The excitement never ends!!

Yes, the birds are a serious obession for me. This morning I was so excited to see a rose-breasted grosbeak enjoying breakfast at one of my feeders.

I have never seen one until today!!!

Mr. and Mrs. Cardinal are regulars at the Sheafer Bird Diner and this morning, Mrs. Cardinal tried to chat with Mr. Wooden Bird (part of my sunflower feeder).

The prolific songster, house wren, spent time singing to me this morning. This spring was the first time I had ever seen one of these as well. So exciting!!

One of these days I'll have a really good camera and I'll get to take some great pics of my amazing backyard friends. For now, these will have to do.

Killdeer

Charadrius vociferus - a shorebird that doesn't live on the shore. The killdeer is known for its broken wing impression, which draws intruders away from the nest. They often nest in gravel areas simliarly to what you see in our picture. We have been keeping track of the eggs and were excited to see that they have hatched.





























Here the Killdeer is trying to draw us away from the nest with its broken wing impression.

What a day...and it is only 8:45 in the morning!

Our day has been full of excitement already. I truly feel like a special girl when I experience nature. Our groundhog, Phil, has been very active today. As I was going through 'his' pictures, I discovered something very cool. Can you see what it is? I think Phil will now be called, Phyllis!!

After weeks of missing my goldfinches, they are back.

When we moved to Neosho, one specific bird I wanted to see was an indigo bunting. He showed up on Saturday and has been here since.

So many 'Hello from Heaven' today. What 'hello' have you experienced?

Mudpuppies, Crawdads, and a lot of FUN

Not far from our home is a wonderful creek. We have spent many hours there sitting, watching birds, and playing in the water in search of 'treasure.' This treasure??? Mudpuppies. The kids are amazed by these little water dogs. We have recently learned that this creek leads to the Neosho Fish Hatchery and that we can't play there anymore. These pictures show the fun we had, even if only for a short time.

If you are interested in learning about mudpuppies, visit www.animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/amphibians/mudpuppy.html