Gobblers Knob - Tree Swallows June 2023 Nikkis Mom 2023-06-18 | I've had a tree swallow 'grid' for 17 years now and for the last 3 years, I've been experimenting with offering 2 nest boxes on one post- hoping to get a pair of bluebirds nesting back-to-back with a pair of tree swallows. The first year, a bluebird pair successfully nested with a pair of tree swallows in the paired combination. The second year, 2 pair of tree swallows successfully nested back-to-back on the same post.This year, I offered 3 paired configurations and now have 6 pairs of tree swallows nesting in these nest boxes. This is a video of my nest checks on June 17, 2023.
Persimmon Island Winter 2022 - 2023 Nikkis Mom 2023-06-11 | This is what Persimmon Island looked like after clearing out all the non-native invasives (multi-flora rose, Autumn Olive, winter creeper, Japanese honeysuckle, etc.). We will let plants grow back during the summer so we can determine what still needs to be eradicated. Hoping to plant native plants in this area in the fall of 2023.
Monarch Caterpillars - May, 2023 Nikkis Mom 2023-05-16 | On May 3, 2023, I had only a couple of Common milkweed plants up - the biggest was almost 8" high with a lot of leaves, with the next biggest being around 5" high. I found 12 Monarch caterpillars on the largest milkweed in 1st and 2nd instar stages. Since there weren't many more plants up at the time, I brought the caterpillars in to my aquarium, so I could gather leaves from random plants as I found them around the area. Today, May 16th, I have 23 that are in their 5th instar and 6 more soon to reach that stage over the next week.They've survived due to my being able to drive around the area to find more food for them, and raising them in my caterpillar cages. If left alone, they wouldn't have survived because there wasn't enough food at the time to get them from their 1st instar to 5th instar.
Gobblers Knob - Milkweed & Monarchs May, 2023 Nikkis Mom 2023-05-05 | This year, my Common milkweed (Asclepias syriaca) came up starting early-mid April. A couple of plants has gotten just enough growth that a few monarchs have laid eggs on them. And not just the usual one or two eggs. I found 12 monarch caterpillars on one plant and 5- 6 on others. I've never seen this many this early.
Gobblers Knob Plum Grove April 4 2023 Nikkis Mom 2023-04-06 | This is our native wild plum grove that we planted in 2007. This year we did some thinning around the edges to help make the trees healthier. There are thousands of moths feeding on the plum blooms and the purple martins and tree swallows have been swooping through catching them.I managed to catch a few on video.
Purple Martin Season - April 1,2023 Nikkis Mom 2023-04-02 | My colony has been rapidly increasing in size over the last week, due to the warmer days and southerly winds pushing them in.
Holy Stone Drone in Follow Me mode Nikkis Mom 2022-12-05 | We finally got to test our new Holy Stone drone and I'm very impressed! Short video of a portion of our Native prairie & pond in winter.
Gobblers Knob - Persimmon Island Phase 2 Nikkis Mom 2022-11-24 | We've begun the eradication of the non-native Japanese honeysuckle, multi-flora rose, Autumn Olive, Winter creeper and Callery pears found in this grove of persimmon trees on our 23 acres. We plant to replace all the non-native species with native grasses such as river oats and shrubs such as ninebark and spicebush.
Gobblers Knob - Persimmon Island Project Phase1 Nikkis Mom 2022-11-24 | We've started restoration on another portion of our 23 acres. This area was being overrun with Japanese honeysuckle, multi-flora rose and Autumn Olive.
Missouri Native Shrubs 2022 Nikkis Mom 2022-10-08 | We have planted many native shrubs on our property, since moving here to Missouri. Here are a few of them, along with a 'volunteer'.
Common Nighthawk Migration 08 31 2022 Nikkis Mom 2022-09-10 | Common Nighthawks were migrating through Missouri on August 31, 2022. We noticed their numbers were quickly building and so was the number of bugs. I stood in the middle of their feeding frenzy to capture these videos.
