Today the rose breasted Grosbeaks returned to the feeders. With it’s triangular scarlet breast patch, black back and white underparts the male rose-breasted grosbeak is a North American beauty. This gorgeous songbird remains plentiful in a variety of habitats. Songbird Prairie is a certified wildlife habitat. The male’s robin like song is punctuated by a chip. I think it sounds like a robin with a cold. I think they are so striking in flight, the male flashes rose-red under his wings with a wide rectangular white wing patch, just gorgeous. The female has a dramatically different appearance. She resembles a large finch, streaked below and has a broad white line both above her eye and below her dark ear patch. In fall, immature males look similar by having an orangey wash across the underparts. The grosbeak prefers to nest in open woodlands or at a forest edge. They vacation over the winter in the tropics. What a long flight! It has a versatile, heavy bill, and feeds both on vegetable and animal matter. During fall migration, it mostly east berries and seeds. including sunflower seeds. That is why they stay at the feeders for several minutes. Insect prey in summer, may include beetles, bees, ants, bugs, and caterpillars. The female grosbeak builds her nest in a tree or tall shrub usually between 5 and 20 feet above the ground. Assisted a bit by the male, she works twigs, weeds, and leaves into the loosely woven open cup nest then usually lays four eggs. Both parents incubate for about two weeks, then feed the nestlings, which leave the nest between 9 and 12 days. Why they are so plentiful here at Songbird Prairie, their diet consists of elderberry, juneberry, raspberry, blackberry and mulberry, all of which we have here. They are a beautiful sight. You may view them while you are enjoying your breakfast here at Songbird Prairie Inn and Spa, here in Northwest Indiana. Cone to have Breakfast With The Birds!

Where do hummingbirds winter?

Jim Williams, Special to the Star Tribune

Ruby-throated hummingbird, juvenile male, at geranium flower

As ruby-throated hummingbirds are returning to the state, researchers are learning more about where they spend the other half of the year.

By VAL CUNNINGHAM, Contributing Writer

Around the first of May each year, ruby-throated hummingbirds begin returning to the midwest. Wonder where they’ve been all winter?

So do the scientists.

At the end of each summer, some 7 million ruby-throats from across the eastern United States and Canada essentially disappear.

There are indications that they travel to the tropics, going as far south as Panama. But hummingbirds are so common in Central America that few people even notice them, much less track them. These little mountain birds also disperse widely, making it even less likely they’d draw attention. So, much of what we know about ruby-throats outside the United States is based on assumptions.

A South Carolina naturalist and educator is working to change that.

Bill Hilton Jr. has been banding U.S. ruby-throats for decades. Over the years, Hilton and others have slipped tiny aluminum rings on more than 200,000 hummingbirds. Still, none of the banded birds have been reported in Central America.

And the value of banding birds lies in them being reported after being caught by another bander or found dead. It’s only when a banded bird is rediscovered that researchers can learn where its band was attached. That, in turn, tells a great deal about a bird’s itinerary.

But Hilton isn’t giving up. For the past several years, he’s been leading groups of volunteers to the other end of the migratory trail. In winter, they head to Costa Rica to study and band hummingbirds there.

The banders found an aloe vera plantation popular with ruby-throats. By banding a few dozen of these birds over several years, Hilton could tell that the same ruby-throats were returning from year to year, a practice called “site fidelity” in ornithological circles.

To date, an estimated 400 ruby-throats have been banded on their tropical wintering grounds. That’s a small percentage of the estimated population. But the banding work has already proved its worth: The birds that return each year to the aloe plantation send a strong message about conserving such sites.

“Site fidelity like this gives us pretty powerful evidence when we talk about the need to protect the birds’ habitat,” said Hilton.

And, in the summer of 2008, Hilton got some exciting news. A bird he’d banded in Costa Rica had turned up in the United States.

This hummingbird, encountered in Georgia, was the first-ever ruby-throat banded in Central America to be captured in the United States. That makes it the first hard evidence that ruby-throats migrate back and forth.

