Last week I posted about an interesting encounter with an aggressive ruffed grouse. During that nearly hour long encounter, Bob and I got to see the bird consume grass seeds, partridge berries, and mushrooms. Watching animals eat and studying the … Continue reading →
If you read this blog regularly you may be starting to think I’m obsessed with ruffed grouse. I promise that I have plans to write about many other species but this has, in fact, been the year of the grouse … Continue reading →
Many bird species bathe in “dust” (sand or soil) as part of their plumage preening process. The bird prepares a new spot for dust bathing by scraping a patch of dry, fine, loose soil or sand with its feet to … Continue reading →
Hummingbirds are sometimes said to be perfect pollinators of cardinal flower, Lobelia cardinalis, because the size and shape of the bird’s bill and head match the flower so well that pollination often results when the bird visits flower after flower … Continue reading →
Hummingbirds provide the critical service of pollination while sipping nectar from the flowers of certain annuals, perennials, trees, shrubs, and vines. The ruby-throated hummingbird, Archilochus colubris, is the only species that commonly occurs in Massachusetts, where one of its favorite … Continue reading →
Many galliform birds (heavy bodied, ground feeding, chicken like birds) “strut” as part of their territorial and courtship rituals. Perhaps the wild turkey and the pea fowl, with their large, fanned tails, are the most familiar strutters, but ruffed grouse … Continue reading →
This year, a family of American robins nesting in our pergola provided a great opportunity for me to capture the entire process with a trail camera. I noticed the nest one day while tending to my garden and quickly mounted … Continue reading →
Most birds, the ruffed grouse among them, have a preening gland, also called the uropygial gland, on the rump at the base of the tail. It secretes a rich oil of waxes, fatty acids, fat, and water that is used … Continue reading →
The sound of a male ruffed grouse drumming may be subtle, but the accompanying display is flamboyant. The low pitched drum alerts females in the vicinity to the presence of a male, and if her interest is piqued, she may … Continue reading →
About 2 decades ago we moved into our current house which sat in a wide open 1-acre lot, devoid even of foundation plantings. I loved the empty space because I wanted to fill it with my choice of plantings to … Continue reading →
