Tag Archives: Birds

Wild Azalea and Wood Storks 2023-01-31

An early spring sight, and something more unusual.

[Wood Storks and Wild Azalea, OPF 2023-01-31]
Wood Storks and Wild Azalea, OPF 2023-01-31

We’re used to wild azaleas, Rhododendron canescens, blooming around now. Plenty of buds promise more flowers after this first one.

But the other sight was more unusual. Continue reading →

Split-tailed kites 2022-05-15

A flock of split-tailed kites wheeling above where I just cultivated the okra.

[Split-tailed kites]
Split-tailed kites

Here’s a movie of these Elanoides forficatus, also known as swallow-tail kites: Continue reading →

Pileated 2020-07-20

I heard a thwacking sound, looked up from the porch desk, and two pileated woodpeckers were on two, then one, pine tree.

[Two pileated woodpeckers on a pine tree]
Two pileated woodpeckers on a pine tree

The crosshatching is the porch screen wire.

These Dryocopus pileatus hang around here all the time, but they don’t usually come that close. That pine tree stob is about twenty feet outside the screen, or thirty (ten meters) from where I was sitting.

Eventually they flew off laughing, like they do.

Pileated woodpeckers mate for life, which would explain why this pair has been here a long time.

Don’t know if it’s always been the same pair, since we’ve been seeing them more than a decade, and apparently the oldest know was less than thirteen years old.

A pair of pileateds wants more than a hundred acres of territory, so they should be very happy here.

-jsq

Bringing Nature Home –Beth Wiggins Grant

Student Naturalist Beth Grant will speak at South Georgia Growing Local 2014:

In his book Bringing Nature Home, Dr. Doug Tallamy explains how everyone who loves the wonders of the natural world can contribute to the survival of our native birds, butterflies, and other treasures by providing the native plants needed to support them. Beth Grant has recently obtained permission from Dr. Tallamy to present his slideshow on his findings. By acting on Dr. Tallamy’s practical recommendations, you can make a difference for bio-diversity while bringing endlessly fascinating wildlife to your home. Handouts will be provided. Copies of Bringing Nature Home and Dr. Gil Nelson’s Best Native Plants for Southern Gardens will be available for purchase with all proceeds going to Birdsong Nature Center.

Here’s her conference bio: Continue reading →