where tree swallows are abundant. Paired boxes should be placed 5 to 15 feet apart and provide nesting sites for both species and limit competition between them. 


Thanks for stopping by


 “Life cannot be classified in terms of a simple neurological ladder, with human beings at the top; it is more accurate to talk of different forms of intelligence, each with its strengths and weaknesses. This point was well demonstrated in the minutes before last December's tsunami, when tourists grabbed their digital cameras and ran after the ebbing surf, and all the 'dumb' animals made for the hills.”—B.R. Myers.
 “The world is changed by your example, not your opinion.”—Paulo Coelho.
 Do good.

©️Al Batt 2023

An orange butterfly with black markings is a monarch or it might be a monarch mimic—a viceroy, which has an extra black line extending across the lower wings, visible when the wings are open or closed. The monarch flies along with its wings held up in a shallow V, while the viceroy makes several quick flaps before a flat-winged glide. Photo by Al Batt.

Hartland versus the tornado

A tornado on December 15, 2021 destroyed this building, but the business is about to reopen and support the small town that has been its home for generations.

As Atlas held aloft the heavens, this payloader has held up a building that had suffered the ravages of a December 2021 tornado in Hartland, Minnesota. The payloader will soon be able to rest after the building comes down.

This lovely mural depicting Hartland’s past will be demolished along with the building it’s painted upon.

It’s called a kaleidoscope

Are snakes lacking ambition?

Naturally  


 I clung tenaciously to an agreeable day of incredible insect diversity. I noticed no wasp (hornet) looked cuddly and cabbage white butterflies weren’t everywhere, but they were trying. I looked up to check for winged ants. Cornfield and field ants swarm on late summer afternoons. Carpenter ants swarm in the spring.
 Thistle seeds blew in the wind. The striking orange and black painted lady is one of the most common butterfly species in the world and is called the thistle butterfly. It migrates to warmer climates in winter. Goldenrod bloomed and isn’t the bad guy when it comes to causing hay fever. Sunflowers and compass plants followed the sun. Chokecherries provided astringent fruit. Sumac turned red and wild cucumber bloomed. Crabgrass, an annual that gets its name from its stems that spread outward and resemble the legs of a crab, showed a dark-reddish stain.
 There are a lot of soybean aphids in the farmers’ fields of dreams, so there might be an influx of multi-colored Asian lady beetles this year. The aphids were accidentally introduced to the U.S. in the late 1990s. Its rapid spread was boosted by a nonnative plant, buckthorn, which was brought here as a nursery plant. Soybean aphids lay eggs in the fall on buckthorn. Several insects prey upon soybean aphid populations. These include the lady beetles and minute pirate bugs (often called no-see-ums). The multi-colored lady beetle is the nonnative ladybug that swarms into our houses in the fall.
 Japanese beetles feed on over 350 species of plants, eating flowers and fruits, but they commonly chew around the veins of the leaves, skeletonizing them. They prefer foliage in full sun and love wild grapevines.


