Gardening with Binoculars

The Not-So-Common Common Ground Dove of Weldon Spring CBC

2012-02-11T09:01:00.001-06:00

Truman was President, Muddy Waters sang "Rollin' Stone," Lefty Frizzell sang "If You've Got the Money," "Sunset Boulevard" took the Golden Globe, and the Webster Groves Nature Study Society counted birds in the cold December winds at Busch Wildlife Conservation Area near Weldon Spring, Missouri, Dec. 29, 1950. Every year since then, Webster Groves Nature Study Society, better known

Breakfast with Mrs. Claus

2011-12-25T08:56:00.001-06:00

Everybody loves breakfast at a diner, so no one is surprised when Mrs. Claus drops in with a basket of candy canes to give away. It's Christmas Eve morning and the place is packed so my friend Debbie and I gladly share a booth with Mrs. Claus and her friend. She has an appointment to greet the passengers when the train arrives at the Kirkwood Station in an hour. After eggs sunny-side-up

Christmas Bird Counts on TV

2011-12-21T18:34:00.002-06:00

I had a chance to talk about Christmas Bird Counts on local TV today. Dan Zarlenga, of Missouri Department of Conservation, set up the interview with John Fuller of KPLR-TV Channel 11 in Saint Louis MO. I had a blast! The broadcasters and staff could not have been nicer. I hope it will motivate a few more people to volunteer their time with Christmas Bird Counts. More posts about Christmas Bird

The Very Very Late Ruby-throat

2011-11-20T12:18:00.001-06:00

I I strolled around the turrets of Hogwarts Castle, enjoying the sweeping views of tropical foliage. From the ravine below, a hummingbird came into view. It was large--something along the lines of a Violet Sabrewing. I reached out and held the bird. It seemed to be in some kind of transitional plumage: purple, mixed with buff and green. Then I was startled by sounds of an uproar coming from

We Love Squirrels

2011-10-16T20:33:00.001-05:00

I knew that all St. Louisans were bird watchers--specifically, Redbird watchers, but who knew they were squirrel watchers too? The yard art pictured above was created by one of my neighbors. It features "The Rally Squirrel" warming up before the big game. For those of you who are not from 'round here, or for those Americans who live under a rock, I have embedded video of the Rally Squirrel's

Nighthawks

2011-10-02T14:48:00.000-05:00

We could call it a "kettle," if they were hawks--a pretty good description of a flock where the individuals seems to boil from the top to the bottom over and over again. In that sense, I watched a kettle of Common Nighthawks over the dog park on September 20. I estimated at least 60 in the flock, but it could easily have been twice that. The kettle gradually moved west, the birds whirling and

Back to the Blogosphere

2011-09-30T21:03:00.003-05:00

It's been almost 4 weeks since my last post, so a few words of explanation might be in order. It's been perfect storm of obstacles to getting online: minor accidents that befell a family member (everyone's OK now), a snafu that left me without phone or internet service for a week, deadlines at work, a reunion, and living with amazingly energetic puppy. Blogging is sort of like taking an online

Last Kite of the Season

2011-09-04T18:20:00.001-05:00

Mississippi Kite's keystone-shaped tail shows in this silhouette composite photo by George Thomas I may have seen my last Mississippi Kite of the year yesterday. My puppy Chunk and I visited Emmenegger Nature Park, climbing the trail along the bluffs above the Meramec River and paused at one of the glades. Chunk investigated the scents along and under the limestone rocks. I scanned the wide

High Praise from a Prairie Vole

2011-08-28T11:39:00.001-05:00

When Chunk and I take our walk through the neighborhoods and down to the park, I sometimes keep count of the number of species we see: 12-22 birds (depending on how long the walk; highest number in spring), and usually only 2 mammals— Eastern Gray Squirrel (always), and either Eastern Cottontail or Eastern Chipmunk. Chunk is more of a mammal-watcher than a bird-watcher and recently he's been

A Bird Bath for Hummingbirds

2011-08-21T09:58:00.002-05:00

Anna's Hummingbird photo by randomtruth On a particularly anxious day some years ago, I glanced out the kitchen window, looking at the viburnum leaves, covered with with rain drops. Movement caught my eye—a hummingbird, diving chest first into the droplets, flailing her wings and splashing around in the microliters of water on the leaf. Because I'm a human and humans always look for

Juice from a Thousand Flowers

2011-08-13T14:39:00.004-05:00

So many hummers! This is my goal! Thanks to Teddy Llovet for the photo. If you want to attract hummingbirds to your yard, keep in mind that hummers may need up to 1,000 blooms a day. As I mentioned in my previous post, those of use who live in the city or suburbs are going to need nectar feeders! How do I go about filling my hummingbird feeders? Well, I'm glad you asked: 2 cups hot tap water

A Rabble of Ruby-throats?

2011-08-09T10:59:00.003-05:00

I love my hummingbird plants, but when I read that hummers may need up to 1,000 blooms a day, I knew I was going to need feeders! A little more investigation into hummingbird calorie requirements at Hummingbirds.net is really instructive—and a bit overwhelming for a gardener. I recently came across the blog of Susan and Richard Day, Daybreak Blog. Susan is one of the authors of a favorite

Emma Peel as a Butterfly

2011-08-06T15:56:00.002-05:00

Tiger Swallowtails are more beautiful, but when I spot a small, dark butterfly, I run for the camera! Small, dark butterflies include some of the most challenging identifications in our area, including the duskywings. Jeffrey Glassberg, in Butterflies Through Binoculars; The East, has the best quotation for this family in the spread-wing skipper butterfly group. He references a mysterious,

How to Keep Cool; Another Guest Post by Chunk

2011-08-04T14:41:00.001-05:00

That's what I'm talkin' about! You might also enjoy: New Helper in the Garden

What is she doing?

