CHESTERTON'S EUROPEAN MARKET then stay at songbird prairie inn and spa

Dates: May 05 - October 27, 2018 Time: 8am-2pm (CT) Venue: Downtown Chesterton

Address: Third Street & Broadway, Chesterton, IN 46304 Phone: 219-926-5513  Free 

An outdoor family/artisanal market held in historic downtown Chesterton every Saturday from the beginning of May through the end of October. #europeanmarket, #officialbestromanticgetaway, #midwestlivingbestbnbs #indianadunes #breakfastwiththebirds, 

CHAUTAUQUA IN THE DUNES, INDIANA DUNES STATE PARK and songbird prairie inn and spa

Dates: August 16 - August 19, 2018 Time: All Day (CT) Venue: Indiana Dunes State Park

Address: 1600 N. 25 East, Chesterton, IN 46304 Phone: 219-926-1390

Admission: There is a fee to enter the Indiana Dunes State Park

Relive the cultural, educational, artistic, and historical experience of the 1880s-1920s Chautauquas. Based on the model of the Chautauqua Institute in New York, guests will experience lectures debates, interactive discussions, hands-on workshops, and artistic performances all based around the theme of "Inspire Rewire: creating conversations across worldviews". Various locations throughout the park Registration fee applies. see www.DunesChautauque.com for more information or to register. songbirdprairie.com #Chautauquainthedunes, #midwestlivingbestbnbs #indianadunes #breakfastwiththebirds,

BEGINNING BIRDING PROGRAM then stay at songbird prairie inn and spa

Dates: August 04 - August 25, 2018

Time: 9-10:30am (CT)

Venue: Great Marsh Trail parking lot

Address: 500 S. Broadway, Beverly Shores, IN 46301

Phone: 219-395-1882

Admission: Free admission

Join a ranger and fellow birding enthusiasts every Saturday morning in August. No birding experience is required. A spotting scope and binoculars will be provided. The program will start at the southern gravel parking lot followed by a short hike to the Great Marsh observation deck to look for herons, egrets, ducks, and other birds of the marsh. If you arrive late, simply hike to the observation deck to join the event. To reserve a suite songbirdprairie.com

For songbird conservation, it's not the size that matters

August 8, 2018, University of Manitoba

University of Manitoba researchers have published new findings that can help us save grassland birds, whose populations have declined more severely than species of any other Canadian ecosystem.

Habitat loss is the usual culprit in such scenarios, but U of M graduate student Jessica Lockhart and professor Nicola Koper found that this time, it wasn't.

Working in southwest Manitoba, they found that ever-decreasing prairie habitat was less to blame than how many edges cut through the existing habitat; this results in the breaking apart of habitat, an effect known as habitat fragmentation. These edges could stem from roads, industrial development, or a patch of cropland laid among the natural grasses.

"It was surprising to find this," says Lockhart, a master's student in the U of M's Natural Resources Institute and lead author of the study. "Studies conducted in other ecosystems suggest that impacts from habitat loss are generally much stronger than those from fragmentation but in this case we found the opposite."

Habitat edges, a major consequence of habitat fragmentation, help predators find nests, and roads and croplands can also introduce noise, contaminants, or invasive plants. Further studies will investigate which factors are most influential, but for now, it's clear that in grassland habitat, even relatively small sections must remain unmarred by human activity to conserve grassland birds.

                                                          

                             

                              The endangered chestnut-collared longspur. Credit: Jennie Horvat

One key result is that grassland songbird abundance and numbers of species both declined as a result of habitat fragmentation," says Koper. "This means that these negative impacts are not restricted to just a few species, but to the grassland bird community in general. And this is a big problem, because grassland birds have declined so significantly in the last few decades. If we convert a patch of prairie to cropland, or build a new road, from the birds' perspective we lose way more habitat than from the human's perspective, because all the grassland that's now near that new human development is less usable by birds. So there's just less and less space for them to live."