Q&A


 “Why aren’t there any snakes in Alaska?” No ambition. There have been occasional reports of garter snakes in the panhandle. 
 “One of my hens laid a double-yolk egg. Could it hatch?” It’s possible to hatch two chicks from the same egg if it contains two yolks. However, the chance of this happening is extremely rare because only one embryo develops in most cases. One might survive and it could have physical challenges.
 “Do barred owls and great horned owls coexist?” Great horned owls kill and eat barred owls they find in a great horned’s territory. Great horns are remarkable creatures that begin nesting in January or February, using the nests of hawks, crows or squirrels, small caves, cliff ledges, hollow trees, bridges and buildings. Owlets move out onto branches near the nest at 6 weeks of age and don't fly well until 10-12 weeks old. Female owls lay 1 to 5 eggs, which hatch in 30 to 37 days. Barred owls begin nesting in March. They nest in hollow trees, abandoned nests or nest boxes. The female lays 1 to 5 eggs, which hatch in 28 to 33 days. Young leave the nest 4 to 5 weeks after hatching. Barred owls have dark eyes; all other Minnesota owls have yellow eyes.  
 “How can I discourage boxelder bugs from congregating on my house?” This native insect feeds on boxelder, maple and ash trees. They love the warm sun on buildings with southern and western exposure. Adult boxelder bugs can fly several blocks and may travel as far as two miles. A simple solution is to add Dawn liquid dishwashing soap to a spray bottle full of water and shake gently to combine. Spray directly on the bugs and it will kill them. 
 “How many species of mosquitoes are there in Minnesota?” There are 51 species in the state. Spring species produce one generation of mosquitoes a year, and the adults can live 3 to 4 months. They lay eggs in the summer and those eggs need to freeze before they can hatch. Summer species can have multiple generations per year, each usually living only a few weeks. I’ve heard no neighbor complain  this year, “The mosquitoes are the worst I can remember.” I haven’t even thought about putting an electric fan on the deck to keep the weak-flying skeeters at bay. It’s only fair that mosquitoes bite me. I’ve eaten enough of them while bicycling, running or seated behind the wheel of a cabless tractor.
 “What is a group of butterflies called?” It’s called a kaleidoscope, flutter, swarm or rabble.
 “When do kestrels migrate?” The American kestrel peak migration is late August—early October. The name kestrel is likely derived from the Old French word crecelle, meaning "rattle," which refers to the sound of its cry.


Thanks for stopping by


 “Because the heart beats under a covering of hair, of fur, feathers, or wings, it is, for that reason, to be of no account?”—Jean Paul Richter.
 “Use the talents you possess, for the woods would be a very silent place if no birds sang except the best.”—Henry Van Dyke.
 Do good.

©️Al Batt 2023

Chicory grows in open and disturbed areas like fields, roadsides and railways, and blooms July—October. The flowers open with the sun and close by noon on sunny, bright days and open later in the morning or remain open most of the day during cloudy weather. Its roasted roots are used as a coffee substitute. It’s called blue daisy and blue dandelion, but more often blue sailors, from a legend of a beautiful girl falling in love with a sailor who left her for the sea. She waited alongside a road for his return. The gods took pity on her and turned her into chicory. Sailor blue blossoms still haunt roadsides waiting for the man’s return. Photo by Al Batt.              

Look for GAS—Goldenrod, Aster, Sunflower

Naturally


 Hummingbirds thrill me. They are aggressive jewels. The hairs on my arms tell me it’s a cool sighting each time I catch a glimpse of one. I watched them from my office window and marveled at their maneuverability. The presence of a single hummingbird makes any scenery stunning.
 I walk late at night after work in order to escape the heat of the day. Our summer heat is gentle when compared to elsewhere, but it’s enough for me. I listened to the descending whinny and an even-pitched trill of the eastern screech-owl as I watched a beetle under the yard light. A beetle has wing covers (elytra), which usually make a straight line down its back. One of my favorites is a tiger beetle that chases down its prey. The ones in my yard are fast, but not as fast as the Australian tiger beetle, which travels at 5.6 mph.
 Skunks root around with their noses in the soil and dig small funnel-shaped holes in the ground. Raccoons use their paws like hands, digging, lifting and tearing off chunks of sod and flipping them over to hunt for grubs. It’s as if they are working on a sod farm.
 On the road, I look for GAS on every drive—Goldenrod, Aster, Sunflower. Roads change habitats. Roadkill provides food for crows, vultures, raptors and coyotes. The ditches preserve prairie ecosystems from the plow and development.
 It was boy meets squirrel. A thirteen-lined ground squirrel scurried across the road. Colloquially known as a striped gopher or squinny (less frequently as liner, streaker or grinner), it spends more of the year asleep than awake. Adults enter hibernation in August or September and don’t emerge until April. Females may remain awake longer than males and the young of the year longer than the adults. The thirteen-lined ground squirrel, true to its name, has a series of lines running down its back. It’s a prairie species that has adapted well to roadsides, pastures, hayfields, ditches and golf courses. During the summer, they’re commonly seen on roadsides. The University of Minnesota teams are nicknamed the Golden Gophers. The mascot looks like a chipmunk but is likely a ground squirrel and not a gopher. It has stripes. Maybe the coaches would have enhanced recruiting success if young athletes could play for the Golden Ground Squirrels. Or maybe not.


