Flint Hills Birds’n Art

04/12/2025

04/09/2025

Here you can see the significant difference between a regular male (right) and a melanistic male (left) feeding at the same time. They almost look like two different species!

04/08/2025

This little guy is coming along, hoping by Easter!

03/27/2025

This little guy is slowly coming along. One of the most complexed feathering and color design in birds. Sadly, there population is declining, here is one reason.

Kansas State University entomologist Sarah Zukoff says the loss of habitat plays a big role in the decline of the pheasant population.

03/08/2025

Hummingbird arrival times!!

03/03/2025

Ring-necks were first introduced in Kansas with the release of 3,000 birds in 84 counties in the spring of 1906. The species adapted well to Kansas conditions and populations gradually increased in response to the excellent interspersion of grain fields with permanent habitats and to the relatively primitive agricultural practices of the time.

This Flint Hill pheasant is coming along. Private message me if you’re interested.

02/21/2025

01/31/2025

Any guesses what’s coming next? If you’re interested in making one for you, private message me.

01/30/2025

I had to laugh! A few weeks ago, I asked for your response about your spiritual practices in my post. NO one responded!!! I don’t know what that says, but.

I turned instead to my furry and feathery friends in my backyard. A friend reminded me that these past 10 weeks, 5 before the winter solstice (Dec 21) and 5 weeks after, are the 10 darkest weeks of the year. Indeed, here in the Flint Hills, not only has it been dark but the temperatures (-4 degrees) and the snow (16 inches)have made it a very harsh and hard winter.

Last summer, when I put out bird seed, the birds would do what I would call the “grap and go.” Rushing and darting all over the place they would grab as much seed as they could and go as fast as they could into a tree.

But as it got colder and darker, the birds slowed down, pecking on the ground a little longer, the rushing and hurrying began to calm down. And Cardinals, Blue Jays, Juncos, Wrens and Purple Finches began to share the backyard space at the same time! Even the squirrels, and deer would stop by and be allowed into this space. After Thanksgiving, even old Agnes, the wild and alone turkey waddled out of the woods and was allowed to eat.

With the harshness came a tolerance for community and a necessity for sharing this space. Do I dare call it a “ safe space” ? The deer have even started to pause and stare in our back windows to watch us!

My own thoughts have centered around my 8 great-grandparents who immigrated to Southern Indiana in the 1800’s. They came from Norway, Germany, Ireland, Scotland and England. There was even a rascal, we are no sure where he came from! But “immigrant life” in Southern Indiana was harsh. They had to work to survive! And when the cholera epidemic hit three times in the 1800’s, they lost children, spouses, and neighbors. It was indeed dark times! But through perseverance and prayer, somehow Southern Indiana began to feel safe by the time I arrived.

In these current dark and uncertain times, I also glimpse at the statue of Saint Francis sitting in our safe “wildlife” sanctuary and wonder, maybe there is safety in this space, and these critters do feel a sense of peace here.

You know, there is a prayer that is attributed to Saint Francis: It goes like this,

“Lord, make me an instrument of your peace. Where there is hatred, let me sow love; Where there is injury, pardon; Where there is doubt, faith; Where there is despair, hope; Where there is darkness, light; Where there is sadness, joy.
O Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled, as to console; to be understood, as to understand; to be loved, as to love. For it is in giving that we receive. It is in pardoning, that we are pardoned, and it is in dying that we are born to Eternal Life.”

Blessings!

01/25/2025

For most of the year, Greater Prairie-Chickens live inconspicuously in brushy areas of the Great Plains and prairies, where their plumages and habits keep them well concealed. But today, he was playing in the snow!!

01/23/2025

Woodsy Owl is finished. If you’re interested in him, private message me.

01/21/2025

My Woodsy Owl is almost ready to paint. The Eastern screech owls are permanent residents of the Flint Hills and stay in their home ranges throughout the winter. This morning temperature was -11 degrees. If you are interested in the screech owl, private message me.