Gobblers Knob - Dragonfly Wars Aug 2022 Nikkis Mom 2022-08-12 | What I think is a "Widow Skimmer" dragonfly decided to make a small dead twig his/her perch down in front of me and proceeded to run out and tackle other dragonflies as they came through. Pretty funny to imagine there are actually real life dragonfly dramas being played out in front of me. I managed to catch a few of the fish catching a few too. Watch til the end if you want to see what happens to one of the challengers to the Widow's territory.And the birds - Bell's vireo, Eastern Kingbird and a few others I don't recognize provide background music.
Gobblers Knob Native Prairie: A Season of Colors Nikkis Mom 2022-07-26 | A season of colors - a short glimpse into the various Native Prairie plants that we've planted in our meadows to help support our Native pollinators.Music provided by YouTube: NEFFEX
Tree Swallow Nest Check 5 30 2022 Nikkis Mom 2022-05-30 | Normally, tree swallows have a nesting territory of 50 ft from each other, so I have a established TRES grid where their nestboxes are 100 ft. apart. In the case of this pole however, I mounted 2 nestboxes back-to-back, where a pair of Bluebirds and a pair of tree swallows nested there together in 2020. This year, 2 pair of tree swallows are nesting there, so I am documenting their progress.Note: the purple box had 4 eggs in it on May 15th, so I suspect the last 8 days of cold weather rendered the other eggs non-viable.
Yellowstone National Park- Mountain Goats at Barronette Peak, Feb 2022 Nikkis Mom 2022-03-20 | Yellowstone National Park- Mountain Goats at Barronette Peak, Feb 2022These mountain goats were up at the peak on a winter day. The temps in the valley were around 5 degrees, and very windy.What ARE they doing up there?
Yellowstone National Park - Rescue Creek Pack - Feb 2022 Nikkis Mom 2022-03-19 | Yellowstone National Park Winter tourRescue Creek Pack, Feb. 25, 2022#RelistWolvesNow#RelistWolvesPlease visit RelistWolves.org to help save them now.
Yellowstone National Park - Wolves 8 MilePack Feb 2022 Nikkis Mom 2022-03-19 | Winter visit to YSNP, Feb., 2022.8-Mile Pack#RelistWolvesNowPlease go to RelistWolves.Org to help save them now.
Great Horned Owl Catches Purple Marting Fledge - 07 16 2021 Nikkis Mom 2021-07-17 | I always go out in the late, late evening after everyone has settled and try to scare the fledges off the gourd arms. Sometimes I wonder if I'm doing the right thing, because if they stay put on the arms, the owl can't catch them.On the other hand, she can catch them if they roost in nearby trees. This was the night of the torrential rain on 7/16/2021. The owl left after 45 minutes of rain, and sometime during that period, a fledge that was on the left-facing lower arm of the middle gourd rack (huddled against the pole), either lost its footing, or got pushed down by the rain, on to the net and made an unfortunate choice to stay perched there. After the rain cleared, the owl came back, saw the new fledge there and, after planning her attack path (you can see the fledge on the net at timestamp 01:54 AM), moved from the post to the yard and launched her attack, grabbing the bird off the bottom net at 1:56 AM.This is a hard video to watch because you can see the bird's wing flapping under the owl's feet. She takes it away to eat it. Fortunately, after 2 nights of stalking my colony this is the only one she has caught at my site. IF they would just stay inside the cages, away from the edges, they would remain safe. The owl returned 3 hours later and kept stalking / waiting for another mistake until dawn, so apparently, even after eating one, they will return at least once...maybe more often during the night, indicating to me that, without cages, this owl would have wiped out my colony by now.As it is, with the cages, I'm at 81 pair this year and have maintained that since the first attacks in 2014.
Great Horned Owl attack on purple martin decoy - 7 14 2021 Nikkis Mom 2021-07-15 | I have setup a new ReoLink camera and it's capturing some great video. Last night, the GHO was here for quite awhile. At one point, she decided to attack the decoys that were attached to the rod on my rack.Then after leaving & returning and quietly perching on the game camera post for awhile, a purple martin leaves the most far left east rack for some reason and decided to fly out (57 minutes past midnight). The owl finally pursues, but she is much too slow off her mark to catch the martin (thankfully).