Q&A


 “Can I see the chiggers that bite me?” Chiggers are microscopic and almost impossible to see with the naked eye. At around 1/50th of an inch in size, most people need a magnifying glass or microscope to spot them. The mites resemble tiny, red spiders. Mosquito repellents don’t work on them. By the time you have a reaction, the chigger is gone.
 “What do fireflies eat?” Firefly larvae eat snails, worms, slugs and other insect larvae, which they inject with a numbing chemical meant to disable. Adults eat other fireflies, nectar or pollen, although some don't eat at all. 
 “Why are insects attracted to lights? Insects are drawn to bright lights because 
the lights confuse an insect’s navigational system, just as traffic lights confuse the navigational systems of humans. Many insects are phototactic, which means they experience movement toward or away in response to light. A popular theory says positively phototactic insects move toward lights because the lights act as guides. Many insects find their way by keeping a natural light source, such as the sun or moon, in their sights. They might mistake an artificial light for a celestial object. Insects swarming around porch lights are positively phototactic, attracted to the light. In contrast, insects like cockroaches are negatively phototactic and scuttle away when a light is turned on. Another hypothesis proposes insects use lights as an escape route. If a predator were to frighten a resting insect, it would fly toward the moon where the predator couldn’t reach it. Bug zappers attract a lot of phototactic insects, but few are mosquitoes. While mosquitoes are attracted to light, they are more drawn to food sources like you. 
 “Why do phoebes wag their tails?” A study found tail pumping informs predators that the phoebe is aware of them. Other birds dip, wag, teeter, bob or pump tails: palm warblers, pipits, wagtails, spotted sandpipers, waterthrush, hermit thrushes,  American kestrels and others. Why do they call attention to their south ends? Threat awareness as the phoebe does, to startle prey into motion, to maintain balance and reasons unknown.
 “Why are they called rough fish?” The term "rough fish" apparently dates back to commercial riverboat fishing in the 1800s. Sluggish, overweight boats lightened their loads when required by "rough-dressing"—removing the organs but not fileting less desirable species and discarding them.


Thanks for stopping by


  “Sunset is still my favorite color, and rainbow is second.”—Mattie Stepanek.
  “Blessed are they who see beautiful things in humble places where other people see nothing.”—Camille Pissarro.
 Do good.

©️Al Batt 2023

The aggressive eastern kingbird (Tyrannus tyrannus) is known for its habit of chasing potential predators and brood parasites, which it detects from its prominent perch. It uses exposed perches to watch for flying insects which it sallies forth to snap up. An eastern kingbird is a flycatcher. The collective noun for flycatchers is an outfield, swatting, zapper or zipper. Photo by Al Batt.

What has cucumber-like spiny pods?


Nature by the yard


 I use a heated dog dish as a birdbath. It thinks it’s a birdbath and I don’t have the heart to tell it otherwise. It works great even when its heater is on a summer vacation. That tiny body of water has brought me much pleasure. An orchard oriole spent time in the dish, splashing with a gusto nearly matching that of a Baltimore oriole. Then at dusk, an eastern screech-owl visited the pool. The tiny owls regularly use birdbaths for drinking and bathing. So many creatures use that birdbath, it wouldn’t surprise me if one of those ancient U.S. Navy frogmen that were available as toys in boxes of Kellogg's Corn Flakes and Kellogg's Frosted Flakes showed up. Little me put high-pressure propellant (baking powder) in a frogman’s foot and he went diving. A miniature frogman might be too much to hope for, but you never know what you’ll see when you watch birds.


