Welcome to my world of birds!

Welcome to my world of birds!

Details

Hello, my name is Sherie. Thank you for visiting my blog about my encounters with birds. I decided to blog about birds to share my passion, dedication and experiences with birds. I want to present a plethora of birds to inspire you to appreciate birds for the beauty they bring to the world.
I submitted my first official eBird Checklist in February 2016. I have been hooked ever since. At this point I have birded in twenty-one states and six countries. My favorite place to bird is in my own yard while sitting on my T-house with a hot cup of tea and my binoculars.
I love talking “birds” with anyone who will listen and most are interested since birds are everywhere in the world. Most people have some kind of experience with a bird. It might be as simple as seeing them in the backyard or seeing them on an organized bird walk or bird tour in some exotic country.
I want to get people excited about birds and help them pursue their curiosity about them. I also feel strongly about the conservation of birds and so I am involved in many conservation projects and efforts that help them out. My blog will focus on birds with a handful of conservation efforts and a sprinkle of butterflies that share the habitat with the birds.

The Circle of Life

It is fitting that today is Mother’s Day and I just became the proud mother of five baby Black Swallowtail caterpillars. Since planting my pollinator garden, I have been getting many types of butterflies and of course caterpillars. I had two monarch caterpillars in the spring and now I have many Black Swallowtail caterpillars. These caterpillars will host on Rue and Fennel and continue to eat these herbs. They are the size of a tic-tac when I finally notice them. They devour the plant all day long and grow very fast. I have had several get to about two inches long and then they disappeared. I thought maybe they went to pupate. I set up my wildlife camera on them for about three days and sure enough, a Blue Jay was in the pot of Rue that they were in. I could not find them after that. I spoke to an expert butterfly person and learned that yes, the birds are preying on them. Only about 1 out of 100 caterpillars live to be butterflies. I immediately bought a large butterfly enclosure at Rainbow Gardens and set it up when I got home. I transferred the caterpillars (all five of them) into the enclosure with plenty of Rue and Fennel. They are in a safe place now with plenty to eat and a chance to grow and pupate in the enclosure. I can watch them go through their life cycle and not be a part of the “Circle of Life” cycle.

Black Swallowtail caterpillar

I tried to upload a picture of the enclosure but it did not work.

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