A Bloy and his Blog

Right now where I live we are in the middle of Indian Summer. It’s tough for me to name a favorite season, but days like today make me think it might be autumn. I was lucky enough to have the day off and with the weather being so nice, I got out my bicycle this afternoon and rode through the beauty of autumn here in Wisconsin. While riding through one of the nearby parks in the area I spotted a great blue heron wading in one of the park’s ponds. I am always amazed when I see wildlife like that in the middle of the largest metropolitan area of the state.

I just got back from a week camping in Northern Wisconsin. One of my favorite things about that area are the bald eagles living there. While camping this year I saw the most bald eagles I ever saw in a week’s stay. On one occasion I saw a congregation of four eagles soaring over the same lake looking for food and twice I witnessed eagles diving down and snagging a fish out of a lake! I had never seen an eagle do that in person before so I felt quite fortunate to have it happen before my eyes twice in one week.

read the rest of: Camping with the Eagles

Never let it be said that librarians don’t have a sense of humor. Case in point: a study of Peep research habits at the Millikin University Library. I especially liked the section (and accompanying photos) of how the Peeps behaved while at the library.

Oh I almost forgot… In case you’re wondering about the starlings… After talking with a very helpful person at Wild Birds Unlimited (a great place to buy bird stuff by the way), I changed the feed I was putting out to safflower seeds, which the starlings don’t like. So far it seems to be doing the trick. Keep your fingers crossed.

By now you’ve probably figured out that I enjoy nature and the outdoors. Because of that I also like having a couple of bird feeders on my deck and watching them. About a month ago I was happy that goldfinches (one of my favorite birds) discovered my feeders and were regularly coming over to have snacks. Recently I’ve been getting some new visitors. Starlings have figured out how to perch themselves on the finch feeders (which are designed to feed the smaller birds) so they can eat. Being the bigger and more aggressive bird, the starlings chase all of the other birds away and end up hogging all of the food. For those of you that don’t know, starlings are an invasive species from Europe. Mother Nature never intended for them to be in North America.

This morning I found about ten starlings all perched on my deck rail, waiting for their turn to eat all of the finches’ food. “This means war,” I thought to myself. Tomorrow I’m planning a trip to the garden center to purchase a starling proof bird feeder. Stay tuned…

One of the best things about being in this area of Wisconsin are hearing the loons calling at night. There’s nothing like falling asleep while listening to that haunting wail they make. One night I woke up about 3am (my bladder was calling me). After I finished my urgent business I must have stayed awake 20 minutes or so listening to the loons. No, they weren’t keeping me awake, I wanted to just lay in my sleeping bag and listen.

I spent all last week in the great outdoors, camping at Perrot State Park. It was the first time I was at Perrot and I was pretty impressed.

read the rest of: Camping at Perrot State Park

Bald eagles have got to be one of the most majestic animals on the planet. Through conservation efforts, the endangered bald eagle has been making a comeback, especially in Wisconsin. Recently, my local public television station has been showing live scenes from a bald eagle nest in Northern Wisconsin in between their regular programs. The folks who operate the camera have also set up a web site where you can watch live video from the eagle’s nest. Over the past few days, two eaglets have emerged from their eggs. Activity at the nest should really get interesting now.