Naturally


 Lots of pelicans mean lots of bullheads in the lake. Lightning bugs or fireflies are neither bugs nor flies. They are beetles. Look for meadowhawk dragonflies to become common. On a warm August evening, common nighthawks fly graceful loops in the skies over the fairgrounds where I toiled. Their sharp, electric “beans” let me know they were chasing insects. Adult male hummingbirds and rose-breasted grosbeaks will soon scram, and robins will form flocks.


What’s that sound?


 Bird songs have quieted, but insects call loudly to be heard. It’s usually the male that calls and the intensity increases at dusk and continues through the night. They aren’t using their voices, they use stridulation, the act of producing sound by rubbing two body parts together. The most well-known insects that stridulate are crickets. The snowy tree cricket, which is pale in color, inhabits woodland edges, bushes, small trees and vines. Often called the “temperature cricket” because it’s possible to tell the temperature by adding 40 to the number of chirps heard in 13 seconds. Nathaniel Hawthorne described its song as an "audible stillness" and declared, "If moonlight could be heard, it would sound just like that." Producers of movies and TV shows frequently dub its song onto soundtracks to signal that the action is taking place on a quiet summer's night in a rural or suburban setting. 
 The field cricket is a common household insect. This accidental invader is a large, shiny black cricket. It produces its chirping by rubbing its wings together to create the quintessential cricket song.
 Katydids, resembling muscular green grasshoppers, call ch-ch…ch-ch-ch…ch-ch-ch. This is likened to the words ka-ty-did or ka-ty-didn’t. 
 A gray treefrog hunted on my office window on a warm night. The light attracted insects and that attracted the green predator (they come in various colors). I’ve been hearing their calls—territorial, I suspect.
Blooming but not idiots
 Wild cucumber is a native, annual vine with hand-sized, star-shaped leaves. In early to mid-August, conspicuous small white to yellowish-green flowers grow. It’s noticeable along roadsides, forest edges, hedgerows and fences. The fruit is a small, cucumber-like spiny pod. Common burdock blooms. Tall woody perennials called meadowsweet bloom in white. Many yellow flowers can be seen now: black-eyed susans, yellow sweet clover, various species of sunflowers, common mullein, birds-foot trefoil, evening primrose and sow thistle. Expect to see goldenrod and asters blooming soon.


Q&A


 “How many generations of monarch butterflies are there in Minnesota?” It takes monarchs approximately one month to go from egg to adult butterfly and there are usually four generations emerging throughout the year, three of which could be in Minnesota. The first three generations have lifespans of 2-6 weeks, with the fourth generation living 6-9 months and migrating (beginning in mid-August) to Mexico.
 “How many cicadas can a cicada killer paralyze?” In a good year, the female wasp may create and fill more than a dozen nesting chambers, and may hunt and kill over 30 cicadas.
 “Do you think the ivory-billed woodpecker still lives?” I don’t know. I hope so. It’s difficult to prove something doesn’t exist—take Bigfoot, for example.
 “When do pheasants begin incubating eggs?” It generally occurs from April 1 through August 1, with an average hatch date of mid-June.
 “Why so few mosquitoes this year?” Dry weather makes for less standing water for the skeeters to use for reproduction.


Thanks for stopping by


 “Away, away, from men and towns, To the wild wood and the downs, — To the silent wilderness, Where the soul need not repress its music.”—Percy Bysshe Shelley.
 “May the sun bring you new energy by day, may the moon softly restore you by night, may the rain wash away your worries, may the breeze blow new strength into your being, may you walk gently through the world and know its beauty all the days of your life.”―Apache blessing.
 Do good.

©️Al Batt 2023

What is a herd of goats doing at St. Aidan Cemetery? Eating. Goats are browsers, not grazers, so they won’t mow your lawn, but 40 goats per acre will in a week’s time clear it of buckthorn, poison ivy, thistle, wild parsnip, ragweed, red cedar, garlic mustard and other brush and weeds. Photo by Al Batt. 