2011-08-03T14:49:00.001-05:00

As my garden renovation proceeds, I removed a Sweet Autumn Clematis (Clematis terniflora) from one of my witch hazel trees. Nasty work in this heat, but I'm finally getting serious about removing the invasive alien plants in my yard. Sweet Autumn Clematis has just about engulfed the Sugar Creek area of Kirkwood, Missouri, but I think I'll make that the subject of a later post. Just as I

Color Variation in a Butterfly

2011-07-31T06:11:00.001-05:00

I snapped this pic while talking with my neighbor because the butterfly was close and appeared to be different. When I uploaded it to my computer, I found that this female Pipevine Swallowtail (Battus philenor) was laying eggs, and was indeed different. Seen from below, as in the photo, she has a tan area of her hindwing which would normally be black. The forewing appears to have a tan area

When Animals Attack— Plastic

2011-07-28T07:18:00.000-05:00

Ever wonder if those plastic owls that are supposed to scare birds away from buildings actually work? Chunk and I saw a test of this Batesian mimicry strategy on an evening walk this week. The Cooper's Hawk on the fence (just left of the small tree in the photo) screams at the plastic owl, attached to the fence near the gate (right of the tree). The apathetic owl does not respond. The hawk

New Helper in the Garden; A Guest Post by Chunk

2011-07-24T14:40:00.024-05:00

It's a good thing I came along, because Anne really needs help in this garden. Case in point… She put some wonderful, smelly fruit in the compost pile. I had to get it out. Then I ate it. Ahh! It's nice to cool down after working in the sun. She doesn't know much about her pond. These things are delicious! So are the stems. But my BFF Lily and I ate most of them.

Royal Catchfly catches a Butterfly

2011-07-18T16:58:00.003-05:00

It's not always easy to get advice on growing a native plant species. Since I'm crazy about hummingbirds, I searched for Missouri natives that specialize in hummingbirds for pollination. Royal Catchfly (Silene regia) is one of the most spectacular. I wrote about its spring-blooming cousin, Fire Pink (Silene virginica) in May this year, but Royal Catchfly is taller and blooms for a longer time

Fruits of Summer

2011-07-12T17:18:00.002-05:00

Indian Cherry, Rhamnus caroliniana, is a shrub or small tree of dry, rocky glades, but it's also found near streams. It has a patchy distribution, show in the US Geological Survey map below. In Missouri, it's found south of the Missouri River, mostly in the Ozarks. Range of Indian Cherry, USGS The photo above was taken just a week ago. Now some of the fruit is beginning to turn red. The "

I Got Paw Paws!

2011-07-10T15:57:00.001-05:00

I've been watching the pawpaw tree (Asimina triloba) for fruit pretty carefully—and hey! I got pawpaws! I didn't really expect to get fruit because this tree is "self-incompatible," meaning that the pollen of one flower cannot fertilize the ovary of another bloom on the same tree. In order to produce the fruit I've been waiting for, the bloom needs pollen from another unrelated pawpaw. Now I

Bringing Conservation Home

2011-07-03T12:18:00.002-05:00

It started with a great idea and a colossal winter creeper vine (Euonymus fortunei). Some time in the late 80s I started growing antique roses. Well, I saw this fabulous photo of a climbing rose called 'Seagull' romping through the tree tops in an English garden. I ordered it from specialty nursery in California. I planted it on the downhill (eastern) side of my huge silver maple in the front

Pa-RUM-pa-pum-pum

2011-06-23T23:15:00.001-05:00

Through May and early June I occasionally heard a rapid, metallic drumming—almost a trill. "I'll bet a woodpecker is drumming on someone's aluminum siding," I thought, but I could never find the bird. On Memorial Day weekend however, I heard the sound again—very close, but where? Caught in the act! See the little drummer bird, just beneath the metal cap on my chimney? It is believed that

A Photo for Father's Day

2011-06-19T13:03:00.002-05:00

This picture tells more than I can about my dad; his optimism and his love of people shine through. He grew up in the city during the 1930s, one of 7 children. Except during the war, when he was stationed in Hawaii, he never lived anywhere but St. Louis, and never wanted to. His dad was a city police officer. From the time he came back from the war till the day he retired, he worked for the

Tick Protected and Trendy

2011-06-18T13:49:00.003-05:00

Modeling the latest in tick protection. Stylin', ain't I? In June, 2008, my furry friend, Rosie, and I set out to do our breeding bird survey at Busch Memorial Conservation Area. It's the same territory I still visit and wrote about in my 2 most recent posts. Lake 22 always delivers. That day, an adult and juvenile Orchard Oriole showed off near their nest. I spotted a Hairy Woodpecker and no

Songs of Summer and Scarlet

2011-06-15T21:56:00.012-05:00

On June 11 and 12 I did more breeding bird surveys at Busch Memorial Conservation Area in St. Charles Co., Missouri, with my friend Kevin Renick. We didn't see the numbers of butterflies I mentioned in my previous post, but we saw and heard some great birds, including two not commonly seen: a Blue Grosbeak along the dam at Lake 37, and a brief view of a Blue-winged Warbler at the same spot.

