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GEORGIA’S LARGEST GRASSHOPPER MAY BE IN YOUR BACKYARD

Jun14

         Recently while walking across the Augusta University Campus my granddaughter spotted the largest grasshopper, she had ever seen.

        Since she knows her grandmother and grandfather are interested in wildlife sightings, she took several pictures of the huge insect using her smart phone and later shared them with us.  

         It turned out that she had photographed the largest grasshopper found in Georgia.  This gigantic grasshopper is the eastern lubber (Romalea microptera).  The critter is sometimes called “The Georgia Thumper.”  

         This grasshopper measures 2½ to 3½ inches long.

         Fortunately, my granddaughter did not try to handle the insect.  The reason for this is, if the grasshopper feels threatens, it defends itself by launching a horrible-smelling toxic spray.

          If you find a lubber grasshopper, you will notice it is equipped with extremely small wings.  In fact, they are so tiny, it cannot fly. As such, it moves from place by walking or crawling.

          Since this native grasshopper ranges throughout the Southeast, there is a chance you might see one in your yard.  If you do find one, please let me know the city and county where it was seen.

        

BACKYARD SECRET – GRAY SQUIRRELS EAT BONES

May17

       One the wonderful things about wildlife watching is every day when you walk outside you have a chance of spotting an animal you have never seen before, or observing wildlife engaged in a behavior you have never witnessed.  A few days ago, my daughter, Angela, saw a gray squirrel do something that she had never seen.

       As far was my daughter is concerned, she sees squirrels in her backyard far too often.  While she doesn’t have anything against the agile tree inhabitants, her major complaint is they eat more than their share of the seeds and suet she offers her bird neighbors. Then on top of that, they destroy her feeders.  That being said, they engage in some fascinating behaviors.  A few days ago, she witnessed a gray squirrel do something she had never seen before.

       As she idly watched a squirrel scampering down the top of the 6-foot wood fence that stands along the backside of her yard, she noticed it was carrying a bone about four inches long and about the width of a nickel.  It looked to be one of the bones left by her dog.

       When she told me about the experience, I told her that she was probably correct since gray squirrels do eat bones. While gray squirrels devour a variety bones, they are particularly fond of those that are sun-bleached.

       Gray squirrels dine bones for a couple of reasons.  First of all, the bones help wear down their front teeth. This is necessary because these teeth continually grow throughout their lives.  If the squirrels do not gnaw on hard bones the teeth will continue to grow and eventually curl and prevent the animals from eating.

The second reason is bones are an excellent source of much-needed calcium and phosphorus.

       If you happen to see gray squirrels carrying or eating bones in your yard, you will know why they are engaged in this bizarre behavior. 

Isn’t it amazing what you can see taking place just outside your backdoor?

THE EYE-CATCHING LARGUS BUG

Apr26

 

      Many of the insects found in Georgia are very difficult to identify because they look so similar to their close relatives.  In fact, some must be dissected to them apart; such is not the case with the largus bug (Largus succinctus).  It is roughly ½-inch long, and has a flattened oval, blackish-colored body that is outlined with an orange to red border.  As such, it is easy to understand why some call it the bordered plant bug.

       Largus bugs are often seen feeding on a wide variety of plants including, shrubs, trees, forbs, as well as ornamental and garden plants.  It often inhabits oaks,  pines, and wax myrtles. (This insect rarely causes significant damage to these sources of food.)

       In case you are wondering, the largus bug does not bite humans.

      

      

THE 5-7-9 RULE DOESN’T WORK FOR BLOGGER

Jan4

      In my last blog for 2025, I wrote about the 5-7-9 rule.  These recommendations relate to the ideal location for a bird feeder.  The rule simply states that feeders should placed 5 feet off the ground, 7 feet away from structures such as fences, shrubs and trees, and in a spot 9 feet below an overhanging limb.  In the posting, I asked for feedback from anyone that has erected a feeder following these parameters.

