Today's Bubbler Bird

A Red-breasted Nuthatch. A bird which breeds in the forests across Canada. It is a short distance migrant, often remaining up in the Great White North,  that comes further south in years when food supplies are low in the northern forests.

This may be one of those years as there have been multiple reports of this bird in our area.

They are welcome in our yard for as long as they want to stay.

Lady Redstart

When I spotted the snake in the bubbler bath I had just snapped a few shots of a female American Redstart.

This one:

I'm not sure if she saw the snake, but she never went down to the water ...

... until the snake had made its way through.

And even then it seemed she wanted to make sure the coast was clear.

A good bird for the living room list.

Grinning Evil Death

A voracious reader of Science Fiction in my younger days, I came upon a tome entitled, The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction*, which made a fine addition to my library. I remember spending hours paging through it, following 'links' from one entry to another, looking for suggestions for further reading.

And I remember seeing the line, "Grinning Evil Death".

And this critter, a Chinese Mantid, is the perfect embodiment, as it awaits a hummingbird.

As far as I know, no hummingbirds were harmed. They seemed too smart to fall prey to the mantis.

As with the previous (same?) mantis on the other hummingbird feeder, this critter was relocated, far away from these feeders. It's not been back.

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* It seems I had the first edition, as it was full of illustrations, the second edition had none. And I believe it was one such illustration, of a magazine or book cover, that had the text, "Grinning Evil Death" with a picture of a monster of some type. Today, the third edition is available online, free to use, and full of illustrations. Alas, my search for "Grinning Evil Death" turned up no hits.

More From Fossil Creek

Our story so far ...

We arrived, and I looked up, Weekend Getaway.

Where we stayed, Fossil Creek.

What we went for, Synchronized Fireflies.

We also saw, Night Lights.

And now what else we did (in addition to sitting around the day it rained) ...

After the rain stopped we went for a hike up the hill, into the National Forest.

The Allegheny National Forest.

We spotted several salamanders.

They seemed to like the rainy weather.

There were also old pipes paralleling the trail.

We had planned to spend Saturday morning kayaking, the B&B providing the kayaks and a ride to the put in spot. Take out was across the street from the Camp. But as the rain continued throughout the morning and into the afternoon we rescheduled Sunday morning, before we had to leave.

I think we made the right choice. A relaxing way to end our visit.

Ol' Blue Eyes

You might recall the story of the experimental plot on our septic mound, if not, click and read the Reinforcements and the And So It Begins ... posts. In the former you'll see the white boards I used to border the plot, shown again below.

The boards a little worse for wear.

And today, while I was mowing the lawn (look closely and you'll see what's left to do), I, as I always do, went to move the boards, better to mow around the plot, starting with the front left board.

Under which I discovered this:

An Eastern Garter Snake. Look at the eyes.

They're blue (so are mine). This means two things. One, the snake is getting ready to shed its skin. And two, it can't see all that well. I don't think it knew I was there. I didn't react at all to me removing the board, nor as I got close to take these pictures. Only a few before I put the board back and let it be.

We garden for wildlife. We put in the water features, the feeders, the houses, to this end. Who would have thought it was some temporary boards that would be a hiding place for a snake while waiting to molt?

Deer Pressure

I mentioned the deer pressure in yesterday's Contrast post.

And right on cue, the view out our bedroom window this morning.

The heat wave had broken overnight, and Patty was opening the windows when she spotted the deer. "Damn deer in the yard," she exclaimed, sending them running. By the time I got up and to the window only these two were still in the yard. The others off into the woods across the road.

Just a Flower

Albeit a rather large and obvious one.

How is your garden growing?

The Back Corner

In The Meadow Project post I noted we had three new 'no-mow' zones in our yard this year. The first being the what we hope will be come a meadow next spring. The second was the Field of Blue.

This is the third one, the 'Back Corner'.

The area behind the dry stream bed is the no-mow zone. It's what passes for high ground in our yard. And at first glance it seems a bit barren.

Looking closer we find a nice patch of Carex albicans, White-tinged Sedge, as shown in the shot above and the one below.

There is quite a bit of this growing in the woods out behind our place, so it is not surprising that it would be in the yard.

What is a surprise, a pleasant one, is that we have so much coming up in the Back Corner. A nice, no-mow ground cover.

Home is Where the ...

