Birding with Kenn and Kimberly

From Homebase in Oak Harbor, Kimberly Writes: On August 1, 2014, I removed what I thought was a dead Harnessed Tiger Moth from a spider web outside our house. I don't make a habitat of denying spiders a meal, but the moth was freshly "dead" and still looked beautiful, so I wanted to photograph it. When I did, I was stunned to see that in the final moments of her life, she had laid several eggs!  I somehow felt personally responsible for these tiny pearls she bestowed upon me, and I set about to raise them as best I could. Here's a photographic journey though that amazing experience. 08.01.2014 - Female Harnessed Tiger Moth lays eggs in the final moments of life I actually watched the caterpillars hatching under a microscope. Here they are on 08.06.2014, one day old. These are magnified many times. Caterpillars on 08.20.2014 Feeding on oak leaves and growing seemingly by the hour!  Close-up view of caterpillar on 08.20.2014 0 8.24.2014 - Preparing to pupate by silking ...

Kenn Writes: Periodical cicadas: Brood X, which appeared this year, is one of the most widespread of the 17-year cicada emergences. But as with the other broods, it's also quite localized: the insects don't travel far, so unless you're very close to one of the mass emergence sites, you won't see any at all. Brood X emerged at many sites in Ohio this year, but none in our immediate area in the northwest part of the state. So today, Kimberly and I made a special trip north to Washtenaw County, Michigan, which apparently is the northernmost outpost of Brood X. (A couple of other broods do occur slightly farther north in Wisconsin and New York, but of course they're not out this year.) We spent time at the Matthaei Botanical Garden and Marshall Nature Area just east of Ann Arbor and saw good diversity of birds, plants, butterflies, etc., as well as having a wonderful experience with the insects that were the main target of our expedition. Kimberly plucked this obliging ...

From Homebase in Oak Harbor, Kimberly Writes: It was an ugly little light. Too small for the space, old fashioned and beginning to rust. I'd thought of changing it many times and can't say why I hadn't. Procrastination produces wonders. Kenn brought them to my attention yesterday morning: these lovely, long-winged architects.  Just beginning to transform our light and our lives, we watched, mesmerized by their industrial ballet, each trip to and from, their graceful flights turning mud into magic. What a joy to have a front row seat as this pair of Barn Swallows brings new life to an old light.

  Owls: So captivating. So vexing. I've been thinking a LOT about owls and people lately, and I would like to have an open, candid, honest discussion about viewing/photographing owls. There's something so captivating, so mysterious, so alluring about owls that they bring out the best - and sometimes the worst - in people. With social media dominating our lives, we see this played out more than ever before. It's frustrating, disturbing, and it seems impossible to ever resolve. Still, I think it's worth discussing. Here are a few questions to help frame the discussion. 1) Are we *too* concerned about this? I'm speaking specifically about owls in public areas: parks, wildlife areas, etc. Are we making a big deal about something the birds will just deal with themselves? Does it really harm the birds? Birds have wings and they use them. If there's too much human activity, won't they just move on? Are we spending too much time and energy on a few single bird...

Although Kenn and I were away from home and missed it, two more baby turtles hatched! And while our hearts might be a teensy bit sad to have missed it, we couldn't be happier that our dear friend Tiffanie got to share this experience with her daughter. In fact, after looking at the pictures and seeing the radiant, happy smile on Delaney's face as she released these tiny bundles of life, we wouldn't change the way these two baby turtles came into the world for anything.  Hatchling baby turtle #2 has arrived! And if you look closely, above #2, you can see the head of  #3 just beginning to emerge! Just look at that beautiful, happy smile!   Baby turtles are definitely smile-inducing!    Delaney sends one tiny hatchling off into  its new aquatic world!  There are still a few more to hatch, so we'll keep you posted! 

Kimberly Writes: We should all seek happiness in our lives. But, oh the joy when happiness finds you. ♡♡♡  We were overjoyed this morning when this pair of Northern Bobwhites walked out from under the shrubbery to forage around one of our bird feeding stations.  We'd had one male in the yard a few years ago...  ...but this is our first pair.  Female Male This is a totem bird for me. It was the first bird I ever really knew existed. Sitting on the porch swing of my Grandparent's farm house, little 5-year-old Kimmer sat beside her Grandpa Jake, who she idolized. And when he whistled that sharp, clear "BobWHITE."  and the bird called back from the ravine on the edge of their yard...well,  I just knew that my Grandpa was magic. ♡♡♡  And off they go, back under the shrubbery from whence they came.  Thanks for stopping by and making our hearts so happy, you dapper little birds. ♡♡♡

