Audubon trip Trip on April 15 2012

On April 15th 2012 the Cape Fear Audubon hosted a field trip to Holly Shelter Gamelands with several plant and butterfly experts. One of these people included Jeff Jippen who was an expert on butterflys from Duke Univirsity. We saw many common plants, insects, reptiles, amphibians and birds, as well as many uncommon to rare species. Some highlights of this trip includes the sight of a  Forest Service Helicoper that was helping the forest service fight a distant fire, and the local abundance of a rare and endangered butterfly called the Frosted Elfin. We went off trail to find some of these plants and butterflies. The tour lasted from 1-4 and we had a great turn out.

Here are some photos from my trip     

A rare pineland grass pink orchid  

Nesting Birds 2012

Carolina Chickadee Nestlings the day of hatching, 4-22-2012

The Carolina Chickadee is our among the smallest birds in the Carolinas at barely 3.5 inches long. I have been raising and providing habitat for Carolina Chickadees for 4 years and Eastern Bluebirds for three years. I monitor the nests once or twice a week and check in on them daily and take notes on behaviors. Carolina Chickadees will nest in any available cavity including birdhouses with hole sizes ranging from 3/4 of an inch in diameter to duck houses with 6" holes. Chickadees and Tufted Titmice will also nest inside old woodpecker holes, in old buildings, abandoned cars and boats, uprooted trees and even laundry, pots and other items around human dwellings. With the exception of the nonnative European house sparrow and native purple martins that nest only in specialized nest boxes or in dead trees filled with woodpecker holes, Carolina Chickadees are our most common cavity nesting bird and may be the only native woodland bird that nests in urban areas.

An average suburban or inner city backyard in eastern North America can have between 10-20 breeding species of birds. However, a well wooded backyard or one that contains an native plant habitat or is near a natural grassland or forest can have fifty or more species of breeding birds. Here is an list of the most common backyard nesting birds and their nest requirements. The exact species of birds in your area depends on your geographic location, local habitat conditions and the local abundance of that species in your county.

Birds 

Mourning Dove: commonly nests in trees, shrubs and weedy areas along property borders

Yellow Billed Cuckoo: a common bird in hedgerows and woodland edges, may nest in gardens

Eastern Screech Owl: may be enticed to nest in a yard with a owl nest box  

American Kestrel: may move in to a flicker or kestrel nest box  

Chimney Swift: commonly nests in chimneys and on the eves of houses  

Red Bellied Woodpecker: often drills nest holes in shade trees, telephone poles and even houses  

Pileated Woodpecker: may nest in a dead tree or a telephone pole, also uses large bird houses

Northern Flicker: readily takes nesting boxes or drills cavities in trees near open areas  

Eastern Wood Pewee: nests high in trees, either wooded yards or urban parks

Eastern Phoebe: often nests on porches, over barn doors or in sheds

Great Crested Flycatcher: either uses a nest cavity or woodpecker hole or birdhouses, mail boxes and eves 

Least Flycatcher: usually nests in garden hedgerows or in brushy areas near water

Blue Jay: nests 60-100ft in trees near or in oak, hickory forests or mixed forests, also in parks   

Red Eyed Vireo: nests in shade trees, either in isolated street trees or in remote forests

White Eyed Vireo: may nest in a hedgerow or overgrown fence row, favors grapevines for nest sites

Barn Swallow: often nests on the side of houses, barns and bridges

Purple Martin: uses multi compartment martin houses or clusters of hanging gourds in open areas

Tree Swallow: often uses bluebird houses in open areas, sometimes competing with bluebirds  

Carolina Chickadee: uses nest boxes, tree holes, eves, vents and even overturned pots around houses

Tufted Titmouse: uses both natural and man made cavities near forested areas.

White Breasted Nuthatch: usually nests in old downy woodpecker cavities near woodlands

Carolina Wren: nests in forested areas or hedgerows, may use gourds wicker baskets or boxes on porches

House Wren: eagerly takes nest boxes and can out compete all other songbirds in suburban areas

Blue Gray Gnatcatcher: usually nests in open woodlands or parks with lichen covered trees

Eastern Bluebird: takes wooden nest boxes placed in meadows, lawns or parks

Wood Thrush: often nests in shade trees or large shrubs in yards near forests or large parks  

American Robin: often nests in backyards near forests, feeds on lawns and in fields  

Northern Mockingbird: nests in shrubs and vines in many locations from prairies to cities to farms.

European Starling: uses woodpecker holes or nest boxes meant for flickers in wooded yards.  

Pine Warbler: nest only in pine trees, can be abundant in newer subdivisions with pine trees

Yellow Throated Warbler: nests in trees near water and even close to houses and gardens.