... stuffed hole is.

Patty, seen in the background, called out, "Come look!". "Did you do this?" she asked, "No", I replied, as I went off to get a camera.

An insect, likely a bee or wasp, has made a nest in the garden gate.

The other side is still available ...

Io

In the How to Spot a Caterpillar post there were at least ten Io caterpillars munching away on the False Blue Indigo (which bit is false, the blue or the indigo?).

Well several have survived the warbler onslaught. Continuing to munch away.

We look forward to seeing them at our moth light next spring.

Contrast

What must the neighbors think?

Here is a current look at the Mini-Meadow.

Despite the heavy deer pressure in these parts it is doing well.

And a shot with the Mini-Meadow and The Meadow Project.

Hopefully, come this time next year, they'll be twins.

So, what do the neighbors think? That's a trick question, as we don't really have neighbors. And from the house across the street, (no not this place (which is for sale)), you can't see The Meadow Project. It's hidden behind trees.

A Clear Choice ...

Just a note for my right leaning friends from my left leaning self as we near voting day:

They say we want to disband police departments (and that we hate the police):
We don’t, that’s a lie. We want to weed out racism and unnecessary police brutality and for those who abuse their power to be held accountable.

They say we want to release all prisoners:
We don’t, that’s a lie. We want to weed out racism and ensure the punishments match the crimes and to deprivatize prisons.

They say we want open borders: 

We don’t, that’s a lie. We want asylum seekers to be given their chance to seek asylum. We want to help people who are coming from unimaginable terror and poverty help to give them the chances we have. We want to ensure children aren’t separated from their parents and that nobody is kept in cages. But we do want proper vetting.

They say we want to take away your guns:
We don’t, that’s a lie. We want logical gun control to help prevent mass shootings.

They say we want to wage a war on Christianity and Christian values:
We don’t, that’s a lie. We want people of all religions to be able to practice and worship freely.

They say we want to get everything for free:
We don’t, that’s a lie. We want to work hard and make sure that healthcare and education are affordable for all.

They say we want a war against traditional marriage:
We don’t, that’s a lie. We want people of all sexual orientations to be able to love freely, no matter who you love.

They say we want to destroy or rewrite history:
We don’t, that’s a lie. We want to recognize the ugly parts of our past and do everything we can to say “that’s not okay, let’s not honor those aggressors, let’s not let those things happen again”.

They say we want to take away your constitutional rights:
We don’t, that’s a lie. We choose to believe science and wear masks and try to prevent the spread of this disease.

They say we hate America:
We don’t, that’s a lie. We just recognize our faults and want us to do better, be better.

Stop with the us vs. them.

Our position is one of empathy, compassion and logic. Stop believing the hype. Stop with the division. Just because we want equality for all doesn’t mean we want to take anything away from you. Equality hurts no one!

🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸

I got this from my brother ... please share.

Another Critter at the Bubbler Bird Bath

This one was somewhat unexpected.

An Eastern Garter Snake.

I was reviewing images I had just taken of an American Redstart when I noticed something moving on the ground.

SNAKE!

It was moving rather quickly through the Bubbler Bath. By the time I got that camera on it, it was across, and on its way into the undergrowth.

Slithering off into the garden.

A lucky catch.

Field of Blue

In The Meadow Project post I mentioned that there were three 'no-mow' zones.

One is on the woods edge, behind the Feeder Garden (from the house). It looks like this:

A field of Great Blue Lobelia.

And while we've planted this species in the gardens, we did not plant any out here. This just happened. Fantabulous and amazing.

How'd that Cardinal Flower get there?

Of course, they're all cardinal flowers ...

Synchronized Fireflies

In the Night Lights post I noted that we were are the Black Caddis Ranch, aka Camp Fossil Creek, to see Synchronized Fireflies, Photinus carolinus.

And see them we did.

Before the rains came that first night, we went into the woods and were treated to "The Light Show", which is also a common name for this species. But it was the second night that was truly magical.

These are two shots from that second night.

Each image is a composite of the full set of flashes.

Synchronized Fireflies are found in wooded areas of the Application Mountain Range. Probably the most famous area is in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Patty had gone there, with two friends, not long after we started dating. These days you need to win a lottery to see them there.

Luckily for us, there is a population of this species in the Allegheny National Forest in northwestern Pennsylvania (and over the boarder into southwestern New York).