Hits and Misses on the Breeding Bird Survey

2011-06-13T19:45:00.151-05:00

Wild Rose I got a chance to do a bird surveys this week at one of my favorite places, Busch Memorial Conservation Area, in St. Charles County, Missouri. Busch is a mixed use area, with many artificial lakes, stocked with fish, and some fields rented to farmers. It's also the area of a long-running Christmas Count. On Thursday, July 9, I birded with my cousin, Ginny. We started birding together

I Scream, You Scream…

2011-06-08T14:31:00.063-05:00

I scream, You scream, We all scream For ice cream! It was inevitable. If they can make tequila lollipops, complete with worm, some entrepreneur somewhere—in this case, Sparky's Ice Cream, in Columbia, Missouri—had to make Cicada ice cream. And why not? Missouri is right in the heart of the Brood XIX, which I wrote about in my most recent post. The story, first reported in Columbia's

The Sweet Gum Ball of the Insect World

2011-06-05T16:11:00.244-05:00

13-year cicada rests on Gum Plant (Grindelia lanceolata) AMcC I usually remember the details of the first time I saw a new bird species—where I was, what the weather was like, who I was with—but I don't usually recall the first time I observed a new insect. The cicada is the exception, and it's exceptional in so many ways. We had just moved to the west part of St. Louis County, and there were

Strong Bonds

2011-06-02T08:40:00.150-05:00

I've lived with a dog or cat or both almost every minute of my life. Certainly our ancestors of every culture lived with animals. Some considered them gods. Many cultures saw animals as sentient beings with their own languages and customs. In the photo above, doesn't Josey look as if she's about to make a clever remark? Archeologists have found evidence that dogs were kept as pets in a 14,000-

Shaw Nature Reserve

2011-05-25T19:21:00.110-05:00

If I were going to film The Lord of the Rings, I'd start at Shaw Nature Reserve, in Gray Summit, Missouri. For Lothlórien, the enchanted forest where forest elves live in fantastic tree houses, we'd take cameras down the Wildflower Trail. Oaks and hickories give way to pawpaws and ancient sycamores as the trail drops to the Meramec River. Prothonotary Warbler sings in the background. Whole

Pawpaws and Pollinators

2011-05-13T20:44:00.243-05:00

With large, tropical-looking leaves, and a dark, mysterious flower, the Pawpaw (Asimina triloba) is the kind of tree Tennessee Williams would have planted next to the magnolias, if he had been into gardening. The blooms look like a dark red bell hanging below the branch. The dark color makes them less than showy than a Flowering Dogwood, but attractive, especially when backlit by the afternoon

Fire Pink

2011-05-09T21:02:00.107-05:00

Besides having a stunning red flower, Fire Pink (Silene virginica) attracts hummingbirds, and I'm all about that! So I made a number of clumsy attempts to grow it in my garden and always failed, until last year. That's when I decided to get serious about imitating the habitat where I first found it: on a dry, rocky, west-facing hillside in Jefferson County, Missouri. A glade garden may seem an

Victoria Glades

2011-05-01T19:58:00.174-05:00

If I had to pick a favorite habitat, it would be glades. Open sky, tough plants, rocks that invite you to sit and look, that's what I'm talkin' about! To officially qualify as a glade, the area must have all or most of these characteristics: thin, rocky soils exposed bedrock steep slope facing south, west, or southwest dry, fast draining soils fire adapted plants scarcity of trees Spring is

Good Friday Tornado

2011-04-27T20:43:00.001-05:00

Last Friday evening, I met my friend Debbie for dinner. We met through Girl Scouts when we were kids, and have been friends ever since. Her little niece--almost 3 years old--was with her. We had just been seated on the patio when tornado sirens began to wail. My friend and I were working hard to ignore the warnings, along with all the other diners. Only our little friend mentioned the elephant in

Happy Earth Day, Horace!

2011-04-22T08:38:00.000-05:00

I was glad that Lisa, over at A Walk in our Garden, invited me to participate in the Earth Day Reading Project this week. Sponsored by Sage Butterfly's blog, the idea is to talk about 3 books that have inspired you to "live green." There are lots of books about nature that I love and I'll stretch the meaning of "living green" to include them, since for me a love of nature and taking steps to

Red Hot Sally Rides Again!

2011-04-19T21:11:00.000-05:00

Josey—my long-haired dachshund—and I stepped out the backyard at dusk this evening, just ahead of a huge storm. I bought a few salvias that were already in full bloom, and I wanted to be sure that the predicted hail didn't grind their bones to make its bread. I'm not really very fond of Salvia splendens and its varieties ('Red Hot Poker,' Red Hot Sally,' etc.) Actually, I probably would love it

Golden Currant and Friends

2011-04-17T11:16:00.000-05:00

Gardeners with small yards have to prioritize, especially if, like myself, you're a plant collector masquerading as a gardener. Here are some of the questions I ask about a plant before squeezing it in: Is this plant…native to my state? enticing to hummingbirds? inviting to fruit-eating birds? attractive to bees and other pollinators? found on Missouri glades? fragrant? easy to cultivate? not so

