Category: Arkansas County

The Rufous Hummingbird

September 20, 2012

On Tuesday, I saw my first Rufous Hummingbird at a nearby house in Stuttgart. A female or immature, the Rufous had a greenish gold crown and back, a white breast and dull reddish/brown sides. The males have bright orange on the back and belly with a red throat.

I originally heard of the bird through the state’s only hummingbird bander, Tana Beasley. The owner of the house with the Rufous later dropped by my work to invite me out to her house for  a look.

I couldn’t resist. Tana said it is the closest “unusual” hummingbird (meaning not the common Ruby-Throated we have here) to the Stuttgart/ Casscoe area that she has heard about. She did attempt to capture the Rufous for banding, however, the bird was not having it.

The Rufous refused to stay where it usually sat until the cage was gone. I actually stopped by the house twice before I finally saw the Rufous: Once with the cage there and once afterwards. Ruby-Throated hummingbirds swarmed the enclosed garden area on both visits.

The Ruby-Throated hummingbirds were hoarding the feeders so much that the Rufous had taken over a portion of the garden’s flowers. It was funny to watch the Rufous sit on favored spots above this section, which it guarded fiercely.

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Rolling with the punches

September 5, 2012
I recently did a feature on an Arkansas County ranch. It was a fun interview with great sights.

You probably didn’t know that there were cattle being raised in Arkansas County — some its own residents often forget this fact. We’re more focused on row crops.

It’s hard to not think of the county’s cattle now since the state has experienced a horrible drought this year. Ranchers are selling out while others, like the local one I interviewed, was working hard to just make it through the year. Row crop farmers were also struggling to just keep water in their fields, although the heat helped keep a lid on disease.

A tough year is not that uncommon for Arkansas County. It’s the fifth year of natural disaster in Arkansas County — it began with a tornado, continued with record-breaking flooding and has ended (so far) with the drought.

If there’s one thing the past few years have taught me, it’s that even positive things can come out of a disaster, such as an early harvest for Grand Prairie farmers. (I absolutely love harvest season for some reason).

The heat has also kept a lid on disease in row crops and the recent rainfall from Hurricane Isaac has helped ranchers (although it did knock down three fields of rice belonging to a friend’s family).

My favorite message coming out of a disaster though is that life continues on with its beauty even more appreciated. It’s hard not to be appreciative when the sights you see are the above and below:

Red-tailed hawk

Cattle egret in a corn field being harvested.
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Photo essay: Bayou Meto

September 2, 2012
Bayou Meto-1
American Black Ducks

Izzie and I needed out of the house today so we decided to head to the nearby Bayou Meto Wildlife Management Area’s Brett Morgan Halowell Reservoir. Here’s some pictures from the visit:

House Sparrows
House Sparrows
Bayou Meto-3
Nutria
Bayou Meto-4
Dragonfly
Bayou Meto-6
Ruby-Throated Hummingbirds

Bayou Meto-5

Bayou Meto7

Photo essay: summer photos

August 28, 2012
After two years, I have finally upgraded my work laptop to a desktop computer. The move has uncovered these summertime photos that brought a smile to my face. The photos are all ones I took while working on stories throughout Arkansas County.
Common Grackle
Cannon demonstration at Arkansas Post.
Youth fishing derby.
An American Robin that I found in my yard at lunch one day.
A Hairy Woodpecker at Arkansas Post National Memorial.

 

 

 

The bandit

August 17, 2012

I’m not sure who was more surprised — this raccoon or I. We came across each other as I hiked to Cook’s Lake from the Potlatch Conservation Education Center in Casscoe. My first thought was “Is he alive? … IS HE STAPLED TO THE TREE?” The last thought is in response to how I first saw him (hint, it’s not the above picture but the below one).

For some reason, I never thought about raccoons climbing. Honestly, I never really gave them much thought period. Still, I liked my little bandit. I visited the center to attend its last hummingbird program of the year. I was determined to get a few better pictures of the Ruby-Throated Hummingbird. I think I met my goal. 🙂

In addition to the hummingbirds, I even got a few more surprises: An immature male Indigo Bunting (first picture below) and a Red Spotted Purple butterfly.

It’s just a little rain …

July 17, 2012

Arkansas has been in a drought for the past few weeks. We’re still in extreme wildfire danger. So, as you can imagine, our farmers and county officials, as well as the above great egrets, were pretty excited when it began raining last Friday and continued over the weekend.

It always amazes me how a little rain can change Arkansas County’s dry landscape into a flood zone in a short-time frame. My hometown is near Crowley’s Ridge so I’m used to rolling hills. I’m still getting used to the Grand Prairie, which floods easily.

Still, the rain did manage to upset some, such as this House Sparrow. I first noticed the little guy because I thought he was stuck in a vehicle’s grill (see below). Nope, he just flew around the vehicles having a temper tantrum. It was amusing for a bit.