Dusty or Rusty or ?

 
I've showed you pictures of the pigeons on the space station (grain elevator) from time to time. These are ordinary pigeons, or rock doves, just like you'll find in any city. Large concentrations of them can be messy, and they aren't popular when they stain buildings and public places. Out here, this small flock doesn't seem to be much of a problem.

I continue to be fascinated with the brown and white ones. Although they can have a wide variety of color patterns, most are gray and black, like three of the ones in this group.



Two years ago, I got pictures of two brown and white ones with really interesting patterns. I nicknamed them Dusty (left) and Rusty (right).



So, when I managed to catch a picture of the one light-colored bird that's hanging out with the group now, I wondered which one it was. First, I saw it on the ground, where they congregate to eat discarded grain.



The birds were concentrating on the grain, and I got fairly close before they took off.



So, now you can compare their wings. I don't think this bird is either Dusty or Rusty. I found an article that says pigeons live about five years in the wild. The picture of the other two pigeons was taken over two years ago, and they are clearly mature. Not impossible they are still alive, but it reduces the chances.

What shall I name this one? Trusty? Buffy?

	See Pigeons on the Space Station
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Spicebush

 
Today I have a wonderful botanical surprise for you, but I also have to make a confession. Confessions first.

I saw this shrub on Monday with Loren, and couldn't figure out what it was. I should have known it instantly, but it had been so long since I'd seen any, that I didn't think about it.

The joke is on me, because there are dozens of these bushes just a mile from my house, but I didn't know it. I guess I've never been in this exact spot at the right time of year. Just goes to prove that you should never think you know some place just because you've seen it a few times.

So with no further disclaimers, I bring you Lindera benzoin, Spicebush.

It is the earliest shrub of the spring to bloom, with the small yellow blossoms opening before the leaves.



Here's what it looks like from a distance, just a messy bush with small yellow blobs.



The buds were still pretty tight on Monday, but by today, the flowers were wide open.



But the thing that kept ringing bells in my head until I figured it out was the spotted bark. The spots are lenticels, like pores in bark. For example, cherry bark is noted for having lenticels that make horizontal lines. White spots were screaming spicebush at me! Finally I heard them.



And the spice? Sorry, I can't provide that for you, but if you break a twig there is a spicy, pungent odor. That's what inspired the species name, "benzoin."

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Bloggy Stuff

 
If you were a member of the Adgitize network, have you noticed changes in the circle of bloggers we frequent since they folded? My traffic is down, comments are way down, and my motivation on my other blogs is lower too. (Adgitize rewarded us for regular blogging.) In all honesty, I'm only visiting blogs that really interest me, not a wide selection from a network. I've found several more nature blogs and a couple of new personal ones I'm reading and commenting on, but if I'm getting return traffic, the visitors aren't commenting. I visit 50 blogs pretty regularly.

However, my motivation for this blog hasn't lessened. It's just difficult to find new readers. Entrecard isn't much use these days, either. When I even remember to place ads, they get almost no clicks.

Are any of you finding good ways to attract new readers?

As I'm sure you noticed, I changed the background for spring. Here's the original picture of a mini-iris 'Katharine Hodgkin:'



I did a kaleidoscope design with it, and came up with this:



And I also made a new 125x125 image that will start showing up on Entrecard ads soon:



It's just over a month until my birthday. I'm thinking about another contest. How about it? Would you participate? What kinds of prizes would you like to see?

	See More About the Contest for last year's prizes
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Song Sparrow

 
As many of us in the north have mentioned, it's a really strange year! The field is full of song sparrows. There are usually a few, but right now, that's all I'm hearing- well with the starlings and robins. But no red-winged blackbirds, and no meadowlarks yet. Seems odd to me.

However, you get... song sparrow, Melospiza melodia. The first two pictures I took yesterday. See how the aspen catkins are pointed sideways in the breeze!



Except for the shadow from the branch, this picture's not too bad. You can see the relatively long tail, gray eyebrow, white throat and striped/spotted breast with a central spot. Here it is singing.



Today, I tried to get a recording of the song. I made three tries, and the sounds were a little too distant. Mostly you can hear the wind, and as much as I'd like to share, I don't think it's good enough to tell you much of anything. However, with the lens all the way out, the quality of the images is worse, but you can pick up a few details.

For instance, here you can see the central spot on the breast very clearly! Song sparrows are common around the country, and there is a lot of variation, but they all have some sort of central spot with broken stripes around it.



And... it's so important to keep that spot clean!



Hope I haven't bored you with a very common bird, but their song is very sweet. The usual mnemonic to remember it is "Maids, maids, maids, put on the tea kettle-ettle-ettle-ettle!"

They always make me smile. Such a homey-cottage sort of message.

It's time I looked for a spring/summer background, don't you think? How do you like Iris 'Katharine Hodgkin?'

	See
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Flora and Fauna

 
The weather is defining our lives- of course it often does, but temperature records in March are getting shattered by 10-30 degrees every day this week. In some ways it's quite enjoyable, but there will be a lot of damage when we get an inevitable freeze. (The idea that we might not get cold again is really unlikely. We generally have a chance of freezing through May.)

Flowers are blooming and critters are out. These pictures are from yesterday and today.

First we have the ever-popular skunk cabbage. It might actually be expected at this time of year. This one is particularly handsome in deep purple.



However, the hepatica is about a month early. Last year's pictures show this blooming on April 25.



I hunted hard, because I wanted to show Loren a liverwort, and I found a couple of patches! I've told you about this strange plant before. The "leaves" are one cell thick, and they only have a half number (haploid) number of chromosomes. I sure haven't even thought seriously about identifying different liverworts, but I think this is a different one from what I showed you before. (link at end)



Today, I was lucky enough to spot some critters! Here's a sleek black squirrel. One might see them even through the winter.



But here's another little Eastern chipmunk. Definitely not seen until the weather warms.



I also got some OK pictures of a sweet little bird, but I think I'll save those for tomorrow! Spring is here on the calendar, and on the ground- really strange in March.

	See Ruffled for more liverwort See Ruby Creek is Golden for hepatica
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