Common Milkweed - May, 2021 Nikkis Mom 2021-05-31 | This bed of Common milkweed is a result of having overwintered 140 small pots of it here in this mulch bed. The pots were removed and planted across the property, but the roots have sprouted for the last 2 years and become quite a bed of milkweed.
Supplemental Feeding Purple Martins May 29 2021 Nikkis Mom 2021-05-29 | The last couple of days have been really poor feeding weather for the purple martins, so I thawed out some crickets and decided to supplemental feed them.
Gobblers Knob - Purple Martin Dawnsong 5 22 2021 Nikkis Mom 2021-05-26 | My purple martins get an early start in the morning. The adult males depart their nests early so they can dawnsing high above the colony.
TRES with Owl Feathers May, 2021 Nikkis Mom 2021-05-15 | We have a large colony of purple martins and 12 nesting pair of tree swallows. Every year, our resident Great Horned Owl shows up to try to catch some of them. On the night of 5/13, she left 2 calling cards. Our tree swallows decided to not let them go to waste. Even if they DID belong to one of their top predators. And hilarity ensued.Put that in your pipe & smoke it, Missus GHO!!
Great Horned Owl Attack on Purple Martin Housing Nikkis Mom 2021-05-13 | This Great Horned Owl has been attacking my colony since 2014. Since the installation of the cages however, she has been unsuccessful. This is a video of one of her failed attempts.
Gobblers Knob - Elderberry Hive Gets a New Queen 4 9 2021 Nikkis Mom 2021-04-09 | On April 5, 2021, I opened my Elderberry hive for the first spring inspection. I found 8 queen cells and a few small patches of larva. There were no eggs or open brood. The only assumption I could make was that they had already swarmed. I wanted to introduce some new genes in my bee yard anyway, so I killed off all the queen cells except for 2 that hatched while I had it open. I ordered a new queen from Barnyard Bees and after some rain & cold, I was finally able to start the introduction process today.It seemed to go well. After 24 hours, I'll return and remove the plug and let the bees chew through the candy to let her out if all still looks well.
Gobblers Knob - Prairie Burn - March-2021 Nikkis Mom 2021-03-19 | Our prairie was established in 2011 and hadn't been burned since 2013. On Sunday, March 7th, our friends came down to help us burn.
Snow Geese Migration March 4, 2021 Nikkis Mom 2021-03-04 | Today, the snow geese were migrating in waves. There were probably 20+ waves- thousands of snow geese (white & dark morphs) that passed over Gobbler's Knob here in Missouri. It was quite a spectacular sight, indicating Spring is almost here!The temps were near 65-70 degrees, so the thermals made it difficult get the camera focused in on them at times.
Gobblers Knob - Molly the Fox Nikkis Mom 2021-02-21 | We finally got our game cameras back out just in the nick of time. Molly the Fox made an appearance!
Building an Owl Excluder for Purple Martin Systems Nikkis Mom 2021-02-10 | This video will show you how to build a cage around your purple martin systems so that neither Great Horned nor Barred Owls can attack the housing at night. I also answer questions that are often asked about these cage systems.Link to my Blog: kathyfreeze.blogspot.comMaterials:- aluminum angle arms- 4 ft tall, Welded wire fencing with 2"x4" openings (available via Orscheln's in Missouri)- Undersill trim (Lowe's)Zip ties (heavy duty - UV resistant): amazon.com/TieRock-Black-Ties-Inch-Pack/dp/B088623K58/ref=sr_1_10?dchild=1&keywords=uv+resistant+zip+ties&qid=1612899993&sr=8-10How to build the cargo nets for the bottom of the cages: youtu.be/lyxitG34wvI
Gobblers Knob - Barred Owl 01 19 2021 Nikkis Mom 2021-01-19 | Our crows alerted us to an owl in the vicinity today. after grabbing the video camera, I finally identified the barred owl that has been hunting here for over a month now. It was amazing how close the crows got to the owl while trying to harass him/her into leaving their territory.
