Well, Clara is here and beautiful and amazing and perfect. We're already almost past the newborn phase. They're tiny for such a short time!
That means that life is beginning to return to normal, and though I'm not close to getting a full night of sleep, we are starting to have a decent routine during the day.
For these final weeks of summer, we've been on the go a bit more and enjoying the outdoors again. We went on an evening walk at Sensiba State Wildlife Area (which I also discussed here), and were yet again impressed by the beauty, serenity, and diversity of wildlife found just outside the city.
It had a totally different feel to it than earlier in the year, when we were watching blackbirds fight over nesting territory. This time, we observed lots of different frogs, wrens, and even a baby bird that hadn't quite figured out how to fly.
We got pretty close before he scampered and flapped his way into the grass. He didn't look hurt, just inexperienced. I'm not sure what type of bird he is. Any guesses?
Grace was excited to put on her ladybug boots.
In her mind, boots = adventure, and we've had far too few of those lately.
It was also the perfect weather and time of day for taking pictures, so I couldn't resist snapping a few of the girls. (Girls! I'm still getting used to saying "girls" instead of "girl." What an amazing thing! I still can't believe it!)
Clara's blog debut. Warm, snuggly, and ready for a nice long walk.
Let everything that hath breath praise the LORD. Praise ye the LORD.
Psalm 150:6
Praising God for the incredible, unbelievable blessings in my life and all around us,
We've been really interested in the Wisconsin section of the Brown County Library lately. There's something exciting about reading books specific to your local area; it's nice to find out what experts think about areas you've overlooked only a stone's throw away.
Well, Luke was reading about birds in Wisconsin and Minnesota, and specifically he found out about yellow-headed blackbirds. Of course, most people are familiar with red-winged blackbirds, their populous, slightly smaller, and less awkward relatives. However, everyone I talked to had either never heard of yellow-headed blackbirds, or (in case of older generations) had seem them when they were kids some 30+ years ago.
The book recommended Sensiba State Wildlife Area in Suamico, WI, as an ideal place to find these birds.
Luke and I like marshes (you may remember my previous blog post about the Oconto Marsh). They're the perfect places to visit if you only have a little bit of time but want to see a wide variety of wildlife. In this case, the yellow-headed blackbirds like the security of the deeper marshes, and they kick out the red-winged blackbirds to the perimeter of the marsh.
My favorite bird watchers
Okay, so what makes these birds especially interesting? Their crazy bird call. It's a metallic, grating, strange, and a little pathetic, really, but it's an awesome and unique sound to hear. It sounds a bit like a parrot imitating a squeaky screen door. It also does this harsh "buzz saw" noise as well. Either way, it's not pretty, but it's unique.
I was able to get a video of them, though I couldn't get as close as I really wanted to. The sound quality isn't the best, but you should be able to hear the call as well. Please excuse my excited whispers and Grace's commentary. :)
I was pretty excited to upload my first YouTube video. Yup, call me tech-savvy! I've joined 2001 (or whenever YouTube was created). Maybe I'll even join Twitter and Instagram someday, heh.
Although the head looks a little more golden-orange in this picture,
it was about as close as we could get.
If you look closely, you can see that there are two yellow-headed blackbirds in this picture.
One is in the middle near the water, and the other is toward the upper left (click on the picture to enlarge).
We had such a lovely day watching these birds and enjoying the perfect weather! Hope you get a chance to get out and enjoy nature in the next week as well.
"Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your Heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they?