       To date, only one individual has been kind enough to share his experiences.  Here is what John Kelly says about what happened when he place a feeder in his yard following the rule, “I have a feeder that met all of those criteria, but squirrels didn’t have any problem dropping 10 feet from an overhanging limb and landing on the feeder.  They could easily grab onto the rough wood top.  So, I covered the top with smooth metal, painted it with slippery paint, and waxed it.  It was hilarious to watch them hit the top and slide right off.”

       I want to thank John for sharing his experiences with us.  If you have experimented with placing feeder in your yard using the 5-7-9 rule, please share your findings with us.

IS IT POSSIBLE TO ATTRACT HERMIT THRUSHES TO YOUR YARD IN WINTER

Sep25

       One of the most difficult birds to attract to Georgia bird feeders during the winter is the hermit thrush.  I have been trying to do so for years.  In comparison, I have a good friend that hosts this handsome thrush most winters.  Let’s explore some of the reasons why hermit thrushes avoid most of our yards.

       Limited information suggests that hermit thrushes wintering in residential areas inhabit yards that have an abundance of vegetation and are adjacent to wooded areas.  Berries are the hermit thrush’s primary winter food, consequently yards and nearby woodlands that have trees and shrubs that bear fruits and berries that persist in the winter, are more likely to be used by hermit thrushes than those without them.

       Some the best sources of the thrush’s winter food include cedars, junipers, pokeberry, native hollies, hackberries, grapes, and mistletoe.   While fruits and berries are the hermit thrush’s favorite foods, they will eat insects found in leaf litter.  Consequently, leave dried leaves beneath your trees and shrubs.     

Blog follower, Ron Lee attracts Hermit Thrush

       Hermit thrushes will feed at elevated feeders. However, they prefer to eat food found on the ground.  The birds will dine on dried fruits, mixed seeds, suet, and bird puddings.

      Ron Lee has attracted more hermit thrushes than anybody I know. He is convinced that his success attracting these secretive birds is his wife Jennie’s cornbread. The birds love it so much they will appear out of nowhere whenever he goes outside to feed them.  Some hermit thrushes like it so much, they will feed at his feed while he is scattering food.

     Hermit thrushes will often visit bird baths and avoid food.

    Hermit thrushes will join roaming flock’s kinglets, chickadees, and other birds.  With that in mind, closely study any of these flocks that pass through your yard.

    With a little good fortune, perhaps a hermit thrush will find its way to your backyard this winter.

ODD MOCKINGBIRD BEHAVIOR

Jun9

        It is easy to believe that researchers fully understand the behavior of birds.  Such is not the case, however.  Last week my daughter, Angela Dupree, watched a mockingbird doing something she had never seen before.

        It seems that, as she walked to her car parked in the large parking lot adjacent to her workplace, she noticed a mockingbird placing small sticks atop the left rear tire on the passenger side of her car.  When she looked around, she found the bird had apparently done the same thing atop 4-5 cars parked nearby.

      The next day the bird did the same thing.  In fact, it acted perturbed when she watched it at worked.  She also noted small piles of sticks on the ground near the tires on several cars parked nearby.  It appeared these sticks had fallen off the tires when the drivers had moved their vehicles the previous afternoon.

       When she asked me if I had any idea what was going on, I told her that perhaps the bird was attempting to build nests.  I based this interpretation on the fact that mockingbirds sometimes build several nests in an area before selecting the one they use as their nesting site.  However, that does not explain why a mockingbird was choosing the tops of tires as potential paces to build nests.

       I have done a little research on the subject and found that, while the behavior has been seen before, nobody seems to know exactly what is happening.  Some suggest the birds are just marking their territory.  Who know!

       If you have seen have witnessed this behavior or can explain it, please let me know.

       My daughter’s experience demonstrates we have a lot more to learn about the behavior of even common birds such as the northern mockingbird.

SUET SUCCESS STORY

Apr9

      Recently Becky sent the following that describes the fantastic success she is having attracting birds to her yard with suet.  Wow! I wish I could attract as many different species as possible to my yard.