A Walk on the Wild Side

2011-04-10T16:21:00.000-05:00

Texas bobcat, photo by Matthew High And the winner is… Patricia Lichen's cat! Patricia commented on my previous post about sounds in the night that she wasn't sure what made the strange call but her cat seemed to! Her cat was justifiably upset because the call we heard before dawn in the woods of Bentsen State Park was a bobcat (Lynx rufus texensis). Reportedly, bobcats are fairly common in

Mysterious Sounds of the Night…

2011-04-05T22:41:00.000-05:00

Common Pauraque in Estero Llano Grande State Park, Hidalgo Co. Texas. Photo by David Marjamaa. Used by permission. Before dawn on March 16, we arrived at Bentsen-Rio Grande Valley State Park, outside of Mission, Texas. Our trip leader, Bill Rowe, had arranged for us to meet biologist and blogger Mary Gustafson at Bentsen to find the Common Pauraque. David Marjamaa, who took this great

Urban Birding, Texas Style

2011-03-29T20:37:00.000-05:00

Like puppies, wild parrots seem to make everyone smile. On a recent trip to south Texas, our trip leader, Bill, headed toward a couple of addresses in McAllen that offered some great urban birding. The first was in a residential neighborhood. A lady on her front porch began yelling to us as soon as our big van pulled up. I can certainly understand why homeowners would feel uncomfortable when

Snow Magnolias

2011-03-26T18:05:00.000-05:00

Once the temperatures reach the 80°s (F), as they did here on Monday, March 21, you sort of think you're entitled to spring. But Wednesday brought winds over 30 mph and the sweet gum balls fell like a hailstorm over the St. Louis area. Today, we have 4 inches of snow and counting. “If spring comes, can winter be far behind?”(Apologies to Shelley.) Photos by AMcC

For a Few Bags of Gumballs

2011-03-24T17:54:00.000-05:00

Into each life, some Sweet Gum balls must fall. AMcC Spray them gold if you must, but how many can you really use for decorations? Over at Nature in the Ozarks, Marvin has quite a list of nicknames for them, like "monkey ball" and "bommyknocker." Here is suburbia, we often use names that are, well, less polite. I'm talking, of course, about the dreaded, despised, despicable Sweet Gum ball. I

Always After Me Lucky Charms!

2011-03-16T06:00:00.002-05:00

Photo by stuant63 Everyone loves a wildlife webcam, and due the fact that tomorrow is a special day for anyone who likes parades, cabbage, funny hats, red hair and green beer, it's time for "Website Wednesday" to feature The Leprechaun Watch! This webcam fascinates my young students. Each year we include a brief view of the panorama webcam in our morning video announcements, and at least one

Spring Migration in St. Louis' Forest Park

2011-03-12T06:00:00.009-06:00

For 20 years, my friend Randy Korotev kept extensive notes on birds in Forest Park on the west edge of Saint Louis MO. His article, "Counting Warblers; A Timetable for the Spring Songbird Migration Through Saint Louis," with original data is available online or as a PDF. Click on "Bird and Birding Information," then "Timetable for Spring Migration." I decided to illustrate his data using

Hole in One!

2011-03-09T06:00:00.006-06:00

Whoopee! Rufous Hummingbird photo by Rick Leche If your yard has hummingbirds, you've got more action than Smokey and the Bandit! More mischief than a barrel full of cairn terriers! Hummingbirds tear around the feeders like Steve McQueen in a green Mustang fastback! That's why many of us are counting the days till the little winged hellions return. Which brings me to today's "Website

Slepen all the Nyght with Open Eye

2011-03-06T14:45:00.000-06:00

My 16-year-old dachshund needs help with the steps when it's time to go outside. I am usually focused on carrying her and avoiding a fall, but Sunday night I was startled with I noticed what looked like a dark ball tucked into the corner of my awning. Was it a mouse? A chipmunk? A tangled mass of sweet gum balls? Some horrible growth of fungus? Because of the dire predictions of storms crawling

GAP: Gap Analysis Program

2011-03-02T19:08:00.000-06:00

It's Website Wednesday again, but it's going to take me more than a week to study all the aspects of this site! GAP, or Gap Analysis Program is directed by the US Geological Survey. They coordinate with other agencies to create a database of information about the terrestrial and aquatic communities of plants and animals. This information is then mashed together and displayed on incredibly

The Phantom Forest

2011-02-27T21:33:00.000-06:00

The name is intriguing: The Phantom Forest Conservation Area. Is it a wooded area troubled with ghosts? Does it seem to be a forest, but when visited, it vanishes into thin air? I've been wanting to check it out since I first spotted the sign last spring, but road construction made it impossible to access, then school started, etc. Today I was nearby, and the temperature reached the low 60s.

Earliest of Trees

2011-02-23T06:45:00.001-06:00

Housman called the cherry, "The loveliest of trees." Well, the Silver Maple (Acer saccharinum) may not be the loveliest, but it is one of the earliest bloomers. According to Don Kurz' Trees of Missouri, it may bloom as early as January in our state! It prefers moist soil and is common along creeks and streams. It is a prolific seeder, and the "whirlibird" seeds (samaras) find their way into urban

The Crossley ID Guide

2011-02-20T12:03:00.000-06:00

Cape May Warbler in The Crossley ID Guide, p. 411 alongside Birds of America, plate 95 I got my copy of The Crossley ID Guide: Eastern Birds this week. Lots of well-known bloggers and experts have reviewed it as well, which I have linked to below. I'm not qualified to debate whether a the photo for the 1st-winter Glaucous-winged Gull is adequately differentiates it from the 1st-winter Thayer's

