Take An Earth Minute

Step outside and take a minute to reconnect with the other living things that share our world. 

You can do that close-by at a quiet neighborhood location like one of Los Angeles' Hidden Gardens at Orcutt Ranch Park in the San Fernando Valley.

Or travel far away, like outer Mongolia - Listen to the wild wind and see the extreme terrain of Western Mongolia.

island fox footprints

No matter where you go, if you look closely you will see what other people miss: A wild tortoise living among ancient Roman ruins (Temple of Aphrodite, Turkey); flying fox bats in downtown Cairns, Australia; the endangered island fox on California's Santa Cruz Island.

When you take the time to engage with the world around you it will bring you peace, wonderment and inspiration. My husband and I are posting a minute of adventure - large and small - at TheEarthMinute.com each Friday.

Sometimes you can find a minute of wonder at your back door, like the Bewick's wrens that built a nest on our patio. 

This Friday I'm posting a moment with some of my favorite micro-carpenters. Subscribe to the e-mail that tells you when a new Earth Minute has been posted; you won't want to miss these bee-autiful builders.

Bewick's Wrens Build a Nest

The Bewick’s wrens committed to building a nest in the cow skull on the back patio this spring. Both the male and female are in on this venture, but I can’t tell them apart. Listen for their communications as one works and the other makes suggestions or comments.

Once you watch this, you will never question that birds communicate specific things to each other.

The Bewick’s wren (Thryomanes bewickii) is a medium-sized wren found across the southwestern United States. They are believed to be monogamous. Typically their nest is built in a cavity, like a tree hollow, but they will use a nest house or even a ceramic pot. 

The male is the primary nest builder with the female adding the finishing touches after she has approved the venture. She incubates the eggs, but he helps feed the offspring. Typically, it’s just a 14 day incubation and then just 14 days before the chicks leave the nest. The little ones are moderately feathered when their parents urge them out into the world. The little family tends to stay together for several weeks. The parents move the youngsters to various hollows and hidden areas and gradually teach them to hunt for insects.

For more 1 minute nature videos see TheEarthMinute.com

Each week take a minute to find inspiration in the natural world. Take a one minute hike, a one minute adventure, escape for a minute of exploration. TheEarthMinute.com

A Cow Skull Nest

The Bewick's wren is nest building. Do you see him about 6 inches to the right of the Nature's Nest raw cotton nesting material?

Look for his black eye and the white stripe of an eyebrow. About an inch to the right of his eye, the cotton fuzz in his beak is sticking out from behind a leaf.

The wren has already built a nest in the lariat house. Now he is building a second nest in the brain cavity of the cow skull that hangs on the patio wall.

He has been considering this location for several years. This year he decided to go for it.

The male Bewick's wren builds two nests and then tours his mate through the two sites. He's hoping one will meet with her approval. 

Will we have baby wrens in the cow skull? We'll see.

Allen's hummingbirds have already successfully nested once this Spring 2014.

First Hummingbird Nest of 2012

Allen's hummingbird nest from a previous year

Spring must be here, I found the first hummingbird nest of the year! Unfortunately, it is between 50 - 60 ft. high up in a Grevillea robusta (an Australian species commonly called a “silk oak,” despite the fact that it is not an oak at all). That means pictures of eggs and babies will be impossible.

The female Allen’s hummingbird is still actively building the nest. She is stitching together a masterpiece of plant fibers and moss wrapped in stretchy spider web. Typically, it is during this construction phase that I find it easiest to locate a hummingbird nest. The activity of the female in one vicinity offers the best opportunity to locate the walnut-sized structure with its ingenious camouflaging.

The Bewick’s wrens have also been busy testing out nest locations. There has been some activity at the lariat house, but no definite decision to nest there yet.

Even the Cooper’s hawks were gathering sticks yesterday.

Since nesting is in full swing it is time to put out some quality nesting material. Natural fibers can be difficult for birds to find in the city. I try to make some readily available with hopes the birds will use the raw cotton, wool fiber or dog hair rather than man-made fibers that can cause catastrophe. I watched two female hummingbirds fail in their nesting attempts in 2010 because of polyester fiber in their nests.Putting out natural fibers can be as easy as this, a handful of raw cotton fibers wired to a plate and attached to a tree. In this case the red attracts the hummingbirds. They quickly discover that there is no food, but there are wonderful building fibers that are naturally soft, water repellent, pliable, nontoxic and biodegradable. And this isn’t just for hummingbirds. I’ve seen bushtits and goldfinches pulling off fibers as well. You don’t have to go out and buy anything. Comb your dog or cat and stick the cast-off fur in a bush. You may not see the builders taking supplies, but I can tell you, the Bewick’s wrens always line their nest with the black hairs from our dog.

Nesting birds need quality resources. Make them available and the building will happen in your yard.

Earth Day Gift

Happy Earth Day!


I've been too busy lately; busy at the computer, busy with projects. I haven't taken my own advice. I haven't been out in the yard. 

