Wasps are a way of life here. I’m ok with the bees as long as they aren’t nested in the ground and I walk over the hole while mowing….then bees and I are going to do battle…. me at night with agricultural diazonone.
I haven’t seen bluebirds in a while, they head out already. Also haven’t seen those barn swallows either.
Try getting out of the kitchen Glenn. Too much canning, not enough bird watching.
Try getting out of the kitchen Glenn. Too much canning, not enough bird watching.
maybe that and I had to be in Vegas last week.
I saw what I believe were House Finches at the new house. Might be time to buy a thistle sock.
I don’t think we are going to put in any bird feeders because there are too many other critters that it would attract. I saw a downy woodpecker and I’d love to put up a peanut butter or suet feeder. The problem is I took the track out last night and something already got into the garbage. Could be a raccoon or could be the neighborhood dog that roams around.
If you can get a suet cage up off the ground high enough you could put a vermin baffle just under the cage.
Even if I prevented them from getting at it, my concern is the smell would still attract them.
We have a strip of dense bushes and trees behind us and utility wires which attracts plenty of birds as is. We have a large population of Monk Parakeets which look more like parrots. I’d consider attracting those if I could tame them a bit.
I can always stop at the neighbors house and view the storks, egrets and herons that wait every evening for her to feed them. 
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Cedar waxwings were plentiful and active on pool 2 yesterday. There were some mayflies around and the waxwings were swooping on the bugs.
Anybody seen any Whooping Cranes? Outdoor News online reported that they were near the 101 bridge in Shakopee on or about 8/6.
I just saw something interesting. A flock of gulls circling overhead and they appeared to be eating insects. There were dozens of gulls riding a thermal and snapping up bugs. They were probably ring-billed gulls but couldn’t tell even with binoculars. Looked like the local barn swallows or nighthawks at first. They slowly drifted away to the southeast. I imagine migration has begun.
I’m bringing this report back from last year because I saw the same thing yesterday. Sitting in my driveway with a beer, looked up and it was deja vu all over again. A couple weeks earlier this year.
Have noticed the Monarch butterflies migrating too.
We thought he was cool until he nabbed a big lizard.
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Then there was this guy this morning. It appears to be a juvenile stork who decided to drop in and follow me around. I’d love to feed these guys, but there is a lady down the street who feeds the storks, egrets and herons. Her rook is a poopy mess.
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Did I accidently create a pun? Her roof.
Well I wouldn’t want any more storks at my house! Three is enough…
The nighthawks came by just ahead of the storm. Right on schedule
Well I wouldn’t want any more storks at my house! Three is enough…
Revisiting this thread and I think I finally got the 3 storks joke. 
Anyone heard of black bellied Whistler ducks? We have a ton around here. When I heard them flying overhead, I first thought they were small muskovy ducks. Kind of weird hearing a duck “whistle” and not quack.
<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>Rod Bent wrote:</div>
Well I wouldn’t want any more storks at my house! Three is enough…Revisiting this thread and I think I finally got the 3 storks joke.
Anyone heard of black bellied Whistler ducks? We have a ton around here. When I heard them flying overhead, I first thought they were small muskovy ducks. Kind of weird hearing a duck “whistle” and not quack.
LOL Better late than never Pug! I mostly entertain myself with my sense of humor…
One of the deer I shot this year was full of fat and tallow. When I processed the critter I ended up with 2 five quart pails full of the stuff. Today I rounded up a jar and a half of stale chunky peanut butter and chunked one of the pails of suet into a pot and set to rendering the tallow. Ma had some crushed peanuts that were slightly out of date too so after rendering the fat and straining the cracklings into a pie pan I stirred the crumbled nuts and peanut butter into the liquid fat and mixed it up well. Fat takes a while to cool so I took the cracklings down and put them in suet cages. A while later I went back and found the rendered fat just right for stirring again to get any settled nuts back into the body of the stuff and filled a couple containers to use for filling our woodpecker feeder plus some cake trays saved from store bought suet. About a half hour ago I hung the cracklings out on hooks and filled the woodpecker feeder with some of the new mix.
I just took a peek out the window and I had two Downys on the cracklings and another on the peanut butter/tallow mix. I guess it passed muster. They’ll eat well.
I’m at the computer desk and happened to look out the window right in front of me about three minutes ago and caught sight of this big guy as he attacked my suet log. This log hands from a limb in out white pine and is literally only 7 feet away. I’ll apologize for the fuzzy picture but its been too cold to open it to clean it. And there’s the screen too. But at this distance you can see how nice he looks. As a rule the pileated woodys stay to the big oak behind the garage or the big walnut in the neighbor’s back yard. Every once in a great while we’ll get one here at the suet feeders and today was the day.
Those big pileated guys are awesome. I love listening to them while sitting in the tree stand.
Agree, pileated wood peckers are near the top of all the birds I get excited to see.
On a side note, I had 6 vultures perched on the fence today.
nice capture, always fun to see them. here is a nice fat male that stopped by for some nutty butter suet on the 21st. dang flying squirrels eat the stuff up so fast.
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This bird was in heavy shade so its colors are really muted.
I render all of my deer fat and mix it with chunky peanut butter while its hot and liquid. I have containers of this mix for stuffing the logs and I have several cakes made by filling the plastic trays commercial suet comes in. The deer fat is super high energy for the birds….great for this cold weather.
Rendered Fat in plastic blocks looks a lot better that the whole deer carcass that my buddy hangs out in his yard every year. I cant believe that his wife lets him do it, but he gets away with it every year. The birds sure are thankful that he does. They pound away on it all winter. By spring there is nothing left but white bones.
I take the spine with the ribs back down to the mountain and the landowner takes it up and hangs it in the woods. Its great food for the birds and something about a hanging carcass as opposed to one laying on the ground keeps crows off it too. I live with a major park with paved trails right behind the house so a carcass swinging on the clothesline poles would probably get some commentary….sort of like when I butchered a pair of hogs in the driveway.
I take the spine with the ribs back down to the mountain and the landowner takes it up and hangs it in the woods. Its great food for the birds and something about a hanging carcass as opposed to one laying on the ground keeps crows off it too. I live with a major park with paved trails right behind the house so a carcass swinging on the clothesline poles would probably get some commentary….sort of like when I butchered a pair of hogs in the driveway.
I guess that’s one way to become the talk of the neighborhood
put a buncha deer fat out mid novemeber and it was zapped in a month. they sure love it.
I love the cabin life.
I see the downy woodpeckers are starting the pairing games now. My feeders are a woodpecker madhouse anyway but things are really crazy now and will be for about a week until they find mates.
I see the downy woodpeckers are starting the pairing games now. My feeders are a woodpecker madhouse anyway but things are really crazy now and will be for about a week until they find mates.
remind you of your younger days Tom!!!!!! 
I’ve heard of a robin siting over by Cambridge!!!!!
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