Charismatic Megafauna

2011-02-13T12:41:00.001-06:00

Black Bear photo by Ed Coyle Photography Since the confirmed sighting of a mountain lion in St. Louis County, I've been thinking a lot about charismatic megafauna—or big, scary carnivores—depending on how close the animal is. Mike, from Slugyard, commented that he had never seen a mountain lion, then added that unsettling thought that he was sure that a mountain lion had seen him. He reminded

Facebook, Bloggers and Revolution 2.0

2011-02-11T20:55:00.000-06:00

Revolution 2.0 photo by monasosh In the past week, my blog statistics tell me that I've picked up a few readers in Egypt, so I'm taking a brief detour from your usual backyard subject to recognize the events of this day. The story of this revolution and the way the people of Egypt used Facebook and other social media to help bring about change is truly amazing. In this photo, a young man

The Macaulay Library of Animal Sounds

2011-02-09T06:00:00.001-06:00

Sapsucker Woods, Cornell University photo by eflon We were just settling in for the night. We had already tested the hammocks to see how far you could swing someone before she'd land with a thump. Our scout leaders were tucked into a cabin, farther down the hill. We were on our own. Suddenly, we heard the most hair-raising sounds! We had no idea what creature it was, but there would be

Mountain Lion in Suburban St. Louis

2011-02-06T10:50:00.000-06:00

At 2:30 AM, January 12, deep in the heart of the suburbs, a camera clicked. Triggered by heat and motion, the infrared flash fired taking 2 digital photos per second. Seeing the images must have been a shock. Here in St. Louis County, the most populated county in Missouri, a mountain lion had stepped within 10 feet of the camera, leaving several glamour shots to tell the tale. Courtesy of

Thunder Sleet and Snow

2011-02-03T06:00:00.006-06:00

In the last 2 days, our area got hammered with 3 inches of sleet, accompanied by thunder, followed by freezing rain, then dusted with an inch or so of snow. A few minutes drive north, they got 12 inches of snow! Most businesses and schools are closed--even interstate highway 70 was closed till this morning. I try to keep the pond flowing a bit. The pump is hanging in there, but sometimes I pour

Website Wed: My Google Maps

2011-02-02T06:00:00.066-06:00

View Young Conservation Area in a larger map Google maps are already pretty good, why would I want to create my own map? Well, you might want to direct birders to the spot where you glimpsed a mysterious bird--was it a Snowy Owl or a partially-albino (leucistic) Barred Owl? Maybe you have a new location for the botany group to visit on their next field trip. There's a new location for the annual

CBC was a Chart Buster! Sort of…

2011-01-30T18:57:00.001-06:00

I’m expecting someone to tell me that there’s a glitch in my spreadsheet, because our grand total of species this year is a chart-busting 130! Wait! There is a glitch. The total is 71. I’m referring to the 60th annual Weldon Spring Christmas Bird Count on Sunday, January 2, 2011. A Christmas Bird Count (CBC) is a tally of the birds and number of species within a 15-mile diameter circle, in this

Cooper's Hawk in the Library

2011-01-26T06:01:00.001-06:00

This young Cooper's Hawk is jarringly out of place. Photo by m_barje After hearing the news stories that a juvenile Cooper's Hawk somehow got trapped in the main reading room of the Library of Congress, my mom and I had this conversation: Mom: Did you hear about the Cooper's Hawk that's in the Library of Congress? Me: Yes, I did. I hope they get it out soon. It can't last long in there.

Wild Hydrangea

2011-01-22T06:00:00.002-06:00

Wild Hydrangea holds on to the snow. AMcC Low on a north-facing hillside at Girl Scout camp in the Missouri Ozarks, a large shelf of limestone protruded from the hill. Along a shallow ravine, it broke up into white, pitted boulders--some the size of a refrigerator, some the size of a pickup truck. In the deep shade grew ferns, mosses, and a few wild hydrangeas (Hydrangea arborescens). The quiet

Website Wed: Illinois Wildflowers

2011-01-19T06:03:00.005-06:00

Missouri Evening Primrose is pollinated by Sphinx moths. AMcC I use lots of references for my blog posts; books of course, and websites. The websites have some advantages:I don't have to buy any bookshelves for them. They aren't heavy. They don't pile up on my desk. In most cases, they're free. One of my favorite reference websites, and the subject of this week's "Website Wednesday," is

In the Rooky Wood

2011-01-15T08:48:00.000-06:00

Great Horned Owl vs. Crow, photo by Jerry DeBoer It seems like everyone hate crows. Throughout much of the world, crows--ravens, carrion crows, jackdaws, rooks, choughs--fill the same niche as vultures. Garbage collectors are indispensable of course, but not celebrated. Associated with death and bad fortune in European folklore, crows have been an object of persecution. Then there's that voice

Heavens Above

2011-01-12T06:00:00.002-06:00

Northern Lights and Iridium Satellite flare light up the Alaskan sky-photo by Jason A A few years ago, as part of St. Louis Community Colleges “Master Naturalist” certificate program, I signed up for a short course on night sky viewing, sponsored by St. Louis Astronomical Society. Our instructor, Mike Malolepsky, took us out to the center of campus in the twilight to see an Iridium flare. He