From Homebase in Oak Harbor, Ohio, Kimberly Writes: On July 9th, I shared the story of our encounter with a Midland Painted Turtle laying eggs in our prairie.  For several weeks we wrestled with what to do. Our yard is frequented by many of the main predators of turtle nests, and a fter much discussion, a great deal of research, and some serious soul searching, we made the decision to collect the eggs and raise them inside. Excavating the eggs was a delicate, stressful operation. But after several minutes of painstakingly careful excavation (using a series of small brushes) seven gleaming white eggs were revealed. We took exceptional care in handling this precious cargo, and placed them in a container under several inches of the same soil they were removed from.  And then, we waited.   And waited... And waited... And waited... Wondering, hoping, yes, even praying that we'd done the right thing and that our adopted foster turtles would emerge, ...

A few weeks ago, Kenn and I threw a party in honor of some dear friends. While prepping the area near our fire ring, I started to move a rotting log at the edge of the area - and the doggone thing started buzzing -- like, LOUD! At that point, I turned to hightail it outta there, but it wasn't long before three of the angry residents (some species of small bumblebee) caught up and delivered three notices to the back of my thigh to let me know how they felt about being disturbed. After nursing the stings, and allowing what I hoped would be enough time for the buzzles to calm down, I returned to the scene of the crime, and here's what I found. If you look closely at the bottom of the stump, you can see the nest and  the little cluster of "alien pods," each containing a Bumblebee larva.  I felt terrible for disturbing the nest. And, in order to at least turn this into a teachable moment, we cordoned off the area and encouraged our guests to peer inside. And now, I...

Our big patch of zinnias continues to provide great habitat for pollinators and is attracting a sensational variety of flying insects right now. Today's featured flyer: Snowberry Clearwing (Hemaris diffinis). From the Kaufman Field Guide to Insects of North America:  "The Snowberry Clearwing is typical of a small group of clear-winged, day-flying sphinx moths that are good mimics of bumblebees -- except that they hover in front of blossoms instead of landing on them." Here in the Midwest, the other two species in the genus Hemaris are Hummingbird Clearwing and Slender Clearwing. Here's a video of this remarkable moth at our zinnias.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1LXBFaaQaTA&feature=youtu.be

I can't even tell you how excited I am about our most recent‪ backyard nature discovery‬.  I've always wanted to see Bird's Nest Fungus, and we've looked for it in many different places on our travels. The last place I expected to see it for the first time was in our own backyard! It's not hard to see how this fungus of Lilliputian proportion gets its name. And while the cups do look like tiny bird's nests, they're actually the fruiting body of the fungus. Inside, the "eggs," are the peridioles that contain the spores which are the basis of its reproduction. NATURE IS THE COOLEST THING EVER!! :-) I am not ashamed to admit that I sort of lost my sh*t when I discovered these. First, I ran to get Kenn, and then I made an emergency fungus discovery phone call to my best friend Tiffanie. Now listen, you know you're picking your friends right when they heed your emergency fungus discovery call and immediately jump in the car to rac...

For many days we waited, watched, and hoped. We heard your tiny voices calling from inside the box. We listened as your voices grew stronger and noticed when your parents stopped going all the way into the box to feed you. Instead, perching only at the entrance while tiny beaks poked out of the shadowy hole to receive the offerings. And today, you vaulted out of the little green box in the middle of our prairie and found your place in the sky. Oh, you beautiful little bluebirds. How you have graced our world.

Kimberly Writes:  This spring, a friend gave me a flat of Cigar Plant (Cuphea ignea). While I've grown many different plants over the years, this was a new one for me, and I was thrilled to have them, as they're hummingbird magnets! I've tended them through a hot, dry summer, and they've rewarded me by doing their job, attracting hummingbirds like crazy. Yep, I expected the hummers, but I never thought of them as a host plant for caterpiggles. Not until THIS incredible creature appeared! A few days ago, we were walking through our gardens with our friends  Tiffanie a nd Delaney Hayes, and we paused to talk about our little patch of Cuphea. It was a total shock to look down and see this gorgeous caterpiggle munching away, and such a joy to share the discovery with our friends!  A bit of searching turned up two of these big old cats. Kenn did some research and discovered that they're White-lined Sphinx moth caterpiggles. They've grown a lot ...