I hadn’t seen my resident pair of titmice in several weeks – I even commented to my wife Nancy that they were missing in action. The very next evening while I was smoking a cigar on the back patio and watching my birds, they flew to the feeder.  Two lovely, dainty titmice. They must have known I had missed them. The official name, Tufted Titmouse, is quite a mouthful for such a small … [Read more...]

I saw a  pair as I pulled in the driveway this week. They were Northern Flickers. I could tell by the white patches on their rumps as they flew away. Flickers are easily the most beautiful birds that grace my yard. Their plumage is complex and spectacular with a black “necklace” above their speckled breast, a red spot on the nape of the neck and a black moustache. A special few times they have … [Read more...]

  Have you ever been “buzzed” by a bird? Like when they swoop down over your head? It’s a weird feeling. One spring I had a new pair of bluebirds nesting and went out to feed them meal worms. Babies had just hatched. As I approached, the male “buzzed” me – swooped  down just across the top of my head and clicked his wings together. I left immediately. Later, I was able to convince the … [Read more...]

  Loyal CvilleBuzz reader, Chuck Strauss from Nelson County, sent a recent e-mail about the birds at his feeders, or lack thereof. Said Chuck, “We have noticed a significant drop-off in birds coming to our feeders—both the window feeder, which has black sunflower seeds, and the big feeder which has regular bird seed. We normally see house- and goldfinches, a cardinal pair, chickadees, … [Read more...]

  Sitting on the back patio last week, I saw four dragonflies buzzing across the lawn. Since then, I have noticed dragon flies seemingly everywhere. Maybe they’ve been there all along and I didn’t notice them, or maybe it’s just been a really good year for dragonflies. Whatever the reason, they are interesting creatures. I watched one dragonfly intently. He hovered like a tiny black … [Read more...]

All in all, I have had a pretty good garden this year. I had an early crop of creasy greens – left over from the plantings of previous spring. I had some nice lettuce, beets, onions, tomatoes, and yellow squash. The rabbits ate all of my peas and most of my cucumber vines, but one cuke made it and has been producing overtime to make up for the rest. The lonely vine is still blooming and growing – … [Read more...]

Lots of my backyard birds are regulars, like Norm, Cliff and Frasier – the bar patrons at Cheers. Several other of my bird friends come only periodically, and this includes one of my late summer visitors, the wood thrush. Thrushes are said to return to the same woodlands each March to nest. They usually have two clutches, then move on, in this case to my yard. They hang around the back of the … [Read more...]

Like clockwork, they come every March. My one pair of resident catbirds. They’ve been regular visitors for the past 7 or 8 years. I have read that many birds use the exact same nesting site from year to year, even different generations. I’m confident that this is true of my catbirds. Catbirds, though not colorful, are beautiful, graceful birds and they are almost as friendly as my bluebirds. I … [Read more...]

I have never seen so many butterflies as I have this summer. It helps that we have a towering butterfly bush and that Nancy has planted several long borders of colorful zinnias, but we’ve got the butterflies. Yellow ones, black ones, orange and some small white ones. Unfortunately, few are Monarchs and most are Swallowtails. Monarchs lack any kind of extended tail – just rounded tail wings. … [Read more...]

We were on hole 16 at the Spring Creek Golf Course when I stopped to admire a beautiful water garden in someone’s back yard. There was a series of pools cascading down the hill, bordered by rocks and adorned with flowers. There was a small American flag at the bottom. While I was observing, a male bluebird flew down and landed on the tip-top of the flag. What grace, I thought, and how amazing that … [Read more...]