Bird Encounters of the Christmas Count Kind

2011-01-08T09:21:00.001-06:00

Huge ice crystals mark the sand in Dardenne Creek AMcC We began our Christmas Bird Count by looking for the Red-headed Woodpecker, near what’s labeled as “Shorebird Area.” This low spot below the dam for Busch Conservation Area’s largest lake, Lake 33, is reliable for Red-headeds, a species that has declined 4.6% per year since 1980, according to National Audubon Society. They gave us quite a

Website Wednesday: The Owls of Harry Potter

2011-01-05T06:16:00.000-06:00

Laura Erickson and Archimedes share their love of birds and Harry Potter with children. Laura Erickson, seen here as “Professor McGonagowl,” is a well-known author of The Bird Watching Answer Book: Everything You Need to Know to Enjoy Birds in Your Backyard and Beyond, 2009, Sharing the Wonder of Birds with Kids, 2002, and For the Birds, An Uncommon Guide, 1993. Her web page, The Owls of

How to register for a Christmas Bird Count Online

2010-12-31T18:00:00.001-06:00

Registering online for a Christmas Bird count is easy!Go to National Audubon Society's page. Click "Christmas Bird count." Click on "Register for a count.Use your existing account, or get a free one.You will need to know the code for the count. For example, the Weldon Spring Count in Missouri is "MOWS." The Confluence Count in Missouri is "MOCF." You can find one near you here.Click "Sign up here

Website Wednesday: Views of the Ock

2010-12-29T21:44:00.000-06:00

View Otters 2010 in a larger map 40 years ago, Arthur C. Clarke predicted that data transfer would “bring the accumulated knowledge of the world to your fingertips.” Substantially, Clarke was correct, if only it could all be found. A year and a half ago it was estimated that there were something close to 110 million websites, and that’s just in the surface layer of the web that search engines

Missing Moon Rocks: Redux

2010-12-28T16:47:00.000-06:00

“I thought they were in here…” AMcC Shortly after the news broke that 19 of the moon rocks from Apollo 17 given to the 50 US states in the 1970s were missing, I interviewed my friend Randy Korotev on the topic in my July 26, 2010 post. Randy is a lunar chemist, Washington University research professor, and St. Louis birder. Moon rocks are Randy’s long suit; he’s been studying them since 1969.

Happy Holidays!

2010-12-24T09:26:00.000-06:00

Happy holidays! Male Cardinal in first snow, photo by Jason Matthews On a Christmas Bird Count some years ago, we surveyed a wooded area not far from the confluence of the Mississippi and Illinois Rivers. We were joined that New Year’s Day by a Washington University student from Seoul, South Korea. Her favorite bird of the day? A bird many of us take for granted, the Cardinal! Officially

Critical Mass of Starlings

2010-12-19T16:31:00.001-06:00

Birding while driving is never a good idea, but while flocks of starlings wheel and twist over the highway, I give them a quick glance. When the flock is behaving this way, I suspect there’s a hawk nearby. Here it is, a red-tail, high and outside. As I leave the highway, I see another flock gathering, preparing to roost in the neighborhood. Blocks away, I arrive at my destination, still hearing

Pokey Hat

2010-12-12T14:41:00.001-06:00

Pokey hats, early on a snowy Sunday. AMcC Some years ago I had the opportunity to visit a state park with a friend from Scotland. Montauk State Park is a beautiful spot on the banks of the upper Current River. After a long day of watching people fish for trout, we visited the lodge. My friend stepped up to the snack bar and in a heavy Glaswegian accent ordered a “pokey hat.” It took some

Waxwing Party at the Pond

2010-12-06T22:32:00.000-06:00

White lines on the back and red "wax" AMcC The Cedar Waxwing is a lovely bird with silky smooth feathers, a jaunty crest. and a mask that makes him look like Zorro the Avenger. They are expectable in winter, but unpredictable and easy to miss when you’re out birding in my area. So when a flock of Cedar Waxwings dropped by my yard some days ago to visit my little swimmin’ hole, I grabbed my

It’s Tupelo, Honey!

2010-12-02T06:00:00.003-06:00

Black Gum in October AMcC Like Nancy Drew, I’m closing in on The Mystery of the Black Gums. Besides the puzzle of identification I talked about in my last post, what’s up with the mysterious name and many aliases? This tree of moist soil has a genus name “Nyssa,” which according to Kurz refers to the home of the mythical water sprites of ancient Greece--although their home is located in the

The Mystery of the Black Gums

2010-11-28T15:42:00.000-06:00

My neighbor's mystery tree in early October. AMcC In the back of a neighbor’s property stand the mystery trees. They certainly must be wild trees. Instead of being installed in the center of the lawn, as human landscapers like to plant, these trees grew in a group along an unmowed property line. Perhaps birds dropped the seeds, along with a bit of fertilizer, while perched on the rusting

Bittersweet

2010-11-24T06:00:00.001-06:00

American Bittersweet AMcC Spring is a time of easy metaphors for renewal, hope, life. Autumn, well, not so much. Lovely fall colors are cheery, but brief. Just as Goldengrove is unleaving, a magnificent vine is revealed, covered with clusters of small, shiny red fruits, surrounded by open capsules of orange. We call it American Bittersweet, Celastrus scandens. Kurz notes

How I Learned to Stop Worrying & Love a Scorpion

2010-11-18T09:00:00.000-06:00

Striped Bark Scorpion, photo by Ted MacRae Earlier this month, one of my favorite blogs, Beetles in the Bush, had a popular post about scorpions. Seeing Ted’s scorpion photos—which he generously loaned to me—reminded me of my own limited experiences with these arachnids. The difference is I didn’t stick around to take photos. I skedaddled. Except once… I worked for more than 20 summers at