A hummingbird is a deadbeat dad



Naturally


 Barn, bank, cliff and tree swallows are aptly named. Barn swallows nest in buildings. Thomas Jefferson called them American swallows. The barn swallow is the national bird of Austria and Estonia. In many cultures, a barn swallow nest in a barn or on a house is considered good luck. A Native American legend tells of a barn swallow that dared to steal fire from the gods and give it to man. In anger, the gods shot flaming arrows at the bird. One hit the swallow in the tail, burning away the central tail feathers. Since that day, the barn swallow has had what we consider a swallowtail. Cliff swallows nest on natural cliffs and manmade structures, such as bridges, culverts and sides of buildings. Bank swallows nest in financial institutions. Not really. They prefer exposed vertical sandbanks and bluffs. Tree swallows nest in dead trees, woodpecker holes and nest boxes. The name “swallow” is likely derived from the old English “swell,” meaning to swirl, a reference to the bird’s swooping flight, or from the old Norse “swala,” meaning a cleft stick, referring to its tail.


The Eagle Lady


 I was thinning files when I came across a nice note from Doris Mager. I met Doris years ago. In 1979, she perched among the branches of a gangly pine for a week in a sturdy, inactive bald eagle nest 50 feet off the ground in Florida. Doris didn’t do this because no hotel rooms were available. She did it to call attention to the plight of the bald eagle, as a fundraiser and because she’d always wanted to sleep overnight in a nest. She’d devoted the previous 17 years of her life to rescuing and rehabilitating raptors. The Eagle Lady raised the funds needed to complete the construction of the Audubon Center for Birds of Prey. 


Q&A


 Ken Nelson of Clarks Grove asked when Baltimore orioles leave. As Baltimore oriole babies become independent, parents molt body and flight feathers, and some migrate in July. Migration for Baltimore orioles peaks in August and September. 
 “When do I hear cicadas in Minnesota?” We hear the sound of a distant buzz saw of the dog-day cicada in early July and it continues into September. Folklore says when you hear the first song of a dog-day cicada, frost is six weeks away.
 “Do rootworms come at the time we first see fireflies?” It’s a common belief that the presence of fireflies in the evening is a signal that corn rootworm eggs might be hatching. The presence of lightning bugs doesn’t always mean that egg hatch is occurring.
 “Does a male hummingbird help the female with nestlings?” Hummingbird moms are single mothers. Male hummingbirds provide no care to their offspring. They’re deadbeat dads. A father hummingbird is a faux pa. The female uses moss,  lichens, grass and spider webs to build a nest in which she lays two tiny eggs.
 “How does weather impact pheasants?” Hen health is of the utmost importance for a robust population. Egg laying, nesting, re-nesting and brood-rearing are taxing on hens. A mild winter allows hens to begin the spring reproduction season in top shape. The average clutch is 12 eggs. If a hen loses her nest due to cold weather, predation, haying or flooding, she’ll re-nest up to two times. A second effort averages eight eggs in a clutch, while a third re-nesting produces four to six eggs. Photoperiod is the primary factor, but temperature also affects when pheasants nest. An early spring could accelerate the pheasant nesting season by a few days. If the weather in April, May and June is warm and dry, hens have a good chance of pulling off successful first nests. Spring rain and cold weather affect chick survival, as they can't control their temperature until three weeks old. Pheasants have an annual survival rate of 50%, even lower in areas with inadequate habitat during a severe winter. Half the chicks don’t survive until fall due to predation or mortality from farm machinery and automobiles. By 17 or 18 weeks of age, chicks resemble adults in plumage. The winter wind that creates biting wind chills can be a blessing, as it blows farm fields free of snow and uncovers food. Hot dry summers can impede insect production, depriving chicks of the protein they need early in life. Drought conditions stunt vegetation growth, reduce the amount of cover and leave pheasants vulnerable to winter storms. Precipitation is essential, but too much or the wrong time can be the difference between a great and poor pheasant reproduction year.


