Saturday, October 10: Pepper Ranch Preserve

The last weekend of the sunflower viewing was October 9-11, and the sunflowers were at their peak. Pastures and fields were edge-to-edge full of them. I worked at the well pad site on Saturday morning which is where the above photo was taken. The photo below was taken on Friday, October 16.

Weather was a mixed bag. The morning began with partly cloudy skies, which was ideal for photographing the sunflowers. Then it clouded up and there was some serious rain. It passed, but everyone walking the sunflower paths was totally soaked. The bright spot was that the rain greatly reduced the mosquito population, and everyone seemed to like that. Then the sun came out, the skies cleared, and it was hot and humid.

There was a steady stream of visitors to see all of the blooms. Some just drove slowly and stayed in their cars taking photos through the open windows while others parked and enjoying walking among the sunflowers.

Friday, October 16: Pepper Ranch Preserve

Much of the week was spent at doctor offices, labs for tests, and waiting for house service men whose appointments were always scheduled for "some time between 10 and 2." Friday was the first morning opportunity to get out.

The morning was a strange one for bird observations. There were no crows, no herons, no egrets other than Cattle Egrets, no cranes, no Limpkins, and no Anhingas.

However, there was a Least Bittern by the lake observation platform, a male American Redstart on the grassy path leading to the platform, and an Eastern Bluebird at the start of the grassy path.

More great sightings during the morning included a lot of migrants that have returned for the season: American Kestrel, the Peregrine Falcon pictured above, the Belted Kingfisher in the photo at the left plus Yellow-throated Warbler, Black-and-white Warbler, the American Redstart and the Eastern Bluebird, and lots of Eastern Phoebes and Gray Catbirds.

In all, 33 species of birds were identified. There were probably more migrants along the trails, but the mosquitoes were everywhere and in great numbers, so walking was kept to a very minimal amount of time. Even in the car with the windows down for sound and photographs, the mosquitoes were obnoxious.

Other good bird sightings were Wild Turkeys, Purple and Common Gallinules, and the pair of Bald Eagles in the vicinity of last year's nesting site.

The most often seen species were 128 Cattle Egrets and 43 White Ibis. The majority of the Cattle Egrets were at their traditional nighttime roost along the northern edge of Lake Trafford. All of the White Ibis were in one huge flock that flew over the Lake Trafford observation platform. Then numbers dropped drastically to nine Wild Turkeys and seven each of Eastern Phoebes and Red-winged Blackbirds. Only three Eastern Meadowlarks were seen and heard.

Insect observations were all from the car, so they were pretty much limited to butterflies along Pepper Road. The most common were White Peacocks, Monarchs, Queens, and Cloudless Sulphurs.

Mammals were White-tailed Deer, one Virginia Opossum that scurried across the road, and a Gray Squirrel.

The sunflowers were still spectacular. The photo above is from along Sunflower Trace Road and some strong backlighting. The preserve will be open Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays beginning in two weeks (October 30) and is open every weekend until late spring except when there are hunts.

My yard

Nights were interesting. Raccoons, Virginia Opossums, and Cottontail Rabbits were here every night of the week while bears only visited twice. The bears were interesting.

Big mother bear ambled through early Wednesday morning but didn't stay long (video). She ate some peanuts at the side of the house and then continued past the front of the house, down the driveway, and down the street where she found a neighbor's trash can that must have had some really tasty things in it.

On Wednesday night, a pair of young bears, a male and a female, showed up. They went for the bird feeders in the front yard, tearing down the bunting feeder and eating the seed that spilled out. I found all of the parts the next morning and with a little work with a pliers and hammer, put it back together. Then, one of the bears went after the sunflower seed feeder. It is a bear-proof tube feeder made of steel pipe with the opening perches welded on. It hangs high from an oak branch and is suspended on a sturdy chain. They couldn't get it down, but it wasn't for a lack of trying. One of the bears could just get its nose and tongue up to the bottom hole and "suck out" seed. The feeder is high and I can only fill it by setting up a step ladder to reach it. The bear, however, could reach it by standing on its hind legs. The video shows the two of them standing and walking on their hind legs to get to the feeder.

On Thursday morning, the regular crew was out, with one surprise visitor. Around 4:30 in the morning, a Cottontail Rabbit moved across the front yard while an owl watched from above. In the video, look for the owl's two eyes near the top and a little to the right of center. It followed the rabbit's movements but stayed perched. Its size suggests that it is an Eastern Screech Owls, possibly one of the pair that nested in the yard last winter and spring. Thursday morning I got out the extension ladder, opened up the owl box, cleaned out the summer debris, added fresh cedar chips to the bottom, and trimmed the vines, leaves and branches around the box so if the owls decide to use it again, it is ready for them.

YES! The first Painted Bunting of the season showed up around 5:30 Friday evening at the bird feeder in the front yard. No photo because I didn't want to scare it off by opening the door and going out and second because it was raining at the time. But the first one is back. Life is good!