Yellow Warbler: usually nests in backyards near marshes, often in alder or willow trees

American Redstart: often nest in semi open yards with patches of shrubs, trees and open areas

Common Yellowthroat: nests mainly in large gardens, marshes and overgrown lots 

Summer Tanager: nest high in oak or pine trees, more common in older neighborhoods with old trees  

Northern Cardinal: nests in shrubs near forests or along your home foundation, even along streets 

Indigo Bunting: usually nests in hedgerows along property borders or in large gardens  

Rose Breasted Grosbeak: may nest in a backyard tree if its near a wooded area  

Chipping Sparrow: common in neighborhoods with pine trees or juniper, may nest in a potted plant.  

Field Sparrow: nests in overgrown hedgerows or habitat gardens with shrubs and tall grasses  

Song Sparrow: often nests in gardens, hedgerows or plantings along streets and roads.  

Red Winged Blackbird: nests mainly in marshy areas, often uses willows or shrubs along a pond

Common Grackle: nests in colonies 100ft in trees, almost always near creeks or swamps  

Orchard Oriole: nests in large trees near open areas, even along city streets  

Baltimore Oriole: nests in large trees near open areas, even along city streets  

House Finch: often nests in backyards with pine trees, junipers, may nest on the eves of homes or in potted plants. flocks travel to meadows, pastures and large gardens to feed.

American Goldfinch: may nest in a backyard if it contains a large garden or if the property backs up to an weedy area

House Sparrow: often nests in city backyards or at farmhouses where they nest over doors, on porches, streetlights, store signs, and compete with native songbird for woodpecker holes and nest boxes 

Please consult with a field guide or an local birding group to see which birds nest in your area.



A typical wooded neighborhood in the Eastern United States
Wilmington NC Spring



Earthday 2012

An Silky Aster blooming in the spring of 2011, an unusual time of year. Trees and flowers are my symbols of earth day.

Of all of the holidays in the year, Earth Day is my absolute favorite. I love earth day because it raises awareness of the environmental protection and conservation, even if its only for one day.  At the earth day festival in Wilmington North Carolina they have live music, refreshments, booths and fuel efficient cars. The Wilmington Earth day Festival occurs on the weekend of earth day at Hugh Mc Rae Park. Some of the booths that are usually out at earth day include Wave Transit, the Cape Fear Public Utility Authority, Tidal Creek and sometimes the Ability Garden, the Audibon Society and Kids Making It. However these three organizations did not have booths this year. Me and my family clebrate earth day by working in the garden, going to the earth day fair and sitting back and enjoying nature. I ended up enjoying the best part of 4-21-2012 at earth day and the senior prom that came later that night that I was not looking forword to.

The Azalea City

Azalea Festival and Spring

Oceansong by the Rippingtons

This Song reminds me of warmer days in coastal forests and beaches.

The North Carolina Azalea Festival 2012 occurs from April 11 to April 15 in Wilmington North Carolina. The Azalea Festival is an annual event that celebrates spring, history and the best of all azaleas and dogwoods. This five day event includes live concerts, azalea princesses and belles, garden tours, the Coles Bros Circus and the Azalea parade and street fair. Depending on the weather on the previous winter or the following spring, most of the azaleas and other trees bloom between March 15 to April 20, giving Wilmington and the rest of the east coast a breath taking spectacle. There are several kinds of rhododendrons in Wilmington, native azaleas such as pink or pinxter azaleas (the star of the azalea festival) and many exotics including Formosa Azalea, Asian azaleas and the wonderful Encore Azaleas that bloom several times a year. Both native and exotic azaleas line streets, fill gardens and parks. In addition to azaleas, look for native trees of the eastern forests and old fields like American Plums, White Dogwoods, Red Buds, Laurels, Crabapples and Wild Cherries. There are many non native plants that also bring fanfare to Wilmington during the spring and summer, some of my favorites are the Crape Myrtle, Saucer Magnolia and the Japanese Cherry. Trees that are blooming or leafing out are great places to look for warblers, vireos, wrens and many other birds. They are looking for bees, wasps, flies and aphids that feed and hide in the blossoms and leaves. This is truly my favorite time of year. I don't go the the Azalea Festival Parade or the the circus because of the crowds and traffic but I enjoy watching the parade on TV and occasionally going to the street fair.

Creating an Insectary

On the day after my 18th Birthday, my mother has given me a nice new book about attracting pollinators. Name of the book is The Xerces Society Guide to Attracting Native Pollinators. On the first night of skimming the book, I learn many new things about attracting native bees, wasps and flies as well as honeybees, butterflies and other beneficial insects. I have been in to bees and wasps since I was four year old, but I was also scared of them. My backyard habitat and vegetable garden is filled with bamboo mason bee houses, an carpenter bee fence, paper wasp shelves and even patches of soil for ground nesting bees. I also took a local beekeeping class in 2011 and plan to keep honeybees on my yard.