Read more at: https://phys.org/news/2018-08-songbird-size.html#jCp

Stay at Songbird Prairie Inn and Spa and go for a day trip to see the 18 Quilt Gardens Along the Heritage Trail and 21 hand painted, quilt-themed murals in the communities of Bristol, Elkhart, Goshen, Middlebury, Nappanee and Wakarusa. Then return to Valparaiso with your discount restaurant voucher to one of our restaurant partners. Make your reservation at songbirdprairie.com #bestinnsineverystate, #garden walk, #midwestlivingbestbnbs #indianadunes #breakfastwiththebirds,

Drink your TEA sings the Towhee throughout the brushy woodlands here in Valparaiso, Indiana at Songbird Prairie Bed and Breakfast Inn and Spa. Book your afternoon tea to hear the Towhee's invitation to tea and time with friends. #afternoontea #hightea #tearoom  songbirdprairie.com 

Formerly called the Rufous Sided Towhee this 8 1/2 inch long sparrow is boldly patterned and spends nearly all it’s time on the ground scratching among the leaf litter, looking for food. The name Towhee comes from the bird’s call, which has also been translated as chewink. Many people know this bird as the chewink instead of the Towhee. This is one of the favorites here at Songbird Prairie. Clean, flashy colors have given the towhee the nickname “Hollywood robin” In flight, the bird’s white wing and tail spots are just beautiful. Female eastern Towhees replace the male’s black plumage areas with chocolate brown. Towhees preference for thick cover and brushy habitat make them harder to see than other common species. But not here at Songbird Prairie, you will see them come right up to the feeders, a rare occurrence indeed!

The loud scratching of a foraging Towhee sounds like a large animal walking through dry leaves; this is often your first clue to a Towhee’s presence. Towhees eat just about anything found on the woodland floor, including insects, seeds, fruits, and even snails, spiders, and millipedes. They prefer to scratch the ground under feeding stations for mixed seeds, cracked corn and sunflower seeds. They nest near the ground in a well-concealed spot. The female weaves a cup-shaped nest out of rootlets, bark strips and grass. She also handles all the incubation duty, which typically lasts about 12 days. Normal clutch size is three to four eggs; young towhees fledge in about 10 days. Both Towhee parents feed the youngsters, which allows the female to start a second and sometimes third brood. This is one of my very favorite summer birds. Some and see the Towhees at our Inn. www.songbirdprairie.com #midwestlivingbestbnbs #indianadunes #breakfastwiththebirds, #Towhee, #mothersday #afternoontea #indianadunes#lakemichiganbnb #valparaisoIN, 

What's for Breakfast?

Come to enjoy #Breakfastwiththebirds

219-759-4274

Songbird Prairie Inn and Spa

#Valparaiso IN

Songbird Spa services will lead you to a blissful state of mind. Our customized massages begin with an aroma sensory journey and include, but are not limited to Swedish, Deep Tissue and Reflexology. Our treatments will relieve your tension and stress throughout the body and promote emotional calm, removing toxins from the body, improving sleep and elevating your immune system. Thoroughly trained professionals will consult with you to match your health and energy goals with the most beneficial treatment. Couples massage $198.00 plus gratuity songbirdprairie.com 219.759.4274

Nesting birds need our help—particularly those birds that nest in cavities, such as nest boxes, woodpecker holes, and other natural holes in trees. Competition among birds for limited nest sites is fierce, especially from aggressive non-native starlings and house sparrows. You can help native nesting birds by being an informed, conscientious landlord. We’ve compiled some useful tips, information, and resources to guide you as you help nesting birds in your backyard and beyond. We hope you will find this e-guide helpful.
 At Songbird Prairie Inn and Spa, we host many species of birds in our boxes. Such as swallows, bluebirds, chickadees, and wrens.

