Tuesday’s Backyard

Mr. Blue.

Betty keeps a close eye on the Bluebird house.

Mrs. Blue 

Vigilant.

Five!

Betty needs a closer look.

Mrs. Blue doesn’t budge, and with the shake of her beak sends Betty off to chase after the deer.

Our evening deer graze among the apple trees.

Good night.

Sunday Afternoon Blues

A female Bluebird with gathered nesting material waits for the all clear signal.

After looking both ways she heads for the nest…

…with the male Bluebird providing over-watch.

Graceful in flight, she nails the landing.

The male looks and listens for any sign of danger.

He is a formidable foe for just about anybody that chooses to interfere, dive-bombing and chasing away all comers. 

Guarding the nest, he is tempted by a bug close by on the ground, but he remains steadfast at his post. 

He decides to check out his mate’s work on the nest. 

But in no time flat, she is back with more…

…and more.

The opening to the nest box is a small target but as she lands, she digs into the wood with her sharp-toed claws.

She will repeat this dozens of times throughout the day until she is satisfied…

…or until the Catbird calls out “Break-time!”

My dog Betty, ever vigilant, hears the Catbird as well…

…and being proficient in trans-species communications,

takes the message to heart.

She quickly stands down to DEFCON-2…

DEFCON -3

DEFCON – 4

Turtle guards are quickly posted to take up the slack.

They take their job very seriously.

Heroes in a half-shell…Turtle Power!

Birdhouse Eviction

I recently went to clean my Bluebird house from the nest of Wrens that produced 7 healthy fledglings.

 But it wasn’t empty.

A new tenant had taken up residence.

A small snake had made the empty Wren’s nest home.

I didn’t recognize what type of snake he was but I knew we didn’t want him in the birdhouse.

So I grabbed an arrow and knocked the nest to the ground.

The snake quickly slithered away into the nearby woods.

Later I looked him up by comparing the pictures I took to snakes native to the area. Turns out he is a juvenile Eastern Rat Snake (Scotophis Alleghaniensis).

It will mature into a large constricting snake that will be 6 feet in length or greater and be shiny black in color.  Eastern Rat Snakes are not venomous, but may bite if handled carelessly. Rat snakes are relatively slow moving and will most often freeze when first encountering danger. This is why so many are killed on our roadways. They are excellent climbers and do get quite long. I’ve caught and handled these snakes in the past and just thought of them as Black snakes. Learn something new every day…