Fragrant Sumac in the Winner's Circle

2010-11-14T17:34:00.000-06:00

Fragrant Sumac shows great fall color AMcC If there were a triathlon of Midwestern native plants, Fragrant Sumac (Rhus aromatica) would be in the winner’s circle. In the first leg of the triathlon, Wildlife Use, sumac’s performance is outstanding. Fragrant Sumac is one of the earliest blooming plants in our area (Midwestern US). Small yellow flowers appear in March,

Binoculars for Your Nose

2010-11-07T18:01:00.002-06:00

Eastern Witch Hazel is the last tree to bloom in the Midwest. AMcC I stepped outside on a calm autumn night last week. A fresh, citrus scent was in the air. It reminded me of witch hazel in bloom. That couldn’t be, of course, because my big hybrid witch hazel (Hamamelis x intermedia ‘Arnold Promise”) blooms in February. Then I remembered my other witch hazel tree, a scrawny little guy,

Mourning Warbler Meets Madison Avenue

2010-10-31T19:57:00.001-05:00

Mourning Warbler, female (above), male (below) by Louis Agassiz Fuertes Wikipedia Although it was warm, it wasn’t the heat that made me so exhausted. I just couldn’t keep up with my 19-year-old boss. I earned $5 and hour that June surveying birds in scraps of habitat that remain in industrial Saint Louis, Missouri. He trotted through a mile of remnant prairie along the edge of Calvary Cemetery

Whooo's awake? Me tooo!

2010-10-25T22:19:00.001-05:00

Red-tailed Hawk launches from the antenna on the water tower. AMcC Occasionally people ask me, “What is that thing?” or, “Looks like a spaceship—hope it doesn’t land!” Living under the city water tower has its ups and downs. It’s easy for people to find my house. It’s provided many would-be comedians with a topic. And though the tower and surrounding fence could best be described

Creatures of the Night

2010-10-17T19:53:00.000-05:00

Fragrant moonflowers open at night, but stay open till the next morning. Photo by Karen Dorsett A few weeks ago, my sister Kim called to tell me about a startling experience with a bat or bird fluttering around their moonvine. I haven’t grown moonvine or moonflower (Ipomoea alba) since the shade shelter over my patio collapsed, so I was delighted to hear about one of my

"What are ya using for bait?"

2010-10-10T06:00:00.053-05:00

A post from guest blogger, J BowenI have always been blessed with being able to see some incredible things while out hunting or fishing. I can’t tell you how many times I just sit in my stand or on the ground and do nothing but watch the animals approach me. I’ve seen fox, coyote, owls (a number of different species), eagles, mink, raccoons, possums, skunks, squirrels, turkey, deer, mountain lion

Mexican Sage is A Hummer Magnet

2010-10-04T22:38:00.004-05:00

Adult male Allen's Hummingbird on Salvia leucantha. Photo by tdlucas5000 I lied. I had to. I told work I’d be late because of a doctor’s appointment. I wanted be there early, but at 7:45 AM I was already part of the crowd. No, I’m not talking about Black Friday at Wal-Mart, but the St. Louis Community College-Meramec Horticulture Club Spring Plant Sale! Wandering through the packed tables

They'd Rather Fight than Switch!

2010-09-26T14:45:00.001-05:00

Hummingbird throwdown! Photo by Amyn Kassam Here’s what we love about hummingbirds: They have that vertical posture, they make eye contact, they love sweets, and of course, they fight. They’re so human! Watching hummingbirds is not like watching other wildlife. Hummers get up close and personal. Laura Erickson, in her 2006 book, 101 Ways to Help Birds, tells us about hummers that tap on her

Forgotten Pollinators

2010-09-20T21:11:00.000-05:00

Bumblebee inside translucent blossom of Rose Turtlehead AMcCormack Take a lovely wildflower like Rose Turtlehead (Chelone obliqua). If it is going to bear seeds, the plant needs to have its pollen grains transferred to the stigma of another, unrelated Rose Turtlehead. With its genetic survival at stake, you would think that the species would make things inviting and easy for passing pollinators

Baby Hummingbirds

2010-09-14T22:38:00.000-05:00

Hummingbird Clearwing moth Photo by Joe Holmes Being a birder, I usually remember vividly where I was when a see a new bird for the first time, but seeing a new insect doesn’t usually stand out as well for me. Not so the hummingbird moth! I remember bright sunshine as I climbed up a small rise to a gravel road. There in the roadside wildflowers was the most bizarre sight

Attracting Hummers

2010-08-29T20:28:00.002-05:00

Adult male Ruby-throated hummer flashes his gorget at the camera. Photo by kmaraj Everyone has a hummingbird story—everyone who’s ever seen one that is. I took it for granted that everyone had seen a hummingbird, but a few years ago, I dragged a neighbor over to my yard to look at an unusual hummer. She was an older person who had grown up in the Ozarks, yet this was the first hummer she’d

When Butterﬂies Attack!!!