 A good bee farm or insectary should have:

• Variety of native and ornamental plants, trees and shrubs
• A good water source
• Bee, wasp housing, butterfly host plants and proper natural breeding habitat

If your yard or farm is short on bees or butterflies and your crops or pasture plants are not being pollinated there are some simple solutions to add bees to your area.

Set up an Bee Pasture.

A Bee Pasture is a patch of land filled wildflowers and flowering shrubs for bees and other pollinators. The best bee pastures should have several species of native wildflowers that bloom throughout the seasons, at least one specie of grass of sedge to out compete weeds and trees and proper nest sites. Bee pastures should be within 200 yards of the farm field, pasture, garden or orchard to ensure that the bees can reach the crops. Many species of bees don't travel more than a few hundred feet from the nest, while other bees like carpenter bees, bumble bees and honeybees can travel miles from their nests.

List of plants for a bee pasture

 Native Plants

Southern Crabapple

Parsley Leaved Hawthorn

American Plum

Carolina Rose

Eastern Redbud

Eastern Flowering Dogwood

Pink Azalea

Tulip Tree

Southern Magnolia
Red Bay

Sassafras

Blueberries (Especially Highbush blueberries and box huckleberries)  

Blackberries (native species like Black, Common, Allegheny, Apache blackberries and Dewberry)

Fox Grape

Herbaceous Plants

Asters including New England, Old Field, Common, Wood, Calico asters and Ironweeds

Thistles: including Yellow Thistle and Wild Lettuce

Goldenrods and Dogfennel especially for wasps and beetles

Blazing Stars 

Coneflowers (particularly Purple Coneflower, Prairie Coneflower and Black Eyed Susans)  

Blanket Flowers

Sunflowers (particularly Common, Prairie, Narrowleaf Sunflowers and Compass Flower

Salvias and Sages including Lyre Leaved Sage, Black and Blue Sage, Blue Sage, and Scarlet Sage 

Giant Hyssop

Blue Verbain

Rose Verbena

Field Mint and Bee Balms

Indigos

Milkweeds and dogbanes

Phloxes

Fennel and Golden Alexander

 Good Nonnative Plants for Bee Pastures 

Trees

Crape Myrtle

Pear

Figs

Apple

Indian Hawthorn

Asian Azaleas

Camellias

Plants

Assyliums

Common Yarrow

Dandelion

Bull Thistle

Canada Thistle

Prickly Sow Thistle

Hawkweed

French Marigolds

Mexican Marigolds

Cosmos

Mexican Sunflowers

Jerusalem Artichoke

Peppermint

Catnip

Cat Mint

Oregano

Russian Sage

Borage

Dill

Parsley

White Clover

Yellow Clover

Good Bee Houses

Bamboo rods or Hollow plant stalks  secured in a plastic container and mounted to a wall will attract nesting mason wasps, mason bees, leaf bees, and carder bees

Logs, Untreated Posts and old wooden fences make good Carpenter bee colonies, Mason, Resin, bees, mason wasps will move in to old Carpenter bee nests

Shelves provide nest sites for paper wasps and mudaubers that prey or garden pests

Plastic cans, coffee tins lined with cardboard and filled with cotton, moss or grass will attract bumble bees to nest. Place this and wasp platforms in wooded areas away from people or towards the back of your yard.

 

Great Backyard Bird Count 2-17-2-20-2012

2-11-2012
This is a rare shot of one of our smallest backyard birds, the Ruby Crowned Kinglet or Rubycrest.
Kinglets are fearless of people and are common during the winter but rarely hold still for a photo.
This bird was taken one week before the 2012 Bird Count  

I participate in the annual Great Backyard Bird Count each year. This survay is done by Cornell Labs during the second week in febuary to monitor the populations of birds in North America. I counted the birds in my yard during all four days but I also counted the birds at several locations around Wilmington. These locations include Airlie Gardens, Maides Park, Hugh's Mcrae Park. Some of the highlights from my bird count include an adult Bald Eagle at Airlie Gardens, a Merlin in my yard and the Eastern Towhee. All of the birds that I recorded are not rare species in North Carolina but several birds were of interest.

