Birding with Kenn and Kimberly

  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...