Nature's Nightlights

Drop by St Francis Park any evening this time of year and you're likely to have quite a show. It is amazing the number of fireflies in the park during summertime. 

One evening last week, I set up my camera along the edge of the woods at back of the park and let it run for about a half-hour, snapping a shot every 10 seconds. When I merged all the images, this was the result. As each shot was about 4 seconds long, many of the fireflies I captured appear as a streak. Others that show up as a dot had either just lit up, were sitting still or were moving towards the camera. 

What is incredible to me is how high they fly. Click on the image to see full screen and check out the yellow spots way up in the trees!

Of course, you don't have to go to the park to see fireflies... we saw a few flying over a neighbor's yard while out walking tonight. But if you want a real show, to see an incredible number of them, head over to the park. Just stick to the edge of the areas where you see them, try not to disturb them. 

For more information on fireflies, check out firefly.org. 

May Was a Rough Month for Bird's at Our House

Remnants of finch nest

I had planned to post some good news this weekend about the latest Finch brood on our front porch. I discovered that instead of just two eggs, Momma Finch had laid three more and by this past Monday all had hatched. This was one busy, noisy nest!

Unfortunately, it must have been just a bit too noisy, attracting some unwanted attention. Yesterday, we discovered parts of a dead chick on the porch. One glance at the nest and I had a pretty good idea there was more to it than just one chick. What a mess! A quick check inside confirmed that all the chicks were gone.

I'm not sure who the culprit was. It would be a tight squeeze for an owl and I suspect the nest would have been even more torn up. Maybe a cat? A rat? We will probably never know. Perhaps if I'd had the video camera set up for this nest, I'd have proof but I am actually glad I didn't have it up this time. 

A nest was on top of post in slot between beams

Meanwhile, at the back of the house, there was apparently another issue with a bird's nest. 

A few weeks ago, I hung up a fly trap - one of the sticky kind - on the side of a post on our patio. Today, we found it covered in bird feathers. We also realized that tucked in between two beams at the top of the post was what was either the beginning of (or what was left of) a bird nest.  

I am not sure exactly which bird built the nest and which one got stuck to the fly trap. Given how close they were, I imagine it was the same bird. Our best guess is that it was a Carolina Wren as we have seen a pair hanging out under the eves of the patio roof off and on over the past year. 

Hopefully, these are the last of our "bird disasters" for a while...

They're Back!!

Well, no video (at least not for now) but this past weekend I realized a Finch family was nesting on our porch. 

I had been expecting Mama Finch to use one of the other posts as that is where she nested last year but this time she's on the post closest to the front door. 

A small brood this time, just two eggs so far. It is possible she wasn't done yet though so I'll check again this weekend. 

Stay tuned!

 Meanwhile, in other news, no luck so far in having an owl family move in. The owl house I mounted on one of our Cedar Elm's last year is now home to a squirrel family. 

I had been shooing Mama Squirrel out of the owl house every few days in the first few months of this year and she seemed to have finally gotten the message. However, we were gone for a week and came home to find things sticking out of the entrance to the owl house and when I checked it turned out to be half full of sticks, grass, etc. More to the point, it was full of squirrel. 

I tried as I had in the past to shoo her out but this time not only would she not leave, she was very vocal. Given her change in behavior, I have to assume she already has a litter. 

Now, we wait. In about 10-12 weeks, her pups should be moved out at which time I'll clean out the owl house and close it up for a while. Maybe the next time I open it, an owl will get to it first. 

The Birds Redux

After North Texas was locked in one of the worst winter storms in a century, with several inches of snow on the ground and temperatures in single digits..... 

Robin Red Breasts that normally feed on worms and insects gathered in large flocks, descending on any tree with berries just to have something to eat until the snow cleared. 

Although the Robins made it through the week, flocks of Cedar Wax Wings will arrive in early spring to feed on these berries but will find barren trees.

Nature is an incredibly complex system so it is hard to say whether the food that carried Robins through the storm will really be missed by the Wax Wings or if they'll turn to other food sources and do just fine.  If not, perhaps some of the storm damage will have been indirect. 

Best viewed full-screen. 

Music

Hitchcock Etudes by Nicole Lizée / Bozzini Quartet is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial License.