Hooray for Herons

Living in the woods, we see wildlife daily…but this Spring has been particularly active! It's not unusual to see a bevy of birds, ducks, hawks, turkey, and deer in any given hour.

One of our favorite type of bird to frequent the pond is the heron. Tricolored, golden, blue, or green…these long-legged birds are always a fun sight to see! Thankfully Mikey had his camera handy for these beauties...

©Life as an Artist’s Wife
A Great Blue Heron perched high in a tree. I just love his long, feathery chest plumes!

©Life as an Artist’s Wife
Look at the intensity in this green heron's eyes as he checks out his dinner options in the pond.

©Life as an Artist’s Wife
The reflection in the pond is just as cute as the green heron is!

Speaking of herons…Mikey snapped a funny blue heron a couple years ago.

There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven.

-Ecclesiastes 3:1

The Great "Grape Jelly" Smack-Down

Summer is officially over. But, Mikey and I are still having fun sorting through his summer photos of our feathered friends. And, we’re still chuckling over "The Great Grape Jelly Smack-Down." Here's how it all went down...


On one tree limb, we have the Red-breasted Grosbeak, looking rather calm, cool, and collected….

©Life as an Artist’s Wife
Red-breasted Grosbeak

 

On another tree limb, we have the Baltimore Oriole, looking much more alert, fierce, and determined...

 

©Life as an Artist’s Wife
Baltimore Oriole

 

Both birds have one goal in mind...to get their beaks on that grape jelly Mikey tucked inside a piece of driftwood.



Grape jelly used to lure in birds.

So...Who do you think got to the grape jelly first?!

©Life as an Artist’s Wife
Baltimore Oriole and Red-breasted Grosbeak

And, the winner of "The Great Grape Jelly Smack-Down" is....

©Life as an Artist’s Wife
Baltimore Oriole

That fierce determination definitely paid off! (Look closely and you can see the grape jelly in his beak!)

To see our favorite Baltimore Oriole photo, click here. For a little backstory on the grape jelly technique to lure in birds, click here.

The Case of the Minnow Bandits

Michael was so excited last week to receive a delivery of 50 pounds of minnows for the pond. These minnows play an important role to the overall health of the pond… and they keep the bellies of our bass, bluegills, and catfish full and happy!

The morning after we received the minnow delivery, I went down to Michael’s office. He was sitting by the window with his binoculars gripped tightly in his hands. With a concerned look on his face and a serious tone in his voice, he said “Angel, we have a problem.”

Uh-oh…what’s wrong?! Maybe he discovered an issue from our recent storm? Perhaps something happened to his newest landscape project? Or...was there a dangerous animal lurking in the woods?

Nope.

Evidently, the 50 pound delivery of minnows brought with it…the delivery of a pair of Belted Kingfishers!

©Life as an Artist’s Wife
One of the beautiful Belted Kingfishers.

Not knowing what a belted kingfisher looked like, I grabbed the binoculars and said "Oh, they're so cute! What's the problem?" 

Michael replied, "The problem? They're stealing all my doggone minnows!"

<Insert my little giggle here!>

Yes, the belted kingfishers are known to feed on aquatic prey…they feed on MINNOWS! Michael watched in horror as the birds swooped up the minnows one by one. For three days straight, it was an all-you-can-eat minnow-buffet!

Here is how these spunky, spikey-crested birds would catch their prey:

They would sit up high on a branch…

©Life as an Artist’s Wife
Belted Kingfisher getting ready to move in on the minnow.

They would plunge down to the water to catch a minnow with its long bill…

©Life as an Artist’s Wife
Belted Kingfisher diving for a minnow.

They would fly to a safe spot, shake the minnow (errr, actually beat the minnow senseless on a branch - ouch!), pitch it up in the air, and then swallow it whole – head first! Eww!

©Life as an Artist’s Wife
Belted Kingfisher with the minnow in its mouth.

We were in awe as they repeated this cycle of catching the minnows over and over again. How could their stout little bodies possibly eat so many minnows? 


By the end of Day 2, we noticed that they looked bloated and were moving a little slower.

By Day 3, Michael was wondering "How many pounds of my 50 pound minnow delivery are left in the pond?"

By Days 3 and 4, we saw them less and less throughout the day. Perhaps they were in and out of a minnow-coma?

Also, by Day 4 Michael was a little more tolerable...and forgiving of these cute little birds. (Although he wishes there was some sort of "money back guarantee" for all those minnows we lost!) 

It'll be interesting to see if these belted kingfishers stick around for awhile or if they find another freshly-stocked pond.

Oh, and the BIG question: How did these little minnow bandits find our pond...the day after the minnow truck was here? Mikey still thinks they hitched a ride on the back of the minnow truck...riiiiight!!

And, I still think they're cute ;)

Brilliant Baltimore Oriole

Do you remember that jelly jar tucked into a piece of driftwood I wrote about earlier this week? (If not, click here.)

Well, this was the sweet reward for Michael’s creative efforts – the beautiful, brilliant Baltimore Oriole!



©Life as an Artist’s Wife

Michael’s stunning photograph of the Baltimore Oriole. 

Amazingly, Michael got this photo (from his office window) within the first 15 minutes of setting out the jelly! Everything was in its perfect place at the perfect time to capture this fantastic photograph…the jar of jelly, the position of bird, the position of the camera…and Michael!

Michael has been itching to photograph the Baltimore Oriole all summer. The colorful contrast of the bright orange and black feathers makes this bird a favorite among nature photographers.

The Baltimore Oriole prefers to eat ripe fruit, insects, flowers….and, as we now know, grape jelly!

Great job, Mikey! I truly admire your passion for excellence in everything you do!