The Chase - Barred Owl 12 4 2020 Nikkis Mom 2020-12-05 | Every Fall and into winter, a Barred owl shows up and hunts here. If this is the same one, she's been visiting here since 2018. But the second the crows spot her, they won't leave her alone until she has left the area or effectively hidden. Today, she couldn't get away from them.
Red Tail on Barbed Wire Fence Nikkis Mom 2020-12-04 | Unfortunately, we found this Red Tail Hawk too late to save him. When the Red Tails are hunting and their prey runs through / under this fencing, the hawk can quickly become ensnared on the wire and unable to free itself. The good news is that this is the first one I've found on this fencing since 2007 when we moved here. The bad news is there are a lot more Red Tails hunting here than ever before.
Gobblers Knob PurpleMartins Fledge 7 26 2020 Nikkis Mom 2020-11-06 | Gobbler's Knob PurpleMartins Fledge 7-26-2020.We had 80 pair of adult purple martins and over 305 fledged in 2020.
Gobblers Knob Bugs Sept 2020 Nikkis Mom 2020-10-26 | After the purple martins, tree swallows & other nesting birds leave, a large army of bugs appear around the edges of the tree lines.
Gobblers Knob-Purple Martins Fledging July 19 2020 Nikkis Mom 2020-07-24 | The Purple Martins are fledging on Gobbler's Knob! In this video, I address questions about how the martins navigate the cages, how to identify the new fledges as they fly in and include a brief introduction to a new blogpost titled, "Winnowing: Natural & Unnatural, by John Barrow"Link to post with more information: kathyfreeze.blogspot.com/2020/07/purple-martins-winnowing-natural-and.html
Gobblers Knob Purple Martins-Where Purple is the New Orange Nikkis Mom 2020-07-19 | We had a later-than-normal season this year, due to the late rain and cold spell we had in May. The adults have been bringing their young charges back at night and continue this practice for about 2 weeks. It's always fun and quite the riot when they return.
Buzzard migration Nikkis Mom 2020-06-12 | Riding the Wave (thermals)While taking my lunch-time walk today, I noticed these buzzards catching the thermals. There were 26 captured in the video at one point and another 6 that were already north of this group.
Hive Tool Saver Nikkis Mom 2020-06-07 | I kept losing my hive tool and the last time I used it, I lost it in my hive. After watching a video of a Canadian beekeeper with a special tool belt with a magnet on it, I came up with this idea to help me keep track of my hive toolRegular belt: $10 - $20Magnet: $5.00
Purple Martins in a May 14th Thunder Storm Nikkis Mom 2020-05-16 | My purple martins had been gone for most of the day yesterday after having gone through 3 cold & wet days with no bugs flying. As a storm started rolling in late evening with strong winds from the south, my purple martins started coming in high from the north in small groups , fighting against the southerly winds. They are fascinating to watch as they appear to slowly drift in as the winds built in intensity. They are quite the acrobats and beautiful fliers!
HoneyBee Swarm 5-9-2020 Nikkis Mom 2020-05-10 | Second honey bee swarm of the 2020 season. Was able to move it into a swarm box with the queen. Queen excluder on the bottom and a feeder on the top.
HoneyBees 4 26 2020 Nikkis Mom 2020-04-26 | This is the hive that swarmed on 4/24/2020.Yesterday was cold & rainy, so they were inside. Today, 4/26/2020, they are doing this.
Bee Swarm 4 24 2020 Nikkis Mom 2020-04-25 | April 24, 2020 - One of my hives swarmed. This is a video of the swarm and the capture.
Purple Martin - Pre-nesting a Gourd Nikkis Mom 2020-03-07 | Prenesting Troyer horizontal and Troyer Vertical Gourds
Pennsylvania Leatherwings on Missouri Bidens Nikkis Mom 2019-12-10 | In late summer, the Soldier beetles, also called "Pennsylvania Leatherwings" come to feast on the great varieties of Bidens that bloom here in Missouri.In turn, the birds take notice of all this great, late summer food source.