This morning the dog was barking at something and I went up the hill to see what had attracted her attention. It could have been a rabbit, a coyote, a raven. I didn't see anything but then, there on the ground was a butterfly clinging to the dirt. The mourning cloak butterfly, with its wings closed, looked like a dead leaf.

Was it dead or alive? I picked it up. It was motionless, but gripped my finger with surprising strength. I headed toward the house to take a picture. As I held the butterfly on my finger it started to vibrate, just slightly. It was like a shiver. It only lasted a moment, but before I reached the house the tiny creature shivered two more times. Each time the strength and length of the shivering increased. It was waking up.

Of course the batteries in the camera were dead and I couldn't find the extra set.


With a final quivering the mourning cloak awakened from its nighttime torpor, a mini hibernation. In the 50 degree evening temperature, the butterfly had gone into resource conservation mode. It's resting place, on an eastern-facing slope, had it positioned to warm up with the morning sun. But I had come along and disturbed it. 


Before I could get new batteries in the camera, the mourning cloak began to flutter its wings. I quickly scooped it up and released it outside. It flew up into the Chinese elm tree. Mourning cloak caterpillars.


The Bewick's wren chicks are begging for food from their haggard parents. The first lesser goldfinch chick of the season is learning to fly. And I held a wild butterfly on my finger and watched it wake up. Go outside and the wild creatures will show you what life is really about. Happy Earth Day!

Low Level Radiation Reaches California

Radiation from Japan has reached California in low levels. Can there be a more important time to watch the natural world around us and observe changes to our "canaries in the coalmine" – wild birds and amphibians?

Get to know you wild neighbors and they will help us all to really understand the environmental ramifications for ourselves.

This morning the Allen's hummingbirds are tending to spring. A Spot took a quick bath in the fountain. BIF is drinking at his feeder while his father FIK is moving in on his son's territory and dominating the courtship field with the females. (Hummingbird Territories and hummingbirds and climate change)

The Bewick's wrens are building a new nest in the lariat house. The House and Last Year's Nest.


The rain that has been forecast has yet to arrive. Will it be the life-giving resource that the blooming plants are hungry for or will it bring an unseen radiation taint?

Two weeks from now will the hummingbirds be nesting or will life be greatly altered?

Interaction Between California Quail and Other Birds

I've continued to do regular birding walks at Serrania Avenue Park. One of the species I've been looking for is California quail. The number of quail seems less than normal despite the ample rainfall that has been a boon to other species.

However, this morning we saw a plump pair and heard two additional males calling from the two sides of this canyon.

Unfortunately, the pair did not have any chicks following them. But we did observe something that we haven't seen before:

The two quail were making their way through tall dry mustard plants. They were feeding on either insects or seeds. Following them were two immature Bewick's wrens and an adult California towhee with three juveniles. The smaller young birds seemed to be taking advantage of what the larger quail were scaring up.

How different the San Fernando Valley must have looked when it was mostly tall grasses with a riparian corridor along the Los Angeles River and its tributaries. How many birds would have been feeding on the seeds and insects? What interaction between species would you have seen?

The more we can establish a quilt of native habitat across the suburban landscape, the more we may have an opportunity to understand the native wildlife that should be here.

Digging Deeper means understanding that the interconnection between species is essential to a sustainable world.

The Gift for Gardening With Intent

This morning I received the perfect gift for my efforts to create a refuge for wildlife in my backyard - fledglings.

Yesterday afternoon I took a quick photo of the Bewick’s wren chicks in their “chicken pot” nest. You have to look closely to see one of the chicks. One light streak in the dark opening is the yellow on the lower edge of a beak and the other is a white eyebrow just over the tiny eye. The other two chicks are further back in the pot.

Mom was working very hard yesterday. No sooner did she return to the nest with a grub or worm and feed one of the chicks, then she would start off to look for more and one of the chicks would call her back for KP duty.

Bewick’s wrens are cavity nesters. I have a perfectly nice bird house in the yard that this pair used a few years ago. They built a nest in the house this year, but decided the pot was a better location. Anyway, because the chicks are down in a confined space, the parents take the little packets of fecal matter out of the nest to keep it clean.

Yesterday, the three chicks had mom hopping. Their chirps were insistent, “Feed me, feed me.” “Mom, there’s poop.” The father wren has been helping with the feeding and housekeeping, but yesterday, when things were at their most hectic. I caught a glimpse of him sitting high on the telephone wire, nearly asleep. The chicks were calling, but he seemed to be letting his mate handle the offspring.

This morning the nest was empty.

And here is where the gift comes in: The parent wrens were leading their three fledglings through the holly cherry and the fern. Dad was leading the little ones in a hunt for crane’s fly grubs in the leaf litter and grass. The young birds were trying their wings for the first time, flying a couple feet off the ground and perching on a seedling oak.

I have worked to create a Garden with Intent, food for myself and a hillside with native plants that feed and house native insects. These insects are in turn food for the Allen’s hummingbirds when they nest, the western fence lizards and slender salamanders, and now for the family of Bewick’s wrens. The habitat is rich in resources and safe from introduced predators. There is no cat to fear, no pesticides to weaken tiny youngsters.