https://www.birdwatchersdigest.com/bwdsite/help-nesting-birds-right-way.php

AFTERNOON TEA AT SONGBIRD PRAIRIE INN AND SPA

Requires 6 person minimum choose Wednesday or Thursday afternoon 

please call to inquire about another day other than what is listed

219-759-4274 songbirdprairie.com 

Ovenbird is “hot” at Songbird Prairie Bed and Breakfast

visit Songbird Prairie Inn and Spa in  #ValparaisoIN

The ovenbird is a warbler that looks like a small speckled thrush. Thus deep forest bird only thrives where forest remain in large blocks, probably because if clearings are nearby, there are more nest predators and parasitic brown-headed cowbirds. Although spotting the forest dwelling ovenbird takes patience, the bird’s TEAcher-TEAcher-TEAcher-TEAcher song is distinctive and rings through the woods in spring and summer. A good look at the ovenbirds head will help you differentiate it from larger thrushes and same-sized water thrushes. The wide, white eye ring is the first clue. The water thrushes lack this, having instead a white stripe running from above the eye to the back of the head. Several species of brown-backed thrushes have eye rings that are not as pronounced. Thrushes hop and feed at one moment still, then dashing; the oven bird walks methodically. The ovenbird has neat “stripes” or spots running down its breast, while the thrushes are more randomly speckled underneath.

While not always visible, the ovenbird’s black-bordered, orange crown patch is diagnostic field mark.

Ovenbirds nest in mature deciduous or mixed deciduous and pine forests, but they can appear in any habitat during spring and fall migration. Most winter in Mexico and Central America and on the Caribbean Islands. Forests that host nesting ovenbirds have a thick layer of dry leaf litter beneath them, providing the birds with feeding and nesting opportunities. The ovenbird quietly chugs along the leafy forest floor, walking and looking for insects, spiders, and other invertebrates, such as earthworms and snails, among the leaves littering the ground. This bird is named for its domed nest, which usually sits on the ground, and is so well camouflaged with dead leaves that you can easily walk past with out noticing it. Although leaves help conceal the nest, the female ovenbird constructs the nest structure using grassed, bark and other materials. There is a side entrance for stealthy exit and entry. Inside, the female lays four or five eggs and incubates them for up to two weeks. Both parents, feed the young. They leave the nest after about a week, but they are still fed by the adults for about two weeks afterward.

If you have a well-treed backyard with ample leaf litter, you may spot a foraging ovenbird walking your woods during migration. If you hear the ovenbird’s loud song, watch for it on a low to mid-height perch or foraging on the ground. You will hear the teacher teacher teacher of the oven bird resounding through the woods here at Songbird Prairie Bed and Breakfast Inn and Spa.

At songbird Prairie we carry a "flame" for the Northern Flicker

Visit our Inn and Spa at songbirdprairie.com

One of our favorite birds, a familiar and fairly large (13 inches long) woodpecker, the northern flicker is a distinctively marked bird that unlike other woodpeckers is often seen foraging on the ground. The Eastern form of the flicker is known as the yellow-shafted flicker for it’s bright lemon-yellow underwing and tail color. The field marks are bright yellow wing flashes, white rump, spotted breast, and barred back. It is not easily confused with any other bird. In the east, both male and female have a red crescent on the back of of the head, but only the male shows a black “moustache” mark on the cheek. The flicker has several calls including a single note kleer, a short wickawickaseries, and a monotonous wickwickwickwick song. It also communicates by drumming on the resonating surface of a tree, pole, or even metal downspouts and chimney flues. The flicker is widespread across Northern America. We see them all spring, summer and fall here at Songbird Prairie Inn and Spa, Valparaiso, Indiana. They are found everywhere wooded habitats exist though open woods and woodland edges are preferred. Songbird Prairie is a certified wildlife habitat. Flickers migrate southward in winter. Flickers feed on the ground where they specialize in eating ants. A flicker pokes its long bill into an anthill and uses it’s lone, sticky tongue to extract the ants. They also eat other insects, as well as fruits and seeds. At bird feeders, they will eat suet, peanuts, fruits, and sunflower bits.
Excavating a new nest cavity almost every year, flickers perform a much needed service for may other hole nesting birds from chickadee to ducks that use old flicker nests. Both the male and female excavate the nest cavity in a dead tree or branch. The female lays between 5 and 10 eggs both share the 11 day incubation period. Young flickers leave the nest after about 25 days. Flickers use nest boxes with an interior floor of 7 x 7 inches, and interior height of 16-24 inches and a 2 1/2 inch entry hole. Because excavation is a vital part of courtship, boxes packed full of wood chips are more attractive. Competition for cavities from European starlings is fierce and may be causing a decline in flickers. Offering suet, corn or peanuts and nest boxes in your wooded backyard is one way to attract flickers. Equally important is the presence of ground dwelling insects (leave those non threatening anthills alone) and dead trees or dead branches. A large dead tree branch placed vertically in your yard may entice a flicker to stop. As you walk the grounds of Songbird Prairie’s 6 acres, you will find may dead trees left to entice all species of woodpeckers.
Come to Northern Indiana to discover the Northern Flicker.

