It’s been hot, folks. Duh! But the juvenile Swainson’s at Dyess are learning their lessons well. After all, it’s a matter of life or death. The adults initiate hunting lessons by calling to the young. Once the parents are satisfied the young will follow, they both rise into the air to soar overhead and look […]

At the beginning of 2006 when we started this web site I thought I would have to scramble to find something to post on a weekly basis. I’ve been holding some stories back for a “rainy” day. Hmmm…that rainy day is nowhere on the horizon. So here’s an article created in April about how one […]

…all over the place? They are known as snout butterflies (photo: Bruce Marlin) because they have a prominent elongated mouthpart (labial palpi) which give the appearance of the petiole (stem) of a dead leaf. Wings are patterned on black-brown with white and orange markings. The fore wings have a distinctive squared off, hook-like (falcate) tip. […]

The effects of July’s 100 degree plus temperatures were evident everywhere; bird-life slowed down, water is receding, and fire danger is rising. The birds aren’t singing as vigorously as it takes too much energy, and besides, most have now finished raising their young and defending their territories. Three out of four nesting bluebird pairs abandoned […]

As the July moon sets early in the western sky, the birds all across the area are hastily feeding their nestlings; juveniles are learning to forage for food; and the adult birds are molting to prepare for migration. The Swainson’s Hawks in the nest at Dyess have changed noticeably. Gone is the downy white fluff, […]

It’s hard to give a title to a mixture of pictures. Most pictures are what John and I photographed the last week of June and the first week of July. You’ll find an update on the Swainson’s Hawks, Mississippi Kites, Bewick’s Wrens, Lark Sparrows, and other avian assortments. Each picture depicts nature in progress. I […]

Several nestlings (birds still in the nest) and juveniles (birds that have left the nest but are not fully grown) are now appearing around our area. Parents are bringing bugs to the begging youngsters at an incredible pace. Bug after bug, anything that moves is snatched up and deposited down the youngsters’ throats. Blue Jays, […]

The exciting news this week was the arrival of two hungry all-white fluffy nestlings! John’s photos record the male Swainson’s bringing breakfast, a low altitude reconnaisance flight, and a Scissor-tailed Flycatcher escorting the hawk away from its nest at the golf course. This week the male has brought food to the female and their young […]