The pair of wrens were leading their three chicks on a morning of discovery and I got to watch.

Oh, and Dad had a reason to be resting up yesterday, he was leading the way.

Giant Mosquitoes ?

There’s been concern among some of my neighbors that we are being invaded by giant mosquitoes.

Actually, the spring rains have encouraged the pupation of large numbers of common crane flies (Tipula planicornis). At first glance, these long-legged flies do look like mosquitoes, but they actually have very little in common.

The crane fly larva feeds on roots and plant matter under leaf litter. It kind of looks like a large (half inch long) thick-skinned maggot. It isn’t an attractive childhood, but it is nothing like the aquatic mosquito. Once the crane fly develops into an adult with wings it has a fairly short lifespan and typically does not eat. You can tell it is a fly and not a mosquito because it only has two wings (one pair). Mosquitoes and all other kinds of flying insects typically have four wings (two pairs).

Some people call crane flies “mosquito hawks” with the assumption that they eat mosquitoes. Unfortunately, that is a myth. Personally, I think they look like fairies when they fly up from the grass.

The past year’s warm dry weather followed by a moderate winter with normal rainfall has enhanced grass growth. Crane fly larva prosper in grass and we seem to be having an unusually large population of adults this spring. The females are considerably thicker in body. One source said that females are unable to fly. There appear to be far more males than females, and I saw a group of males mobbing a single female all trying to mate with her.

Is anything eating these crane flies? So far I haven’t seen any birds or other animals munching on the flying adults. If you look at them closely, they are mostly long brittle legs and glassy wings. There isn’t much to eat. However, I’m sure that as larva they are consumed by a number of our yard birds, Bewick’s wren, California and spotted towhee. Perhaps their availability added to the Bewick's decision to nest in our yard. Bewick's wren nest.

So don’t be alarmed by a large long-legged crane fly headed your direction. It isn’t a mosquito and it isn’t going to hurt you. Part of being a good gardener is getting to know the species in your yard. The common crane fly isn’t going to harm you or your garden. In fact I noticed a young alligator lizard sunning itself about a foot from the breeding crane fly group. Maybe it was waiting for the soon to be laid, crane fly eggs.

Bewick's Wren

An added benefit of creating a more natural garden...increased animal biodiversity.

A pair of Bewick's wrens patrol the yard and eat unwanted insects. I trust them to help keep balance in the yard and they have honored us with their trust. They have made their nest on our patio.

Right next to the back door there is a chicken-shaped pot. I was planning to grow some herbs in it this spring but the wrens had their own plan.

Apparently the position of the small pot created just the right protection for the pair to build a nest in the tail section of the chicken pot.

If you look closely you can just make out the curve of the female's beak as she sits on the three eggs in the nest.

Soon we will have our own insect patrol squad, a family of Bewick's wrens.

When you garden with the intent of providing habitat, wild creatures will participate in your efforts and further enhance the beauty and sustainability of your garden. Gardening with Intent.

Documenting Life With E-Bird

Two more Allen’s hummingbird chicks fledged today. L-1 is sitting at the top of the Lady Banks’ rose chirping for mom to bring lunch. It can’t quite fly, but it can hover a few inches at a time.

This afternoon the mother Bewick’s wren brought the first youngster of 2010 into the yard on a foraging expedition. She showed it a few prime hunting areas then went off to take care of the younger kids still in the nest. Junior Bewick’s wren has been left in the yard. Sometimes it feels like our yard is a playpen. Today there are 3 young hummingbirds and 1 young wren safely hidden in or exploring the confines of our yard.

This month I’ve been trying to increase my awareness of local biodiversity and participate in making others more aware as well.

I’ve started to really participate in e-bird. This on-line birding site allows birders across the country to document bird species. What you see in your backyard is recorded with the same scientific interest as rare species migrating through a wilderness area.

I’ve committed myself to expanding my observations from Project FeederWatch to e-bird as well. For e-bird I am making a weekly observation in my yard, a weekly observation at my local foothill park and a monthly observation at a state park.

E-bird offers a variety of ways to look at the data you collect and to see compiled information from other birders as well.

The program compiles the data you enter and it creates histograms showing when species are most likely to be seen at your location. It keeps lists of the species you’ve seen annually and life list.

Looking at everyone’s entered data, e-bird offers a way to search a species and see where it has been seen by other people. For example if you wanted to see a red-shouldered hawk, you could use the data to find out which month of the year it was most likely to be seen and then view a map with specific locations.

It is kind of fun that I can go to the map and see a specific location where I made an observation. My contribution to documenting the bird species in my neighborhood is right there on the map for everyone to see.

The young hummingbirds and the young wren were all inputted into e-bird as well. All three of these Allen’s hummingbirds are the offspring of Fik, the male hummingbird that my dog and I rescued in the summer of 2008.

Check out e-bird. Become a citizen scientist. It is hard not to care about local wildlife when you know their family stories as well as your own.