You can help

If you’re a hummingbird fan, you can help learn more about these birds. Here’s how: If you come across a ruby-throat with a band on its leg, contact the federal Bird Banding Laboratory. Either fill out a form on its web page (www.pwrc.usgs.gov/bbl/) or call 1-800-327-BAND. They’ll ask for the band number and where the bird was found, and report this information to the original bander.

If you’d like to join one of those winter bird-banding trips to the tropics, go to www.hiltonpond.org and click on hummingbirds.

Val Cunningham, a St. Paul resident, writes about nature for local and regional newspapers. She’s also the author of “The Gardener’s Hummingbird Book.” She can be reached at valwrites@comcast.net.

Romantic Bluebird Suite

Stay in the romantic Bluebird Suite for your next anniversary, birthday, or any celebration! Order a cheese and cracker tray to await you in your room while you prepare for your couples massage in our spa or in summer in our screened area, then fall into bed to relax or slip into the whirlpool before going to dinner. Or why not order dinner right here at Songbird Prairie Bed and Breakfast? You may choose your own selections for a custom tasted dinner. Watch a movie from our extensive collection while enjoying complementary popcorn, Orville's of course. Awaken in the morning to fresh coffee brewing and enjoy your breakfast in the sunroom while you enjoy the antics and operas of our feathered friends. To reserve go to the rooms and rates page on the web site songbirdprairie.com or call 877-766-4273 877SONGBRD

Weekday special not for the birds!

Special BOGO Midweek Stay

Two nights

$25.00 off Dinner@ Bon Femme

One Day Plated Breakfast

½ off Mani Pedi @ Cinnamon Tree

$25.00 off $50.00 at Lifestyles Gifts

$25.00 off Dinner @ don Quijote

One Day Continental Breakfast

Two night Monday-Tuesday or Wednesday-Thursday night stays only. You will be  wise as an owl when you choose this special! Migrate to Songbird Prairie for a  two-night stay for two all just 50 miles southeast of Chicago.

Flutter past the front door and choose among the Robin, Bluebird, Cardinal, and Purplefinch Suites at the property named one of Midwest Living's favorite B&Bs and "one of the 20 perfect summer getaways" by Travel + Leisure.

All rooms have warming gas fireplaces and spa tubs for two with the relaxing and soothing benefits of Chromotherapy. You'll wake up chirping after your first night on plush beds, and then enjoy a breakfast in the sunroom, listening to the sweet songs of the birds through microphones to the outside. Trade in your bird's-eye view of nature for one that's up close and personal when you plan a visit to the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore, where Karner Blue butterflies flit, swallows nest, and waves crash along the shores. Shop at the nearby Lifestyles before dining on duck à l'orange at Bon Femme Café or tapas and paella at Restaurante don Quijote.

Trust us—this Escape is not just for the birds.

• "The lovely Colonial country home with white-trimmed dormers may attract visitors, but it's the grounds' prairie grass, roses, and many trees that lure the namesake songbirds on their way to and from the Indiana Dunes."

-- Travel + Leisure

see news and specials page on our web site!

The Orioles have returned to Songbird Prairie

http://www.qwiki.com/q/#!/Baltimore_Oriole

Visit Songbird Prairie and have breakfast watching the orioles drink nectar from oranges and eat grape jelly!

© Gerhard Hofmann

The Baltimore oriole is perhaps the most famous neotropical migratory bird. Its brilliant orange and black plumage is reminiscent of the crest of Lord Baltimore, an important figure in Maryland's history, and the bird has become the mascot of the Baltimore Orioles baseball team.

Oroile's journey begins in the tropics, from Mexico to northern South America, where Baltimore orioles spend most of the year. Here they inhabit lush, tropical forests and feed on nectar, pollen, fruit, and insects. They especially favor coffee and cacao (the plant that chocolate comes from) plantations where these crops are grown in the traditional manner, the coffee and cacao shrubs flourishing under a shady canopy of natural forest trees.

