VIDEO! Spotted Touch-Me-Nots

Here is a video of why a Spotted Touch-Me-Not is so named.

Spotted Touch-Me-Nots are native to North America and provide food for hummingbirds. They look very similar to Impatiens you can buy at the garden store early, so if you find them in your yard keep them! And you will have Hummingbirds visiting you in the late summer/fall for sure!

Veggies, scat, birds

Well sometime this past week I took some pictures of this scat.

Its much too big to be fox, racoon or deer, or pretty much any of the animals i have personally seen in the area. Last year we found similar sized scat a few times in the backyard and my dad thought it was bear scat, which i thought to be out of the question. Bears here? In the burbs? no way. Then sometime in the last few days I caught a short news story about a Black Bear sighting in North Oaks (which is the city/town just east of where i live). So it could be bear scat. The Bear that was sighted is pressumed to be 160lbs, the residents are worried and well the poor thing is mostly going to be shot if seen. Good luck little bear! I hoep you can outsmart the authorities long enough to find some safe area to den up for the winter. 

Here is some other scat i found that day, would be Fox or Raccoon. there is some kind of bone in it.

Today the Cedar Waxwings were enjoying the Juniper Berries.

Here are some of the veggies ive harvested. This was my first year trying parsnips and acorn squash and Yukon gold potatoes. i think i did a good job.

And the greatest surprise, OKRA!

I helped a Hummingbird

so i was in the yard watching the birds before the rain came in. And i was about to enjoy some coffee when i was visited by the chipmunk, since i am no longer going to give it peanuts i decided to go in the yard and collect acorns. I was over by a patch of spotted touch-me-nots when i heard the familier sound of a humingbird then i looked down and saw the hummingbird. it got its wing caught in some sort of catchweed. (not sure exactly what it is but i will find out)

So i gently held the hummingbird in one hand and slowly released its wing from the burs it was caught on and removed a few more that were stuck to its tail. The bird i know was very frightened, it peed in my hand, but didnt struggle while i was taking the burs out of its feathers. Then when i got all but 1 or 2 out it flew away. I am not sure if its ok, i can only asume that since it was able to fly away it will be ok.

Here is all the photo evidence i have of the ordeal. Its tiny feathers stuck in the burs, which are also stuck to the cuffs of the sweatshirt.

I didnt want to take photos of the poor thing struggling in the plant and getting more caught up. granted it would have been an interesting photo op but i just couldnt let the thing hurt itself while i went to get the camera.

it was an osprey

I had posted the picture of the unknown hawk on the wildlifegardeners.org forum asking for help with an ID and within an hour someone replied saying it was an Osprey. I still wasent sure so i e-mailed the Minnesota Raptor Center and sent them the image as well, they also said it was an Osprey.  Always exciting to see something new around!

This picture is of a very vibrantly colored leaf-hopper. This is only the second one colored this way i have seen this summer.

It was sitting on the Spotted Touch-me-nots.
And now that the spotted touch-me-nots are going to seed i have come to understand how they got their name. With the slightest of pressure put on a ready seed pod they will explode shooting the seeds out in all directions. I wanted to get video of it but it happens too fast for the camera.

Some pics and videos!

I hadent planned on being home this afternoon but had some time between shifts and i am sure glad i came home.

 The Broadwinged Hawk was in the yard.

The red squirrel got up the courage to let the hawk know how he felt.

Here is the Broadwinged Hawk showing itself off for me or basking in the sun...

 

Some kind of hawk and a Bald Eagle were chasing eachother (not the greatest video but i was taken by surprise) 

  

EDIT: ok first i was sure this was the hawk, then i thought it was the eagle, now i think its the hawk again sicne it has longer feathers on its wings.

Here is a screen capture of the hawk. might be more usefull in identifying. 

 

Looks like a Short-Tailed Hawk to me but it cant be one since they are only found in Florida. Must be some sort of Kite or something.

And here is video of an eagle about 30 mins later circling overhead 

and here's pretty pictures of the sky