Indiana Dunes Birding Festival

The Indiana Dunes Birding Festival is an annual event hosted by the Indiana Audubon Society that showcases the abundance of migratory birds in the Indiana Dunes. May 17-20

Birding in the Indiana Dunes is the best the state has to offer. With its rich biodiversity, varying habitats and miles of Lake Michigan shoreline, the Indiana Dunes is a hotspot for migrant  birds. The annual Indiana Dunes Birding Festival is held to celebrate the dunes area’s various birding habitats and bird watching opportunities to create a positive impact on the economic, conservation, and environmental education for visitors and residents to the Indiana Dunes region. See our Current News for the latest updates on the upcoming year's festival!

                         Songbird Prairie Inn and Spa named in  Midwest Living Travel 2018

"Best in the Midwest"

Songbird Prairie Inn and Spa is featured in March 2018 Midwest Living "Best in the Midwest" make your reservation today 219-759-4274 #midwestliving #bestinthemidwest http://songbirdprairie.com 

At Songbird Prairie, one of our guests most favorite birds is the white-breasted nuthatch. I think it is because they are universally known as the “upside down birds” because the forage by probing the bark of tree trunks with their heads downward. During their journeys down the trunk of a tree, they often stop, and then raise their head so that it is parallel to the ground. This is an absolutely unique posture among birds.  At nearly 6″ in length, the white-breasted nuthatch is the largest of its species. Males have gray backs with black caps, white under parts and a beady black eye on a white face. Females are similar but wear gray not black on their heads. White-breasted’s are thick necked and short tailed with a  stocky appearance. White breasted nuthatches calls- uttered frequently in all seasons are nasal and repetitive ank-ank.

White-breasted nuthatches prefer deciduous woods, but are also found in large parks and leafy backyards. Here in Northwest Indiana, our coniferous woods, also host the red-breasted nuthatch, which are much smaller in size.
The nuthatch eats both insects and seeds. We see them here at Songbird Prairie daily throughout the year. Insects make up nearly 100% of their diet and seeds are added treats. Autumn’s extra seeds and nuts are sometimes stashed or “hatched away” in tree bark crevices, to be retrieved later. This habit is what has given these birds their name. At Songbird Prairie Inn and Spa they come to the feeders and suet displaying a show for all our guests to see. Nuthatches maintain their pair bond and territory all year long. The nest is placed in a natural cavity, old woodpecker hole, or more rarely a nest box. Built by the female, it is a cup of grassed, bark strips, and twigs and is lined with hair. When the nest is finished, the nuthatches “sweep” the entrance with their bill, rubbing a crushed insect against the wood. The chemicals released may aid in repelling predators. The female incubates a clutch of eight eggs for two weeks. Both parents feed the young for at least two weeks until fledging.
In woodlands, listen for the nasal call anytime. Male and female always forage near each other and in winter with other species in a mixed flock. Come anytime of the year to see these characters who will serenade and entertain you.
The daffodils will soon be in bloom along with the scilla, crocus, snowdrop sand many more bulbs and wildflowers. Make your reservation today!

Tag a fireplace lover about Songbird Prairie Inn and Spa suites with fireplaces, whirlpools and a spa for couples massage 219-759-4274 #midwestlivingbestbnbs #indianadunes #breakfastwiththebirds