Fraker Farm Miscellany; Woodford Co; 06/29/09
0 views
Skip to first unread message
frake...@aol.com
Jun 29, 2009, 6:58:58 PM6/29/09
to CI...@googlegroups.com
Greetings, everyone --
I went out on The Farm today from about 6:30 am until 9:15 am. My, my, the place is a tad bushy. I have not had a chance to mow any paths yet this year. Our kids will need little flags on their heads if they go out in this stuff. I do not know what I almost stepped on over by the barns and the old homestead, other than it could explosively growl-hiss at me and it was invisible. Both "Tucher" and I jumped up and away from this mammalian land mine and then looked at each other like "what the hell was THAT?!?" I think we must have scared a raccoon, but it is a mystery -- one I am thankful took place during a diurnal walk because if it had been nighttime, my wife would never find my heart arrested corpse in that tall grass.
The day had several highlights. One was very simple -- I had the following 10 birds at once in a single mulberry tree that was not fruiting down by Denman Creek:
Northern Cardinal male
Common Yellowthroat male
Rose-breasted Grosbeak 1 male and 2 females
Scarlet Tanager female
Baltimore Oriole male
Eastern Kingbird
Field Sparrow
Song Sparrow
The Lead Plant is beginning to flower up on the remnant by the North Oak Timber. Lead Plant (which is a fantastic conservative prairie shrub) has a great flower -- it is a spike of purple with gold "dustings":
http://www.critsite.com/_ccLib/image/plants/DETA-100076.jpg
After my hike, I discovered that the battery on our New Holland Tractor was dead. So I grabbed "Cloverfield", the walk-behind DR mower, and mowed those paths I cannot do with the tractor. Then I grabbed my hoe, and took on the few Teasel plants trying to make their mark on our 9 acre prairie right by the house. During this, I heard one of the resident Kestrels feeding a juvenile bird -- they fledged at least one bird this year, which is a huge relief.
Several years ago, I put a bluebird box on the north side of our house by our entry room. Not surprisingly, it has been a House Sparrow factory. But this year, we actually have Bluebirds using it -- the pair has been in and out all day.
I put three new photos up on the photobucket site -- one of some lightning over The Farm from the weekend, one of the North Oak Timber, and one of a puffed up Cedar Waxwing from this morning:
http://s545.photobucket.com/albums/hh399/frakerpovc/
Totals are below;
Matt Fraker
Woodford Co;
06/29/09
Location: Fraker Farm
Observation date: 6/29/09
Number of species: 49
Great Blue Heron 2
Turkey Vulture 2
Cooper's Hawk 1
Red-tailed Hawk (Eastern) 3
American Kestrel 2
Rock Pigeon 1
Mourning Dove 6
Red-headed Woodpecker 2
Red-bellied Woodpecker 6
Downy Woodpecker 4
Northern Flicker (Yellow-shafted) 2
Eastern Wood-Pewee 4
Eastern Phoebe 2
Great Crested Flycatcher 3
Eastern Kingbird 3
Warbling Vireo 2
Blue Jay 9
American Crow 2
Tree Swallow 2
Northern Rough-winged Swallow 5
Black-capped Chickadee 6
Tufted Titmouse 3
White-breasted Nuthatch 4
Carolina Wren 1
House Wren 16
Sedge Wren 1
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher 1
Eastern Bluebird 10
Wood Thrush 2
American Robin 7
Gray Catbird 7
Brown Thrasher 1
European Starling 2
Cedar Waxwing 8
Common Yellowthroat 6
Scarlet Tanager 2
Eastern Towhee 5
Field Sparrow 20
Song Sparrow 3
Northern Cardinal 5
Rose-breasted Grosbeak 6
Indigo Bunting 10
Dickcissel 1
Red-winged Blackbird 33
Eastern Meadowlark 2
Brown-headed Cowbird 1
Orchard Oriole 1
Baltimore Oriole 2
American Goldfinch 7
I went out on The Farm today from about 6:30 am until 9:15 am. My, my, the place is a tad bushy. I have not had a chance to mow any paths yet this year. Our kids will need little flags on their heads if they go out in this stuff. I do not know what I almost stepped on over by the barns and the old homestead, other than it could explosively growl-hiss at me and it was invisible. Both "Tucher" and I jumped up and away from this mammalian land mine and then looked at each other like "what the hell was THAT?!?" I think we must have scared a raccoon, but it is a mystery -- one I am thankful took place during a diurnal walk because if it had been nighttime, my wife would never find my heart arrested corpse in that tall grass.
The day had several highlights. One was very simple -- I had the following 10 birds at once in a single mulberry tree that was not fruiting down by Denman Creek:
Northern Cardinal male
Common Yellowthroat male
Rose-breasted Grosbeak 1 male and 2 females
Scarlet Tanager female
Baltimore Oriole male
Eastern Kingbird
Field Sparrow
Song Sparrow
The Lead Plant is beginning to flower up on the remnant by the North Oak Timber. Lead Plant (which is a fantastic conservative prairie shrub) has a great flower -- it is a spike of purple with gold "dustings":
http://www.critsite.com/_ccLib/image/plants/DETA-100076.jpg
After my hike, I discovered that the battery on our New Holland Tractor was dead. So I grabbed "Cloverfield", the walk-behind DR mower, and mowed those paths I cannot do with the tractor. Then I grabbed my hoe, and took on the few Teasel plants trying to make their mark on our 9 acre prairie right by the house. During this, I heard one of the resident Kestrels feeding a juvenile bird -- they fledged at least one bird this year, which is a huge relief.
Several years ago, I put a bluebird box on the north side of our house by our entry room. Not surprisingly, it has been a House Sparrow factory. But this year, we actually have Bluebirds using it -- the pair has been in and out all day.
I put three new photos up on the photobucket site -- one of some lightning over The Farm from the weekend, one of the North Oak Timber, and one of a puffed up Cedar Waxwing from this morning:
http://s545.photobucket.com/albums/hh399/frakerpovc/
Totals are below;
Matt Fraker
Woodford Co;
06/29/09
Location: Fraker Farm
Observation date: 6/29/09
Number of species: 49
Great Blue Heron 2
Turkey Vulture 2
Cooper's Hawk 1
Red-tailed Hawk (Eastern) 3
American Kestrel 2
Rock Pigeon 1
Mourning Dove 6
Red-headed Woodpecker 2
Red-bellied Woodpecker 6
Downy Woodpecker 4
Northern Flicker (Yellow-shafted) 2
Eastern Wood-Pewee 4
Eastern Phoebe 2
Great Crested Flycatcher 3
Eastern Kingbird 3
Warbling Vireo 2
Blue Jay 9
American Crow 2
Tree Swallow 2
Northern Rough-winged Swallow 5
Black-capped Chickadee 6
Tufted Titmouse 3
White-breasted Nuthatch 4
Carolina Wren 1
House Wren 16
Sedge Wren 1
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher 1
Eastern Bluebird 10
Wood Thrush 2
American Robin 7
Gray Catbird 7
Brown Thrasher 1
European Starling 2
Cedar Waxwing 8
Common Yellowthroat 6
Scarlet Tanager 2
Eastern Towhee 5
Field Sparrow 20
Song Sparrow 3
Northern Cardinal 5
Rose-breasted Grosbeak 6
Indigo Bunting 10
Dickcissel 1
Red-winged Blackbird 33
Eastern Meadowlark 2
Brown-headed Cowbird 1
Orchard Oriole 1
Baltimore Oriole 2
American Goldfinch 7
Reply all
Reply to author
Forward
0 new messages