retirement activity

Wet and disheveled

/ Roadtirementvintage / 8 Comments

After a pretty good rain storm a while back we noticed that a hatchling had fallen out of a nest in a tree limb in our backyard. This little fella looks quite wet and disheveled. One of the parents did come down to the ground in front of the hatchling, and the last we saw of the two (adult and youngster) they were still together across the yard. We can only hope that this story had a good ending.

Getting ready for the sale

/ Roadtirementvintage / 29 Comments

This shows the beginning of our set up for the Highway 40 yard coming this week. The sale is an annual event and it follows old US 40. Hundreds of folks set up and thousands shop along the route.

We’ll keep you posted as the week goes on. Sher and I always enjoy this event. We missed it last year due to Covid-19.

No singing here

/ Roadtirementvintage / 17 Comments

That is right. Downy Woodpeckers do not sing like most birds. They communicate by “pecking” or drumming on wood or even metal. Surprisingly these woodpeckers make very little or no sound when going after their insect prey. They are capable of feeding on insects that larger woodpeckers cannot catch, like fly larvae in weed stems.

Male Downy, the female does not have the red on her head

We see both male and female Downy Woodpeckers quite often in our backyard. They like the suet feeders, and we have spotted a male on our hummingbird feeder. Like the White-breasted Nuthatch, Downy Woodpeckers like to flit from branch to branch, lighting on the suet feeder, grabbing a bite or two and then off they go.

A colorful White-breasted Nuthatch

/ Roadtirementvintage / 3 Comments

This little guy has a beautiful song and quite a loud one at that. He likes to come to the feeders (really likes the suet) several times a day. He doesn’t stay long, regardless of how many other birds are around at the time. He likes to flit around from branch to branch, grabs some morsels and then off he goes.

The common name Nuthatch comes from a unique behavior. The primary diet is insects and large meaty nuts. They will take large nuts and acorns and jam them into the bark of trees. Then with their sharp bills they peck open the nuts, or “hatching” them.  They are also known for storing seeds and nuts in tree bark in preparation for winter.