Pairs of males and females form flocks of about 10 individuals, although sometimes as many as 30 or 40 are in a single flock.  Baltimore orioles are often the most common migratory bird in these agricultural forests except for maybe the warbler family. The birds favor the tops of trees, especially those in the genus Inga, where they forage among the numerous blossoms for nectar and pollen. Orioles have a special tongue, which resembles a brush, for lapping up nectar.

Shade grown coffee plantation, winter habitat of the Baltimore oriole.

By April, most Baltimore orioles have begun the journey north to their breeding grounds in North America, which span most of the eastern United States and into southern Canada. Here they eschew the dense forests that so many other migratory birds favor, instead preferring open forests such as those along rivers and even in city parks.

Their nests are unmistakeable in that females build an unusual grassy hanging nest that is suspended like a sack from the end of a branch. The shape of the nest may help deter predators from eating the eggs or young because the eggs and young are hidden from view and the entrance to the nest is difficult to access. The nest is often built in an elm, sycamore, or cottonwood tree. In the video clip below you can see a nest.

Because these orioles spend much of their time in the tops of trees, they are often heard before they are seen. The male has a lovely warbling song and both males and females utter a variety of chatters and short call notes.

• The female lays 4 to 5 eggs in late spring or early summer and incubates them alone. Then, both the male and the female feed the young. Pairs make only one nesting attempt per year. And by August or early September, most orioles are on their way back to the neotropics.

Sometimes orioles can be enticed to visit our backyards.

Oriole at hummingbird feeder (left), and halved banana (right)

Orioles sometimes visit feeders put out for hummingbirds, and are also attracted to fruit such as bananas and oranges. Visit Songbird Prairie to view these beauties!

www.songbirdprairie.com 877-766-4273 219-759-4274

A Better Way to Stay Songbird Prairie Bed and Breakfast

Oct 28, 2010

A Better Way to Stay
A Grassroots Campaign for the B&B Industry

September-October Updates
PAII has coined the phrase “The Better Way to Stay”. This campaign is phenomenal and it is poised to launch with a website dedicated to showing the industry all the components of the campaign.  This temporary site will soon be taken down and BetterWaytoStay.com will become a resource room for innkeepers to learn about the campaign, its supporters and its tools.  Look forward to learning about the launch of this site any day now.  

Many travelers are finding out that B&B’s give such personal service that even the finest hotels are not able to accommodate! The relaxation that comes from staying two or more days at a B&B cannot be matched at a hotel.  Owners of B&B’s care for you like friends, yet give you privacy at the same time.  Many have acreage with places to walk, talk and reconnect. Find your perfect place and make a reservation today. www.songbirdprairie.com 877.766.4273 Read our reviews and find a Better Way to Stay!

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged BEST IN THE MIDWEST BY BEDANDBREAKFAST.COM, biking, birding, Chicago Romantic Getaway, Indiana Dunes Hotel, Luxury Bed & Breakfast, Metro Indy Girls, Midwest Living featured in"Out and About Chicago", Midwest Living Out and About Chicago, Northern Illinois Getaway, Romantic Bed & Breakfast Songbird Prairie in Northwest Indiana Online Reservations 877-766-4273, Southern Michigan Getaway, Taltree Arboretum, ultimate relaxation | Leave a  

February's Bird of the Month The Cedar Waxwing Soon to be on their treetop stage here at Songbird Prairie B & B

February's Bird of the Month The Cedar Waxwing

The Cedar Waxwing is one of the most frugivorous birds in North America. Many aspects of its life, from its nomadic habits to its late breeding season, may be traced to its dependence upon fruit.

Description:
Medium-sized songbird.
Gray-brown overall.
Crest on top of head.
Black mask edged in white.
Yellow tip to tail; may be orange.
Size: 14-17 cm (6-7 in)
Wingspan: 22-30 cm (9-12 in)
Weight: 32 g (1.13 ounces)
Sex Differences
Sexes nearly alike.
Sound
Calls are very high pitched "bzeee" notes.

