Today we have a collection of bird photos (and one mammal shot) by Stephen Barnard that have accumulated over the past two weeks, and it’s time to put them on display.
Two species of chickadees. The first is a Black-capped Chickadee (Poecile atricapillus), that is far more common here than the second, a Mountain Chickadee (Poecile gambeli).
[JAC: The black-capped has to rank among the Cutest Birds]:
Mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus):
Not wildlife, but a photo of a Nature Conservancy project. We’re planting about 20 acres on my ranch to support pollinators.
A pair of Mallards (Anas platyrhynchos), an American Kestrel (Falco sparverius) landing, and a Northern Flicker (Colaptes auratus) feeding on insects (I assume) in my roof shingles:
Northern harrier (Circus cyaneus) on the hunt:
More great pictures. Nice to see you are using Iowa made machinery. As they say, nothing runs like a deere. Wonder what is going in the ground with the grain drill? Maybe various wild flowers and grasses.
This is the seed mix:
Castilleja flava, Yellow Paintbrush
Penstemon eatonii, Firecracker Penstemon
Cleome Serrulata, Rocky Mountain Bee Plant
Aciepias speciosa, Showy Milkweed
Epilobium augustafoliom, Fireweed
Linum perenne v. lewisii, Blue Flax
Viguiera multiflora, Showy Goldeneye
Balsomorhiza sagattata, Arrowleaf Balsamroot
Sphaeralcea munroana, Munroe Glovemallow
Penstemon rydbergii, Rydberg’s Penstemon
Penstemon venustus, Blue Mountain Penstemon
Should make for some really colorful cover and return for years to come. Pricey seed I’m sure but maybe the conservation agency helps with that.
You are awesome, Stephen! I love what you’re doing to help pollinators. Kudos to you, and also to the other readers who are doing likewise
Steve as a backyard beekeeper thank you for planting for pollinators. Honey bees are the “poster child” for the decline in pollinators. Solitary and native bees need help to. We just don’t know enough about them.
Looking forward to pictures of this piece of land next year!
Dan is drilling in particularly bad patch. Those weeds you see are what we call Canadian Thistle (Cirsium arvense), but it goes by many names. (It isn’t from Canada — go figure.) It’s a noxious, fast-spreading import that’s considered an undesirable weed even where it’s native. It’s the worst weed problem I have. Perhaps ironically, many pollinators and finches love it, and it’s rather attractive in bloom.
Very nice. Are chickadees what we call tits in Europe? They look very similar…
They’re in the same family, Paridae.
We only have black capped chickadees here; I didn’t even know there were other kinds!
I like how chickadees sound so big with their warning “chica-dee-dee-dee” but are actually so small! They are also pretty fearless and will take seeds from your hand after they learn to trust you.
Beautiful photos. Thanks. Love that black-capped chickadee.
These shots are just great. My favorites are the black cap with seed, and harrier – on the hunt.
It is great that you are planting wildflowers, and thank you for supporting our hard working pollinators.
Top notch pictures as well, as always.
The mallards are just beautiful.
Yes, thanks to Stephen for more beautiful pix; I pinned the mallards.
Another great dose of Barnard photos.
Re. the 20 acres of pollinator land, do you have (or will you establish) an apiary? My next door neighbor established one last year, and last summer the honey bees were abundant…a very welcome addition to the neighborhood.
I concur that black-capped chickadees are one of the cutest birds. I think one of the prettiest sights in winter is a flock of them among snow covered branches, feathers all fluffed out for warmth.
Fantastic shot of that Harrier!