2010-08-22T14:51:00.003-05:00

Monarch butterflies fighting AMcC Seen through the rose-colored binoculars of the romantic nature-lover, butterflies are the very embodiment of harmony, as they flutter from one fragrant blossom to another. So how come I came home from work last week to find a brawl in my front yard? Three Monarch butterflies were duking it out, paying little attention to cars or photographers. These

Photos & Friends, Skippers & Moths

2010-08-15T14:56:00.004-05:00

Northern Broken-Dash Skipper? AMcC I had planned to do a third post on Silphiums, but there are too many butterflies in the garden for that! It’s all the more exciting since this summer has not been the best for butterflies. I don’t know if it’s been the weather, my garden, or the truck that sprayed mosquitoes (and every other living thing) on my street in late June. Whatever the problem,

A Compass on the Lone Prairie

2010-08-11T22:58:00.004-05:00

Compass Plant blooms at Howell Prairie, St. Charles Co., MO AMcC My first reason for wanting to find Compass plant for my yard is the tale that it can be used as a compass. Now that my plants are large, I can say that the tale is true—mostly. Compass plant (Silphium laciniatum) is a plant of tall grass prairies and glades and everything about it shows is adaptated to dry conditions with

Bees, Butterflies, and Biodiesel

2010-08-08T19:26:00.003-05:00

Monarch Butterfly on Cup Plant bloom AMcC One of my favorite native plants is Cup Plant, Silphium perfoliatum. My first experience with it was in Hidden Meadow at Girl Scout Camp Cedarledge. My friend Sandy, whose position was “Nature Specialist,” showed me how the large opposite leaves wrap the square stem to form a cup. It had been hot and dry, but when she tipped the tall stalk, water

Of Cabbages and Checkered Whites

2010-08-05T15:45:00.025-05:00

Female Checkered White butterfly on cup plant as a native bee takes aim! AMcC August is an exciting time in a wildlife garden. My yellow composites are beginning to bloom—cup plant, prairie dock, golden glow, woodland sunflower, and brown-eyed Susan. Goldfinches add to the yellow garden as they harvest purple coneflower seeds for their nestlings. The males sing almost as much and as loudly as

21st Century Birding Skills

2010-08-04T00:06:00.003-05:00

"Seeing the Past" photo by Charles Kaiser Nate, over at The Drinking Bird, wrote a fascinating blog post about the Orange-billed Nightingale-thrush. This Central American bird showed up South Dakota, of all places. Not only is the bird well out of its normal summer range in Tamaulipas, Mexico and 1,435 miles north of it’s previous Texas record, it is not even a migratory species. Perhaps even

The Real Rock Pigeons

2010-07-30T06:00:00.006-05:00

Paris and Pigeon, photo by Fabio Venni Much has been made of the critical remarks by pigeons, dropped on the band Kings of Leon during their recent concert in St. Louis. Sharon Stiteler, The Birdchick™ speculated that the birds disapproved of the lyrics of the Kings’ hits, “Sex on Fire” and “Use Somebody.” Well, I could see it if this were a Tom Lehrer concert. After all, one of his hits was “

Way down yonder in the Pawpaw patch

2010-07-27T23:07:00.003-05:00

Zebra Swallowtail nectars on Dogbane, photo by Joby Joseph The only place I seen Zebra Swallowtails in numbers is at Shaw Nature Reserve in Gray Summit, Missouri, where they were doing exactly what Glassberg describes in Butterflies through Binoculars. The group flew close to the ground, and they made quite an impression with better than 3-inch wingspan and “tails” up to an inch long. In my

Missing Moon Rocks

2010-07-26T06:00:00.005-05:00

Harrison Schmitt, geologist & astronaut, on Apollo 17 On July 10, the St. Louis Post Dispatch ran a story about Missouri’s missing moon rock. In 1972, Richard Nixon gave each state and many countries a “Goodwill Moon Rock.” The gifts were handled very casually to say the least. Someone absconded with Honduras’ rock and tried to sell it to an undercover agent. He is the one that got caught. At

Pipe Dream

2010-07-25T06:00:00.006-05:00

Pipe vine casts deep shade. AMcC I first read about pipevines—the plants—and its relationship to Pipevines—the butterflies—from an article in American Butterflies, Summer 2001, written by Jeffrey Glassberg. American Butterflies is the quarterly journal of the North American Butterfly Association (NABA). NABA launched its “Pipe-dream Project” that year. The North American Bluebird Society (

Botanical Arsenic and Old Lace

2010-07-23T08:58:00.005-05:00

Take a few minutes to watch this amazing time-lapse video by JCMegabyte. It covers the entire life cycle of the Pipevine Swallowtail butterfly. Video footage is courtesy of JCM Digital Imaging. Plants have a fascinating variety of strategies to defend themselves against herbivores, including ourselves. If a species is to survive in the wild it needs thorns or spines, or armor, such as thick

Leaping Lepidopterists, Batman!

2010-07-21T06:00:00.021-05:00

Pipevine Swallowtail on Liatris, Yvonne Homeyer © Pipevine Swallowtail is one of the most exciting butterflies anyone can have in their garden. Pipevine Swallowtails are large, with a wingspan of 3-5 inches or so. Their hind wings are iridescent turquoise blue, which is fabulous, but hard to see because they “batter” their wings so rapidly. I just can’t stop chasing them around the yard, as

Join a Flickr Group

2010-07-19T21:19:00.005-05:00

I have to talk a bit more about Flickr, the photo storing and sharing website, and then it’s back to the back yard. Yesterday I talked about searching Flickr and copyright issues. Another cool thing about being a Flickr member is joining a “Group.” All that means is that someone has organized a page dedicated to a certain type of photo. Almost all groups are open to everyone and have some