Conservation Status
Populations increasing throughout range. Other Names
Cool Facts:
The name "waxwing" comes from the waxy red appendages found in variable numbers on the tips of the secondaries of some birds. The exact function of these tips is not known, but they may serve a signaling function in mate selection.
Cedar Waxwings with orange instead of yellow tail tips began appearing in the northeastern United States and southeastern Canada beginning in the 1960s. The orange color is the result of a red pigment picked up from the berries of an introduced species of honeysuckle. If a waxwing eats the berries while it is growing a tail feather, the tip of the feather will be orange.
The Cedar Waxwing is one of the few temperate dwelling birds that specializes in eating fruit. It can survive on fruit alone for several months. Unlike many birds that regurgitate seeds from fruit they eat, the Cedar Waxwing defecates fruit seeds.
The Cedar Waxwing is vulnerable to alcohol intoxication and death after eating fermented fruit.

www.songbirdprairie.com

Planting For That Touch Of Beauty. Find plants shrubs and trees with songbirds entertaining you in them at Songbird Prairie B & B.

PLANTING FOR THAT TOUCH OF BEAUTY

America is pet with a avid variety of plants that crapper be used to find our surround more pleasing.

America is pet with a avid variety of plants that crapper be used to find our surround more pleasing. Outdoor warning crapper be heavy or created by planting trees, shrubs, and added plants that impact grandiloquent flowers, colourful leaves or berries, or symptomatic forms. When used in combinations, they ofttimes pass revelation holding as, for instance, in placing anthesis shrubs against taller scene trees, or multifarious the essay of a activity to remuneration flow flowers and move colors. Freshly hierarchal or cold slopes along anchorage and trails are secure and their attending improved when grasses, wildflowers, or vines are sown. Not inner do plantings add a occurrence of warning to a post but they entertainer songbirds and added wildlife. TREES FOR BEAUTY AND COVER The dogwoods. It grows meliorate on reddened soils than on heavy soils and seldom occurs on poorly evacuated soils. Litter from cornel is dowse in minerals, good to trees and added plants. Dogwood grows up to 40 feet tall and 12 inches in diameter. It grows apace for 20 to 30 eld but noise tardily thereafter. Dogwood is easily injured by wind and is hypersensitised to drought.

Eyes across the Big Sky Migratory Birds at Songbird Prairie Bed & Breakfast

Eyes across the Big Sky

By MARTIN J. KIDSTON Independent Record - 02/03/2009

Catherine Wightman, whose avian studies have taken her from Australia to Greenland, will work this year as the state’s first nongame bird coordinator, developing a new strategy that finds ways to protect and preserve Montana’s nongame birds and their habitat.(Eliza Wiley Independent Record)

Her office is small and sparsely decorated, but Catherine Wightman doesn’t plan on spending much time between these white walls when the birds come home to roost.

Wightman, whose avian studies have taken her from Australia to Greenland, will work this year as the new nongame bird coordinator for Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks.

As such, Wightman will aim to develop new strategies to protect and preserve Montana’s nongame birds and their habitat. It’s a big job in a big state with a surprising number of bird species.

“She’ll work to expand Montana’s bird monitoring,” said Ken McDonald, a wildlife chief for FWP. “She’ll work to increase opportunities for the public to participate in bird surveys, and lead some habitat enhancement projects for nongame birds.”

Raptors, woodpeckers, shorebirds and some waterbirds fall within the nongame bird category. But perching birds and songbirds, Wightman noted, are considered the largest group.

For Wightman, a bird lover who earned her master’s degree in raptor biology at Boise State University, the opportunity to focus on Montana’s bird populations has her looking forward to the coming season and getting into the field.
 

“The diversity found among birds is unparalleled,” Wightman said last week. “They’re found in every kind of habitat, and their ability to adapt, or take advantage of that habitat, is just fascinating.”

Of all the species of birds in Montana — and there were more than 420 of them at last count — Wightman is particularly interested in the mountain plover, the burrowing owl and the long-bill curlew.

She described the curlew as a “showy” bird that typifies the grasslands with its antics and songs. Both the curlew and the mountain plover, however, have shown population declines in recent years, and that has Wightman concerned.

Scientists believe the loss of native grasslands, along with prairie dog eradication, may be contributing to the decline. Helping such species will require a continued understanding of their population patterns, densities, and the land-use changes that affect them over time.