I use Wild Birds Unlimited cylinder suet—Hot Pepper No Mess. It’s kind of expensive, but it brings birds to my feeders year-round and the squirrels have never bothered it. This year I had a Hermit Thrush visit, which was a first. I also have an occasional Catbird visit. Regulars are White-breasted and Brown-headed Nuthatches. Several years ago when there was an eruption of Red-breasted Nuthatches, they also visited my suet. Red-bellied Woodpeckers, Downy, Hairy, Carolina and House Wrens and sometimes the Eastern Bluebirds. Love my suet feeder.

MORE ON JORO SPIDERS

Aug29

      Joro spiders continue to spread across Georgia.  Wherever they establish themselves, hosts of homeowners find themselves on the front line of battle against this foreign invader.  Recently, two of our fellow bloggers shared their experiences with these large predators.  Below you will find what they have to say.

Susan says:

I just freed a baby boy hummingbird from a Joro spider web.  I did not take a picture, he was screaming and fighting to get loose, poor baby, it took a while to pick off all the webbing and smooth out his feathers-after being a little frantic in my hand he settled down and let me turn him every which way to free him.  Luckily, when I was done, he flew away.  I sweep the webs down daily that are around the house and in the flower beds but I missed this one.  I live in Toccoa, Ga.  I hate Joro spiders and kill as many as I can.  They are not supposed to live here and are harmful to our natives.

Penny says:

Perhaps I can provide some information about how Joro spiders adversely affect hummers: the first point is these huge spiders weave very large webs, and their “silk” is much stronger than the average spider.  If you ever ran into one, you would know because you can literally hear snapping as they break.

Joros are very observant and intelligent creatures, and they weave their webs where their food of interest frequents.  There have been numerous reports of hummers flying into Joro webs that are merely inches from nectar feeders.  Hummers also encounter webs in large flowering bushes such as lantanas.  Joro web silk is incredibly strong, and hummers fly right into the webs and cannot free themselves.

It pays to visit your feeders and bushes and remove the webs periodically.  I hope this helps!

 

A GREAT PILEATED WOODPECKER STORY!

Jun26

        A while back, I wrote a blog entitled Attracting Pileated Woodpeckers To A Feeder Is A Challenge. The column generated a number of responses from bloggers throughout the country and Canada. One of the responses came from an anonymous blogger that hails from Ontario. It describes more pileated woodpecker activity on and near a house than I would have thought possible.  While most of us are hoping for even an occasional visit by a pileated woodpecker or two, this tale reminds us that if our wishes come true, it is possible the result might far exceed our expectations.  Some people might say that what Anonymous from Ontario experienced. 

Here is what this blogger wrote:

“A Pileated Woodpecker has been tapping at my windows, window frames, brick and back door for over an hour this morning. I went outside and got within 10 feet. He hopped onto the ground! Two of them have been around for two weeks, and have taken the bark off of some pine logs I used to border a garden. There’s a pine stump that’s 4 feet high I plan to carve. They’ve already removed bark from that, to help me out, I guess. I took photos and loads of video of him from the other side of the window. Either he couldn’t see me or he wasn’t bothered about it. Eventually bits were flying off the window frame so it was time for him to move. Once I assume he’s left, he returns and starts knocking on the windows again. I put two pine logs from a pile that have been bored into by something – wood-borer beetles or ants – on the ground so he can explore those next time he comes back.” (East Gwillimbury area, Ontario)

BLOGGER REPORTS MONARCHS NECTARING AT ENCORE AZALEAS

Apr17

        Native azaleas are nectar plants used by butterflies and other pollinators. However, such is not the case with ornamental azaleas.  While these showy exotic spring bloomers are beautiful, they are not known for their production of nectar.  However, a few years ago I was surprised to find that a hybrid known as Encore Azalea does indeed attract butterflies. 

       Since that discovery, I have witnessed eastern tiger swallowtails, cloudless sulphurs, painted ladies, ocolas, common buckeyes, and long-tailed skippers nectaring at Encore Azalea blossoms. 

       An April 13, 2024, post by an anonymous blogger stated that monarchs also nectar on the shrub.

       If you have noticed other butterflies nectaring on Encore Azaleas, please let me know.