Bird list

My Backyard  6:45-8:00AM

2-17-2012

2 Red Bellied Woodpeckers

10 American Crows

2 Fish Crows

15 Carolina Chickadees

6 Tufted Titmice

4 Carolina Wrens

4 Eastern Bluebirds

24 Cedar Waxwings

18 Yellow Rumped Warblers

2 Pine Warblers

10 White Throated Sparrows

4 Cardinals

22 Red Winged Blackbirds

2 House Finches

2-18-2012

1 Merlin

1 Cooper's Hawk

2 Mourning Doves

2 Downy Woodpeckers

4 Red Bellied Woodpecker
12 Carolina Chickadees

4 Tufted Titmice

4 Carolina Wrens 

1 Ruby Crowned Kinglet 

4 Eastern Bluebird

20 American Robins

2 Mockingbirds

13 Cedar Waxwings 

4 Starlings 

25 Yellow Rumped Warblers 

4 Pine Warblers 

4 Cardinals 

1 Song Sparrow 

3 Field Sparrow

6 White Throated Sparrows 

12 Red Winged Blackbirds 

4 Common Grackles

10 Brown Headed Cowbird 

1 House Sparrow 

2-19-2012

1 Red Tailed Hawk

2 Mourning Doves

2 Downy Woodpeckers

4 Red Bellied Woodpecker

1 Pileated Woodpeckers
9 Carolina Chickadees

4 Tufted Titmice

4 Carolina Wrens 

1 Ruby Crowned Kinglet 

4 Eastern Bluebird

6 American Robins

1 Mockingbird

1 Brown Thrasher

25 Cedar Waxwings 

4 Starlings 

22 Yellow Rumped Warblers 

4 Pine Warblers 

8 Cardinals 

3 Field Sparrow

6 White Throated Sparrows 

12 Red Winged Blackbirds 

8 Common Grackles

4 House Finch

1 House Sparrow 

2-20-2012

1 Red Tailed Hawk

1 Cooper's Hawk

1 Mourning Doves

4 Red Bellied Woodpecker

9 Carolina Chickadees

4 Tufted Titmice

4 Carolina Wrens 

4 Eastern Bluebird

18 Cedar Waxwings 

2 Mockingbirds

4 Starlings 

25 Yellow Rumped Warblers 

4 Pine Warblers 

4 Cardinals 

6 White Throated Sparrows 

25  Red Winged Blackbirds 

4 Common Grackles

1 House Finch

Maides Park 2-17-2012 3:45 PM-4:00PM

12 American Crows

4 Carolina Chickadees

 1 Carolina Wren

1 Ruby Crowned Kinglet

Hugh McRae Park 2-17-2012

10 Candia Geese

3 Mallards

2 Feral Ducks

1 Double Crested Cormorant high

1 Red Bellied Woodpeckers

9 Brown Headed Nuthatches

6 Pine Warblers

1 Carolina Wren

1 European Starling high 

Airlie Garden's Audubon Trip 2-18-2012 8:30 AM-11:00AM

8 American Widgeons

1 Green Winged Teal 

4 Mute Swans 

42 Candia Geese 

4 Pied Billed Grebes  

1 Double Crested Cormorant

1 Great Blue Heron

3 Snowy Egrets

1 Great Egret

6 White Ibis

1 Laughing Gull 

3 Ring Billed Gulls 

2 Forester Terns  

1 Bald Eagle

4 Red Tailed Hawks

1 Cooper's Hawk 

4 Turkey Vultures

1 Mourning Dove

2 Red Bellied Woodpeckers

1 Northern Flicker

2 Carolina Chickadees

4 Tufted Titmice

1 Carolina Wren

1 Golden Crowned Kinglet

4 Ruby Crowned Kinglet

25 American Robin

1 Mockingbird  

14 Cedar Waxwings

8 Yellow Rumped Warblers

2 Cardinals

2 Red Winged Blackbirds

4 White Throated Sparrows

2 House Sparrows

Spring arrives

This is a video of Chris Geith's song So Many Nights from the Time less World Album
Courtesy of You Tube, This is one of the Contemporary Jazz songs that remind me of spring.

March is one of my favorite months of the year because it is the end of winter, and the beginning of spring bird migration. I also like this month because my sister both and my sister Vikki's was born in March. In March many plants begin to bloom and insects emerge. (my favorite creatures to watch). Some of the plants in bloom include Flowering Dogwoods, Red Buds, Cherry Laurels and Native Azalea, while violets and bluets carpet fields and forest under stories. One bird that arrives around my birthday is also one of my favorite birds, the Wood Thrush. This songbird arrives from South American around March 25 and breeds here until September 15. Spring brings warmer temperatures and colorful blooms but it also comes with pollen and violent thunderstorms. Spring is one of my worst times for allegories and hay fever with all of these trees in bloom. Even with that spring is still one of my favorite seasons of the year.