Prairie Phlox, unmowed Fillmore County ditch.

Wild Rose, our driveway ditch.

THANK YOU

Puccoon, Hayden Prairie.

Shooting Star, Hayden Prairie.

Prairie Smoke (Purple Avens), Hayden Prairie.

Saxifrage, Hayden Prairie.

Spring Cress, Hayden prairie.

Shooting Star.  The Shooting Stars are blooming well on Hayden Prairie.  Hayden Prairie is a 200+ acre native prairie located about 5 miles west of Lime Springs, Iowa.  It is a rich and diverse prairie that has never been under the plow. Well worth visiting many times during late spring and through summer.

Tent Caterpillars.  First ones of the season.  They will become a small, mostly brownish moth.

White-breasted Nuthatch.  They are with us year around and love sunflower seeds.

Baltimore Oriole, male.  Some of our orioles are more yellowish than orange.

Female Baltimore Oriole(or maybe an immature 1st year male).

Small Flycatcher, Forestville State Park.

WARBLERS ARE HERE

Redstart.   The warblers have arrived in decent numbers.  Warblers are small and colorful birds that are now arriving from Central and South America.  Some nest here, but most head to northern Minnesota or Canada to nest.  We have seen 16 species of the warbler family in Forestville State Park in the last 24 hours. Some of these are posted below.

Chestnut-sided warbler.  Arrived this week.  Nests up north.

Magnolia warbler.  Saw several today in Forestville.  Nests up north.

Nashville warbler.  Been here for about a week.  Nests up north.

Tennessee warbler.  Saw our first one today.  Nests up north.

Black & White warbler.  First on arrived May 4th.  Nest up north.

Yellow warbler.  Saw our first Yellow on May 4th of this year.  They nest in S.E. Minnesota.
TO VIEW MORE OF OUR NATURE PHOTOS, GO UP AND TO THE RIGHT AND CLICK ON MAY 2016 OR ANY MONTH DESIRED.

Common Yellowthroat.  Arrived about a week ago.  We have had these nesting in our brush for many years.

Yellow-rumped warbler.  The most common and the first to arrive. We saw our first of these on April 15 of this year.  Nest up north.

Ruby-throated Hummingbird.  Today is the first day that both a male and female have been at our feeders.  The hummers are late this year.  We saw our first hummer here on May 7th, and the normal arrival date is May 1-4.

Male Bluebird and partner are using one of our nesting boxes and the edge of our 1 acre prairie

The female is still gathering nesting material and going into the nest box.

Baltimore Oriole.  The first of the Orioles showed up this morning about 10 AM.

Bald Eagle along County Rd 5, Fillmore County.  Two eagle were feeding on a road-kill raccoon and were slow to get our of the way.   I removed the raccoon from the road as the eagles were in danger of getting hit.

Black & White Warbler, Forestville St. Park.