All posts by richardhoeg@gmail.com

Feeding the Northern Flicker Chicks at the Woodpecker Hole!

Year 12

This is the time of the year when new young birds are bursting on the scene … the end of June / the beginning of July. Over the past few days I realized there were some new residents in our yard. It helps to learn the begging call of your local birds. I knew that some time spent looking for my local Northern Flicker Woodpecker Nest would be time well spent.

These images and video (video link for email subscribers) were taken just before supper last night. The BBQ was lit and the coals were getting hot. In the meantime I spent time with the Flicker Chicks. The images are in succession over about 10 minutes. Enjoy!

Northern Flicker Chick Feeding at the Nest Hole

The Movie!

Boo-Boo the Black Bear Visits Hoeg Hollow

Year 12

I was enjoying a morning read on the couch at 8:15 when I heard a crash. Boo-Boo was back and he was hungry. This younger Black Bear (a yearling?) proceeded to attack my five bird feeders. As always, suet is the favorite.  Apparently this bear is part of a Minnesota DNR research study as it has two ear tags (#108 and #109). I have submitted the sighting to the DNR. In total the bear was with me for about ten minutes. I was watching from about 15 yards away … at my window seat in my living room. Other than the suet feeder, everything looks quite repairable.

I did some editing to remove the ear tags in the photographs. I have provided one image at the end of the post with the tags still included.

Boo-Boo the Black Bear Visits Amity Creek (video link for email subscribers)

And the still images of my morning visitor …

With the tags …

Cuckoo Quest 2025!

Year 12

Some folks like ducks. Some folks like hawks, and then there are individuals who LOVE cuckoos! Apparently I am that kind of person. I remember while on a self-supported bicycle tour in northern Scotland, even though I biked 833 miles I NEVER saw this fabled bird. I would take hikes after a full day’s ride to attempt to obtain a sighting. The cuckoos would be calling out just before sunset … “cuckoo, cuckoo”; yet nada. I was truly cuckoo.

Thankfully, in the last nine years I have learned the finer art of finding cuckoos. However, it was with trepidation that I headed out this morning at 6:55 am. Would Cuckoo Quest 2025 be successful? Apparently the numbers of this famous bird are a bit down this year. I think a primary food source of the cuckoo, the tent caterpillar, is not in the same abundance as some years.

Cornell describers the probability of spotting the Black-Billed Cuckoo (learn more) in this manner: “Uncommon and elusive, the Black-billed Cuckoo skulks around densely wooded eastern forests and thickets. Its staccato song can be heard day and night, but getting a look at its slender brown body and namesake black bill may take a bit of patience.”

The Black-Billed Cuckoo!

Cuckoo Quest 2025 was Success!