On my walk today, I snapped this pic of my favorite little birdhouse, which I found at a craft show in Missouri. I put it up in early summer 2008 and several little birds were checking it out, but then vanished. 
This was soon explained when I noticed the male roadrunner was constructing a huge nest in the tree above where I had hung the little birdhouse. No (smart) little bird builds a house just below a fast, wily predator...
Ricky the roadrunner spent time sitting on this next during the summer, but no lady-friend ever appeared. Ricky also built nests (or were they hunting blinds?) in the big pine out back AND the top utility shelf in the garage (via the doggie door) incorporating the business end of the electric chainsaw on that shelf into the twigs of the nest! So it seems he's still single. But hopeful. 
10 January 2009
Roadrunner Seeks Wife: Has Three Houses
Back to the Larrapin Blog 2009!
Well after a long holiday season of work, projects, more work, and the holdays, I'm back to posting here on this blog! I missed it. Knowing I'm committed to posting once a week gets me out taking pictures more often. This morning I was trying to get some good shots of the chickens (those will post later) but when I came back in, we saw this cutie on the pine tree outside the kitchen window. 
The bird book says he's a juvenile yellow bellied sap sucker. He was busy pilfering the stashes of seeds and suet that the nuthatch hides under the pine bark...
With the weather cold, we're seeing every kind of woodpecker with the notable exception of a red headed woodpecker. Even though the bird book says they range here, we've never seen one here at Larrapin (yet). 
Happy 2009 from the folks and critters of Larrapin Garden!