“There will be some land-use changes included in that document to see how birds respond to those changes,” Wightman said. “When we start seeing patterns develop, we can go in and develop a research project to identify why we’re seeing those trends.”

In the 2003 edition of P.D. Skaar’s Montana Bird Distribution Book, volunteers documented 409 species of birds across the state. Of those, 29 species appeared to be growing their distribution while 27 appeared to be dwindling.

The new addition of the Bird Distribution Book is due out next year. And while the project is far from over, volunteers thus far have observed 422 species of birds in Montana, or 13 more than in 2003.

Saying why is difficult, Wightman said. It could be that various species are returning to their native range after years of absence. Climate change may be a factor. It could also be that the 13 species aren’t really new, but were simply overlooked in previous counts.

“There’s a lot of information we just don’t know,” Wightman said. “We don’t have a good tracking program right now.”

To better track the birds and gain that information, Wightman is out to build new alliances with backyard volunteers and others in the state, from the Department of Defense to the local farmer.

The state’s bird distribution program may be a good place to start, she noted, with volunteers documenting their findings into a state-run database. The project is a cooperative effort with the Audubon Society, along with the Montana Bird Records Committee and the Montana Natural Heritage Program.

“It’s sort of like a citizen’s science project,” she said. “It has really increased the knowledge of where birds are in the state. We’re just as interested in the common birds as we are in the rare birds.”

www.songbirdprairie.com

New bird exhibit in Chicago Stay at Songbird Prairie in Northwest Indiana

New bird exhibit in Chicago

Posted by Amy on February 4th, 2009 at 9:42 am CST
Categories: Illinois, Museum

A new permanent exhibit called “Birds of Chicago” opened at The Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum last Friday. The Nature Museum is located in Chicago at 2430 North Cannon Drive.

Learn about birds native to Illinois, with nearly 100 specimens on display that date back to the early 1900s. The birds range in age, size, color and rarity, showcasing everything from the large Midwest turkey and the common blue jay to the endangered prairie chicken. Touch screen kiosks provide visitors with additional information on the birds

www.songbirdprairie.com

The Book of Nature at Songbird Prairie Bed & Breakfast

The Book of Nature

Existence,

Experience,

Lucubrations

• About


• Archives


• Links


• Subscribe


• Topics

Wildlife Management Sarah Palin Style

23 days old / February 3rd, 2009 @ 9:32 pm /
I just finished a wonderful book on how settlement in the United States has changed the wildlife landscape.  It’s an older book published in 1999.  But with the wonders of book displays at the library I discovered it for the first time.  The book is The Condor’s Shadow: the Loss and Recovery of Wildlife in America by David S. Wilcove with a foreword by Edward O. Wilson.  The book provides an interesting portrait of the complexities of wildlife management and the deep, often misunderstood, ecological relationships between all lifeforms.  One of these important relationships is between the predator and the prey.  So what does killing off grizzly bears and wolves have to do with the endangerment of songbirds or native grasses?  A lot.  In the end Wilcove illustrates how little we understand about these relationships.  Our ecological footprint is so large that we are often forced to intervene to save a species.  For example, stepping in to save the black-footed ferret as its prey, the prairie dog, succombs to the plague. The prairie dog, itself, a victim of ever expanding urban and rural development. But any interference only seems to set off another imbalance, another unexpected chain of events.

It is interesting to recall that once in Johnson County, Kansas there were bison, pronghorn, elk, wolves, and grizzly bears.  Bounties were placed on the predators and in a short period of time they became extinct.  Is Johnson County a richer place without them? You would think that we would have learned from such short-sighted policies.  But have we?

Listen to actress Ashley Judd as she speaks for Defenders of Wildlife Action Fund about the wildlife management policies of Alaska governor Sarah Palin.

