Discovery Journal

Everyone knows that planting milkweed is good for the Monarch butterfly. But did you know that milkweed is beneficial in other ways? In addition to feeding monarch caterpillars and to being a great plant for pollinators, milkweed fibers are particularly suited to being used in the construction of oriole nests.

I happened upon this Cooper's Hawk taking a nap at Oak Hollow Park. Or I thought it was taking a nap. Because it was occasionally turning its head and when it did, I sometimes caught a glimpse of its other eye - wide open and seemingly alert. But then it would turn its head back an return to look like he was napping.

I spotted this interesting sparrow on our morning walk. From a distance, it looked like a fawn society finch, escaped from captivity. On closer examination, color aside, it was much more similar to a House Sparrow than a society finch. It was mixed in with a group of House Sparrows and a few American Tree Sparrows.

Two species that occasionally are confused on bird watching groups are the American Tree Sparrow and the immature plumage of the White-crowned Sparrow. The two birds are easily confused because of a similar rusty-colored head patch and a similar, but not identical eye-stripe.

The male Ruby-throated Hummingbird is known for his brilliant red gorget. But sometimes, that gorget is less brilliant and more black than red, to the point that they could almost be mistaken for a Black-chinned Hummingbird if it were not for the range.

This year we added the native plant Royal Catchfly to our gardens and it is rapidly becoming one of my favorites.

The pond has proven to be a great area for birdwatching during the spring migration. However, there are a good number of year-round residents that can be seen regularly during the rest of the year. The following are a few species seen in the last two days.

While the gardens contain many plants that are attractive to the Ruby-throated Hummingbird, the striking red blossoms of the Cardinal Flower are an irresistible draw.

Breeding season is in full swing for the birds. The starlings and sparrows have been feeding young in our yard for quite a while now. With the sunflowers producing seeds, the goldfinch breeding season should be starting up. Today a juvenile Mourning Dove was hiding in the rain garden for most of the day. At the pond, a momma Red-winged Blackbird was feeding her young.