These insects, like all lightning bugs, use flashes to attract mates*. This species flashes in unison, five or six flashes, and then they all go dark. And then six or so seconds later, they all start up again. It is truly wondrous to see the woods go dark and the night up again. We stood there for over an hour enthralled.

Meanwhile back at the field, different species were continuing the dance of life.

You can see some flashes are different shades of green and yellow.

And it is a bit more subtle, but the flash pattern is different, different number of flashes or one long flash.

I can't wait to go back.

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* There are species that use flashes to obtain food. They mimic the flashes of other species, attracting the males, who to their unfortunate surprise, find not a waiting female but rather a predator.

The Meadow Project

As an experiment this year, we decided to set aside three areas where we did not mow. Two were inside the Deer Fence. This is the story of the other one.

This is the side of the front yard across from the 'Mini-Meadow'. That project was a success, although we still struggle with deer browse. More on that later. The above image is how this bit of yard looked prior to the start of our no-mow experiment.

Here it is after the boundaries were marked with downed branches. It was off to a good start. A little grassland. Alas, things would go south form here (where does that idiom originate?).

Here is a shot just before I started to mow, the boundary logs moved away (oh the irony, mowing a no-mow zone!). It had become mostly a field of Japanese Stiltgrass, Microstegium vimineum, a rather insidious invasive.

The best time to mow this species in late August/early September, just before it flowers. So this was the time.

The next step in converting this plot to a meadow is to mow as close to the ground as possible. The idea is to kill the plants that are there and later replace them with more desirable species.

It took three passes with the lawnmower until I was able to mow at the lowest setting. The stilt grass was so thick the mower would stall if the setting was too low. But eventually I got it done.

This is how it looks now. A mishmash of tarps and cardboard covering the area. This will cut the light from reaching the plants below. They will die, returning nutrients to the soil. After a period of six to eight weeks the tarps can be removed. At which point we'll begin phase three, preparing the soil and sowing the seed. But that's a story for another post.

Incase you are wondering, and I'm sure you are, phase two will be extending the deer fence to enclose our entire property. This will protect the front yard, including this project and the Mini-Meadow. As well as, we hope, restore the understory in our woods. And that too will be a story for another post (or posts). If we don't do that, this area will become but a deer feeding station. A highly non-optimal result.

Night Lights

The reason we went to Fossil Creek back in June was to see was to see blinking lights in the night. Fireflies. Specifically Photinus carolinus, the Synchronous Firefly.

The first night we set up just outside our cabin. And before the clouds, and the rain, came in I managed this shot.

Fireflies in the field, stars in the sky.

And Then There Were Two

Two female Rose-breasted Grosbeaks.

Seen here on the platform feeder in the Feeder Garden.

I had finished work for the day, and took the short commute from my desk, to our wine rack, to the deck. It was there I heard Patty call, "Two Grosbeaks in the garden!"

eBird is a fantastic tool for birders and scientists, gathering data on bird populations and movements around the world. We log our sightings here at Piney Place. And when we log these grosbeaks, we'll be prompted for more info, as they are "rare" in this area at this time of year. Good thing I got pictures to prove they were here.

Barb

The world is a lesser place today.

Barbara Ann Wiley

June 6, 1954 - August 17, 2020

And Friends

It wasn't just warblers which came to visit our birdbaths these past few weeks.

A female Rose-breasted Grosbeak has been an irregular but repeat visitor. (The males have the rose colored breast feathers).

Vireos ... 

... White-eyed ...

... and Red-eyed are usually heard and not seen here in our woods.

Chipping Sparrows seem to enjoy the ground level bubbler bath.

As do the Mourning Doves.

Non-avian visitors include Eastern Gray Squirrels.

Image Courtesy Steve Mattan

And Green Frogs. Several little ones about the bubbler bath.

Male, female, and juvenile Northern Cardinals are frequent splashers.

This male Scarlet Tanager was a frequent splasher for a couple of weeks. But seems to have moved on,

Image courtesy Steve Mattan

By far the most common bird splashing about in the birdbaths are the Tufted Titmouse. Shown here chatting with a Carolina Chickadee. It's been a banner year for Titmice in these here parts.

And a banner few weeks for birding in the gardens.

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Unless otherwise noted, all images courtesy Patty Rehn.