Thanks for stopping by


 “No matter how deeply you come to know a place, you can keep coming back to know it more.”—Rebecca Solnit. 
 “The best part of the journey is the surprise and wonder along the way.”—Ken Poirot.

 Do good.

 

©Al Batt 2023

This eastern wood-peewee is a flycatcher with whitish wing bars and usually a pointy crest at the back of its crown. It whistles PEE-a-WEE and a down-slurred PEE-yer throughout the day. The similar eastern phoebe has a rounded head, indistinct wing bars, bobs its tail and calls its name with an insistent raspy “phoebe.” A pewee's bill has a yellowish-orange lower mandible and a blackish upper mandible, whereas the phoebe's bill is all dark. Photo by Al Batt.

We have received a welcomed rain.

Another day at the county fair with this humble correspondent

People were tasked with a mission improbable. They were given a bucket of junk and asked to make art. And did they ever!

Fair fare.

Awww…baby chicks.

The red and white stripes of the barber pole originated from a practice known as bloodletting. This practice involved drawing blood from a patient to treat an ailment. The red and white stripes represented blood and bandages, while the barber pole symbolizes the instrument people gripped onto during the procedure. Many barber poles have a blue stripe, which is likely a display of patriotism (the colors of the American flag).

From the Freeborn County Fair in Albert Lea, Minnesota

This unpretentious little barn has the capability of unleashing one of the most powerful forces for good known to man…the maple nut ice cream cone. Freeborn County Fair in Albert Lea, Minnesota.

A Bruno’s Corn Dog is a traditional; fair fare for me.

Ole and Lena are famous in Minnesota because of the endless supply of Ole and Lena jokes. This Ole and Lena are not those people and their onion rings and cheese curds are no joke. They are delicious.

This world-class popcorn has been provided to fairgoers by three generations of popcorn makers. It’s mighty good and then some.

Security abounds at the Fair.

A lot of people might find this tool useful after they take a long hike around the fairgrounds on a hot day.

Some wit had turned the “H” in “WITH” backward.

I love this from the 4-H Building.

Are woodpeckers obsessed with knock-knock jokes?



Naturally


 I watched a ruby-throated hummingbird feeding. Pound for pound, a hummingbird isn’t. The miniature marvel weighs less than a #2 wooden pencil, a marshmallow or an AA battery. 
 After swallows finish nesting, they begin to gather in pre-migratory groups on utility wires in late July. They chatter excitedly about the gift of another day before starting a meeting without a single doughnut. It’s a migration planning session, covering the ins and outs of air travel, what to do in case of a hawk emergency and whether to eat dragonflies with wings on or wings off. The young stay with their parents during a diurnal migration undertaken by a flock. They leave here July-September so they can feed on flying insects with some swallows flying as far as Argentina. 


Nature by the yard


 There were two wild turkey hens with 15 poults in the yard. I see hens who have merged their families in the summer to raise and defend the poults. You who are members of a family or know someone who is a member of a family recognize that teamwork aids the survival of youngsters who can fly at 10 days of age. A hen will fake a broken wing to distract predators from her poults.
 I watched a Baltimore oriole father showing three of his fledglings how to come clean in the birdbath. Two of them took to taking a dip like ducks to water. The third one, not so much. Pa left with the two swimmers, but the one with the dry feathers stayed behind to find a snorkel. He watched as a blue jay and a robin took their turns landing on the perching stone and splashing around. The hesitant oriole made a half-dozen attempts before finally landing on the stone. The bird touched one foot to the water and frightened itself away. No spot on the medal podium for it. I’ll save my applause for another time. 


Bits and pieces on birding


 John Lillich told me he’d happened upon a man on an Ohio nature trail who would have been naked if it weren’t for the binoculars around his neck. The man introduced himself as a naked birder. 
 Never put sunglasses or binoculars on the roof of your car. Sooner or later, you will forget them. If you need to rest them somewhere, set them against the windshield.
 Are woodpeckers obsessed with knock-knock jokes?
 If you can see birds, you should look at them.
 Does a crow have cawer ID?
 The song sparrow lives up to its name by being a persistent singer. Its scientific name Melodia means "singing" in Greek.