Sarah Palin’s Ongoing Wolf Slaughter

Posted by scott vieira

www.songbirdprairie.com

 

Guests give B&B high marks for comfort,setting and breakfast

Guests give B&B high marks for

comfort, setting and breakfast

 

Recommend

Comments

 

February 4, 2009

By Donna Rettew
Post-Tribune correspondent

The owners of Songbird Prairie Bed and Breakfast in Porter County, west of downtown Valparaiso, have some very satisfied guests to thank for being named one of the 10 best B&Bs in the Midwest for 2008 and 2009.

Barbara Rivera, who owns and operates the inn with her husband, Efrain, is grateful for the award because of the way it's chosen.

"What's so cool about this one," she said, "is that comments from the people who have stayed here are how the award is decided."

Nearly 50,000 independent reviews, submitted to BedandBreakfast.com, were used in the judging. The Web site is the leading online B&B directory and reservation network worldwide.

The coveted award joins numerous other recognitions Songbird Prairie has received since its opening eight years ago. Most recently, it was named Porter County's 2008 Hotel of the Year, and it was picked as one of the Top 10 Romantic Inns in 2008 by American Historic Inns Inc.

One guest wrote, "It was an all-around perfect stay at the Songbird Prairie B&B. Our room was most comfortable, breakfast was superb and the unexpected snow added to this picture perfect setting with the beautiful array of birds, especially the cardinals."

If you stay at Songbird Prairie, expect to be surrounded by birds. Overnight guests can choose to stay in the Warbler or Purple Finch suites, with queen-sized beds, or the Cardinal, Bluebird or Robin Suites, with king-sized beds. Work has been started on another room, the Goldfinch Suite, which will be ready next year.

Each room features Ethan Allen furniture, European linens, whirlpools with Dead Sea bath salts, robes and slippers, and a working fireplace. When guests are out for dinner, Rivera places double chocolate truffles at each bedside.

The sun room seats 16 and is the perfect place to watch the birds that flock to eat at one of the many bird feeders just outside the windows. Rivera serves a variety of suet and black oil sunflower seeds to attract as many species as possible. A hidden microphone allows those sitting inside to hear the bird noises as well.

Over six acres of walking trails lure guests outside. A few weeks ago, a couple discovered pileated woodpeckers, as well as several other bird species. In warmer weather, guests can also enjoy a fire in the outdoor firepit.

The Riveras, who live on the lower level of the inn, bought the land in 1998 after searching two years for the perfect location.

"We fell in love with the property," Rivera said, because it was near a university town, had woods and hills, was off the beaten path but still close to U.S. 30.

"And the birds, of course," she added.

The property was home to a dairy farm from the early 1900s through the mid-1960s. It also has an apple orchard and 450 acres of land behind it.

Customers have come from as far away as California, New York, Florida, Australia, England and Germany to stay at Songbird Prairie.

"We see many local people too," Rivera said, "because it feels like they're away, even if they're still close to home."

Rivera is up most days at 6 a.m., making scones and getting the entree ready for the three-course hot breakfast.

After setting the table and serving the food, she starts cleaning up the kitchen. After guests check out, she spends at least an hour cleaning each room. By 4 p.m., she has to be ready to greet any new guests registered for that night.

For dinner, Songbird Prairie partners with six Valparaiso restaurants: Bistro 57, Bon Femme, Mezza, Don Quixote, Dish and Strongbow Inn.

Guests can dine out or choose to have a catered dinner in their room or in the dining room, which seats eight.

As part of providing a "total relaxation experience," Rivera frequently schedules in-room massages through Gail Grieger of Touch for Life in Valparaiso.

The Riveras each bring unique skills to their inn. Efrain has been in the restaurant business for 38 years and currently is general manager of Panera Bread in Schererville. Barbara's talents include gardening, design and catering.

"We have wedded our talents," she said, "to make the people who stay with us feel as if they are invited guests rather than paying customers."

 

If you go

--Check www.SongbirdPrairie.com for specials throughout the year.

-- Rooms range from $169 to $249 per night, depending on amenities.

-- The inn is open to the public for breakfast or Thursday Afternoon tea, with a minimum of four or more guests. Advance reservations are needed. Call 219-759-4274 for availability.

877-766-4273

www.songbirdprairie.com

indianabedandbreakfast