Wood Ducks Walking 2016

I found these wood ducks in a fallow corn field on May 5 2016 near Willard KS in the Kansas River Valley. I've seen plenty of wood ducks in water, but rarely see them walking on land. These are both male wood ducks with their gaudy colors and striking red eye. Because it is May they are at the height of their breeding colors.

Chickadee at Walnut Chip Feeder 2018

On Feb 16 2018, these black-capped chickadees were eating black walnut chips out of this hanging dish feeder. When I crack black walnuts to eat, I always end up with lots of small pieces mixed in with shells that I can't eat. They are the perfect treat for chickadees and titmice. Both go crazy for them. And the feeder is usually emptied in a day.

Snack and Treat Feeder

These Snack and Treat feeders are great for serving black walnut pieces, peanuts, meal worms, and suet crumbs. They can be hung from a shepherd's hook or any S hook. They do have drain holes to help keep food from getting too wet. You can purchase either a single tray or double tray feeder using the my affiliate links provided.

Single Snack Feeder
This feeder has only one dish.


Double Snack Feeder
This feeder has two dishes.
 

FYI: If you purchase via these ads I will get a small commission from the sale.

Starling Trapping Season has begun.

The starling really started coming to my yard on Mar 1, 2018.  I've already trapped 10 of them in baited funnel traps and 2 in nest box traps.  I trap starlings because they will evict flickers from their nest and destroy the eggs, young, and adults in their quest to breed. Learn more about starling control at http://bit.ly/StarlingControl

Bumble Bee at Bigroot Morning Glory 2017

My Bigroot morning glory (Ipomeoa pandurata) was in full bloom on Aug 7, 2017 when this bumble bee came to pollinate the flowers in my Topeka yard. This is a native perennial morning glory that is also known as man of the earth because of the size of its roots. It's also known as wild sweet potato and is edible. It's amazing the number of blooms one plant produces and I love that it is a perennial as most garden morning glories are annuals. Such a showy flower. I think this plant should be in people's gardens just to feed the bumble bees, a pollinator in decline. Curious if anyone can ID the bee?

Flicker Nesting Update

Watch this video of my flickers at their nest box.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gX9oCCAlPxA

This pair of flickers appears to have adopted this nest box as their home. First you will see the male drumming on the roof. Later the female appears from within the box. I believe the male drumming on the roof is announcing his territory. The flickers moving into this nest box would not have been possible if I didn't trap starling.  Starlings are an introduced species that competes with flickers for nest sites.  For more information on starling control go to http://www.kansasnativeplants.com/yard_birds_europeanstarling.php

Starling Trapping Update

I had to share my exciting news on my starling trapping regimen.

Today I caught 13 starlings.  1 in a nest box trap, 1 in a single catch trap, and 11 in my funnel trap.  The funnel trap is amazing.  The starlings walk right in.  My grand total for the year is 79 starlings. 

The flickers are quite happy, eating suet and not being bothered by the starlings.  I really think they will have a chance at successful nesting in my yard this year.  A female is still spending time in her box almost daily.  The starlings have not chased her away. But now I see why our woodpeckers have such a difficult time competing with starlings.  A pair of woodpeckers might be able to keep one starling at bay, but when the starling population is so great, they don’t have much of a chance.

This from the Cornell site: http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/northern_flicker/lifehistory

Northern Flickers are widespread and common, but numbers decreased by almost 1.5 percent per year between 1966 and 2010, resulting in a cumulative decline of 46 percent, according to the North American Breeding Bird Survey.

See more information about trapping starlings at http://www.kansasnativeplants.com/yard_birds_europeanstarling.php (scroll to the bottom to see the amazing funnel trap)