Q&A


 “I know a chickadee and a killdeer call out their names. Do any other birds?” Humans gave birds names that were often imitations of their songs/calls, yet there isn’t a single bird species named chirp. Many suggest their names, some might require an imagination. Some of those birds are the phoebe, peewee, towhee, cuckoo, jay, bobwhite, kiskadee, willet, curlew, whip-poor-will, chuck-will’s-widow, hoopoe, kittiwake and chachalaca. Crow might be imitative of the bird's cry. A hummingbird should be on a list of birds with onomatopoetic names.
 “What’s an easy way to tell a raven from a crow?” First, check the range maps. The much larger common ravens can be distinguished from American crows by their massive bills; by their tails, which come to a V (like the V in raven) behind them; and by their croak compared to a crow’s caw.
 “Do monarch caterpillars use Indian hemp as a host plant?” Indian hemp is dogbane, the names referring to its supposed toxicity to dogs and its similarity to hemp. The perennial plant's strong fibers have made it prized for cordage and threads. Young dogbane plants are often mistaken for milkweed. Injured Dogbane oozes a white sticky sap with the consistency of latex paint. It’s native to Minnesota and was once thought to be a larval food for monarch butterflies, but research has shown that while female monarchs occasionally lay eggs on this species, their offspring will not mature on it. Dogbane grows 5 feet tall and blooms in white flowers in June-August. I enjoy seeing the iridescent, dogbane beetles on dogbane. The gold, blue, green, yellow and red insects are stunners.
 “What are the tallest ferns?” It could be Fern Johnson. She used to be 6-2, but she might have shrunk with age. I don’t know another tall Fern, so you must be talking about plants. The ostrich fern grows up to 5 feet tall and the interrupted fern up to 4 feet.


Thanks for stopping by


 “No matter how deeply you come to know a place, you can keep coming back to know it more.”—Rebecca Solnit. 
 “The best part of the journey is the surprise and wonder along the way.”—Ken Poirot.
 Do good.

©️Al Batt 2023

The small, slender and long-tailed chipping sparrow is a beauty. Edward Forbush, a 19th-century ornithologist, called the dainty chippie “the little brown-capped pensioner of the dooryard and lawn, that comes about farmhouse doors to glean crumbs shaken from the tablecloth by thrifty housewives.” Its song is a rapid, mechanical-sounding trill. The chippie is nicknamed the “hair bird” because of its habit of lining nests with horse hair from deer, cows, horses and other mammals. Photo by Al Batt.

A skunk enjoyed a feast of mulberries. It didn’t raise a stink about the service.

A bee hotel.

A Double-crested Cormorant’s wings become waterlogged and it must wash and dry.

Mallards look for shade on a blistering, hot day.

I was listening for “Turkey in the Straw,” but found poults in the grass. Wild turkeys.

Long-horned bee.

It’s orange.

The strikingly handsome red-headed woodpeckers weren’t in numbers high enough to cause anyone to consider a hunting season



