Naturally

A choir of crickets serenaded me. I don’t see jackrabbits here anymore, so I’ve named one of the yard’s cottontails Jack Bunny.
I didn’t see a bald eagle until I was 14. I told that to a boy who replied, “I’ve seen 14 bald eagles and I’m only 7 years old.”
I asked a UPS driver about deer. He said that in the 22 routes he’s aware of, he knows of no brown truck that has collided with a deer. This is likely due to cautious drivers and the crepuscular habits of deer, which feed mainly from before dawn until several hours later, and again from late afternoon until dusk.
Ken Bertelson of Albert Lea told of a funeral procession where the hearse had to come to a complete stop because of a stubborn wild turkey.
Judy Hellie of Clarks Grove found a katydid. Her 4-year-old grandson suggested feeding it grass. Judy looked it up and found katydids eat grass and leaves. Her grandson said, “Finally, I’m right.”
I worked at a county fair. I watched a little boy chase a baby killdeer. The tiny bird easily outran its pursuer and I felt no need to chastise the boy as I was one once. The poor mother killdeer had a cow. The baby ran off into the classic tractor area as the mother headed in the opposite direction while feigning injury, hoping to draw the perceived predator away. I spent 10 minutes watching the mother as she called incessantly, running between food stands and a stand selling animated face masks. She finally found the tractors and her baby. I cheered, which made passersby smile
Q&A
Gunnar Berg of Albert Lea asked where flycatchers drink. They do so at the Flycatcher Bar on Main Street. It’s a fly-ridden dive. I saw a Say’s phoebe in North Dakota. The Say's phoebe breeds farther north than any other flycatcher with a breeding range from central Mexico to the arctic tundra. Charles Bonaparte, a nephew of Napoleon, named the Say’s phoebe after American naturalist Thomas Say, the first scientist to encounter the bird, at a site in Colorado, in 1819. This flycatcher typically doesn’t drink, even if water is available. Flycatchers get their moisture from an insectivorous diet. One will occasionally have a nip at the Flycatcher Bar.
Vicki Lauruhn of Mankato asked why house finches are nibbling on her flowers. Birds eat buds and flowers because they are nutritious. Some experts claim flowers have more food value than buds.
Ken Nelson of Clarks Grove wondered how long bald eagles live. The oldest known bald eagle in the wild was at least 38 years old when a car hit and killed it in New York in 2015. It had been banded in 1977.
Leo Skorin of Albert Lea saw three sandhill cranes and asked about their migration. Sandhill cranes mate for life. Juveniles remain near their parents for 9 or 10 months after hatching. Those three could have been parents and a colt. During migration, the family units group together with other cranes, forming loose roosting and feeding flocks that can reach into the many thousands. The DNR says the cranes in northwest Minnesota belong to the mid-continent population while those in central and east-central (and likely those seen by Leo) Minnesota belong to the eastern population. Eastern population cranes breeding in Minnesota winter in north and central Florida, and mid-continent cranes from northwest Minnesota winter along the Gulf Coast of Texas. The migration lasts from early September through mid-November with the primary spot to observe greater sandhill cranes in Minnesota is Sherburne National Wildlife Refuge near Zimmerman. Crane numbers there peak between late October and early November. Wintering sandhill cranes can be seen in Texas, California, Arizona, New Mexico and Mexico.
John Holt of Albert Lea asked where night-herons nest. Near water, from on the ground to 150 feet high in trees, shrubs and other vegetation. While not a night-heron, the more common green heron nests in shrubs or trees 5-30 feet high typically close to water.
Donna and Duane Swenson of Waseca watched a great horned owl stare at mallards in a pond. This owl begins nesting in January or February, laying their eggs in abandoned nests of squirrels, hawks or crows but sometimes nest on cliff ledges or in hollow trees. Females lay one to five eggs, which hatch in 30 to 37 days. The young owls leave the nest in six to nine weeks.
Paul Hensche of Alden asked how long house sparrows live. I’d say 2-5 years in the wild.
Thanks for stopping by
“The old Lakota was wise. He knew that man's heart away from nature becomes hard; he knew that lack of respect for growing, living things soon led to lack of respect for humans, too.”―Luther Standing Bear
“The meaning of life is to give life meaning.”―Viktor E. Frankl
Do good.

©Al Batt 2021

A killdeer calls its name. Photo by Al Batt

The bedazzling gorgeous Scarlet Tanager is Red with a capital R.

An Eastern Chipmunk is maybe 10 inches long including its tail, yet it can put 31 kernels of corn, 7 acorns or 70 sunflower seeds in its cheek pouches. It might store 1/2 bushel of seeds and nuts in its burrow.