THEY’RE CHIRPER BY THE DOZEN

Naturally


 I walked after dark. I walked after light, too. The yard bombilates day and night—the insects make a humming or buzzing noise. Not everything comes to those who wait, but mosquitoes do. I enjoy the finer things in life—fireflies, shining stars come to Earth to keep us company.
 Earlier, a sliver of blue as intense as a summer sky zoomed by—a blue jay off on its daily errands. It made me feel like a star witness. I employ a lot of bird feeders because they’re chirper by the dozen.
 House wrens sang a hymn to a summer day. Their songs came from everywhere and from nowhere. Other voices joined—robin, common yellowthroat, American redstart, red-eyed vireo, indigo bunting and goldfinch. A catbird practiced his repertoire. Fledged chickadees and their tuckered parents are a treat to watch and listen to.
 For 30+ years of Junes, I’ve done a Breeding Bird Survey (BBS) covering parts of Mower, Freeborn and Steele Counties. I hope for a calm day, but some years the wind makes the tall grass dance the hula. A BBS is a frolicking foray away from life’s accustomed roads and a practice in mindfulness. I start at 5:02 a.m. and make 50 stops for 3 minutes each and tally every bird I see or hear. Like most things in life, it’s important to listen. Each year, the red-winged blackbird has been the bird I’ve counted most often. A BBS never fails to thrill and surprise. I heard a willow flycatcher call “Ah-choo.” Sandhill cranes appeared as usual, but trumpeter swans did not. I see one chimney swift each year—just one. The strikingly handsome red-headed woodpeckers weren’t in numbers high enough to cause anyone to consider a hunting season, but I saw a bunch. The collective noun for woodpeckers is a descent. I see a descent of flickers in my yard each year, but the red-headed woodpeckers were cleverly spaced for my constant amazement. I love a BBS—it keeps my 3-minute egg timer employed. 
 Japanese beetles are beautiful botherations that feed on over 300 plant species. I’ve read that starlings are prime predators of adult beetles. Garter snakes and grackles were mentioned. Japanese beetle white grubs feed on the roots of lawn grasses from June through the fall and skunks and raccoons tear up a lawn in pursuit of the grubs (crows eat any grub they find in those excavations) and chickens have plucked a few adults, but what else eats adult beetles?


Q&A


 “Did the chipmunk get its name from its call?” Possibly. It's believed that the English word "chipmunk" was derived from "chetamnon," the name given to the animal by peoples of the Chippewa nation or from the Ojibwe word ajidamoo, which translates as "one who descends trees headlong." 
 “How can I make a puddling station for butterflies?” Fill a shallow clay or plastic bowl or saucer with sand. Mixing in a handful of compost adds more important nutrients. Add a few flat rocks to provide perches. Pour enough water into the container to moisten the sand. You might make it more attractive by adding overripe fruit like bananas and oranges. It could attract raccoons.
 “I saw a squirrel lying on a branch in the shade with its legs splayed. What’s going on there?” This thermal regulatory behavior is called "splooting." An animal finds a cool surface and lies down on its stomach with legs spread to cool off. By putting as much of its core body on a cool space, the heat is transferred from its body to that surface. You'll see squirrels on a shady sidewalk, trail, branch or grass. The term sploot might derive from the word splat because of the splat-like (flat, spread-out) appearance of a sploot pose. Dogs and cats sploot, too. Splooting allows pets to cool themselves by pressing their belly onto the ground or against tile floors.
 “Do purple martins eat 2000 mosquitoes a day?” Martins feed at 150-500 feet, which is higher than where mosquitos live. They eat a few mosquitoes, but not thousands. Purple martins forage during the day, while mosquitoes are most active during the evening. There isn’t much overlap in their schedules. Martins eat beetles, dragonflies, damselflies, cicadas, grasshoppers, katydids, moths, butterflies, wasps, stink bugs, mayflies, bees, midges, horseflies, termites, red fire ants and other insects.
 “What is a mnemonic for a meadowlark?” A mnemonic is a sequence of words to help us remember something. The eastern meadowlark’s is, “I-DO-love-you spring-of-the-year.” The western meadowlark’s is, “Hip! hip! Hurrah, boys! Three cheers!”


Thanks for stopping by


 “It’s amazing how lovely common things become, if one only knows how to look at them.”—Louisa May Alcott.
 “Stop. Look. Listen. You are surrounded by countless little blessings but you’ll miss them if you don’t pay attention.”—Ruth McPherson. 
 Do good.

©️Al Batt 2023

Some might consider it an LBJ—a “Little Brown Job,” but the song sparrow is a subtle array of browns that vary in appearance. It pumps its tail in flight and its serenading song is  a “sweet, sweet, sweet” followed by shorter notes and a trill. Photo by Al Batt.