Wilson Post Blogs

By  RAY POPE

I received a message from my first cousin, Traci Walker, updating me on her Mockingbird and her cat. Since last year the Mockers have tormented Oreo, her cat, dive-bombing and pecking it on its head. I believe the cat would love to turn the tables on the Mocker and invite it to lunch.

We had a very good time at Garr’s this past Saturday as we talked about Bluebirds, Purple Martins and even Bats. I myself would love to get a Bat house where the winged creature of nocturnal bliss could work on eating the insects that escape my daytime favorites. That was a mouthful. It was also nice to have Sheila Smith show up with a friend, whose name I can’t remember, to learn about the birds. Memory loss seems to run rampant in my life since last October's close call with death.

By RAY POPE

Continued from last week.

Back in the early 1970's, young John Sellars Jr. and myself took the trail behind the Inn looking for Barred Owls. We walked several feet into the woods where I started hooting my vocal call. Several more feet into the trail, I started to hoot some more. All of a sudden there was flashlights shinning up all around the trees. John Jr. was about to burst out laughing at all the people trying to locate the "Owls". Farther and farther out we kept up the hooting till we snuck back and finally parted company for the night. The next morning at breakfast in the Inn's dinning room, everyone was excited about the Owl's hooting, but they never could find them. That was John Jr. and my little secret.

By  RAY POPE

Just a little before eight o'clock this past Saturday morning, I had a visitor from Portland on a quest to see some Bald Eagles at Reelfoot Lake. This was the last state-sponsored eagle tour of the season to go out looking for our quarry, Our National Bird. Margaret Whiteaker was afraid that we had lost our chance to view the eagles until I told her that I was able to do the tours on my own. Forty years this winter as a birdwatcher have enabled me to learn most of the best nest locations to keep a bunch of birdwatchers happy. As soon as we came into the spillway area, there was a group of Eagle watchers pulled off on a graveled area where they are still building the new spillway. We ignored them for a moment so we could eat our lunch in a state park boat launch area.

By KAREN FRANKLIN

I have no doubt that Mother Nature is not only wreaking havoc on us but also on our feathered friends who are wondering if it is winter or spring. We have several days of mild weather only to be reminded that it is officially still winter by a few really cold, yucky days. Then we go back to rather mild days and so the cycle continues. I’m personally ready for spring to kick in full-time!  I’m also hoping to get some birding in with Ray when the weather warms up.

Spring is a great time to catch migrating birds who are heading back to the breeding grounds for the summer months. Of course this will also mean the loss of our winter birds like Juncos, White-throated Sparrow, White-crowned Sparrow and more as they too start to migrate back to their summer territories.

By  RAY POPE

I heard from one of my good birding friends, Tammye Whitaker, this past weekend with news that her Great-Horned Owls have returned with mama sitting on eggs. She said that two Red-tailed Hawks also came and rebuilt the nest. They probably were the ones that built it in the first place. Great-Horned Owls will take a crow or hawk nest to use as a nursery.

That will come in handy as crows and hawks build the nest in the spring, and the G.H. Owl do their brooding and chick rearing during the winter months when the lack of leaves on the trees permits the silent hunter to be able to catch plenty of food for their family. The poor fowl-smelling skunk can be a special target for the Owl as the smell doesn't bother him and can be a delicacy. Yuck!

Well, I’m sure all of you enjoyed last week’s article from Ray as much as I did.  He always weaves colorful stories and memories into his writing. I guess I just don’t have as much to pull from, seeing as I am a “few years” younger than Ray! (Don’t worry, Ray, I won’t give away your age!)

I mentioned in my last article about my birding trip with Ray and how we saw a beautiful flock of Cedar Waxwings. I’ve decided to mention a little more about them because they are truly unique and lovely birds. They have a cinnamon colored body with a small crest on their heads (like the cardinal). They also have what I like to refer to as a raccoon mask. The outer wing feathers and tail feathers have a more prominent black tent to them and it looks as though the tips of their tails have been dipped in yellow paint.

By  RAY POPE

Ever since I can remember, I have always wanted to be able to fly like a bird. There was one time that found me on the roof of our house with an umbrella in one hand and my mother’s prayers in the other. Another time I built a set of wings on my old bicycle, without the knowledge of weight-to-lift ratio.

My uncle, Chuck, joined the U.S. Army and was a member of the 101st Airborne Division stationed at Fort Campbell Kentucky. I admired him for this and was more impressed when I found out that he was a paratrooper. Long after his service was over, he still had the love of jumping, so my uncle, Charles Wayne Gann,decided to take up skydiving. Back when I was in the hospital, Uncle Charles came by to see how his nephew was doing. We talked for a couple of hours when I made up my mind to try skydiving. Barring any unforeseen problems, we will make the trip to Tullahoma this spring and undertake another piece of my “bucket list.” I will desire your prayers on this undertaking.

White Crowned Sparrow

Ray was waiting on his front porch for my arrival to do some birding this past week.  He wanted to get out and do what he loves to do, so we were soon on the road.  We spotted quite a few Cardinals, Juncos, Robins and Chickadees, but we were soon very impressed by a huge flock of about 100 or more turkeys out in a cow pasture.  I see turkeys quite frequently but it usually consists of about 15-20. This group was just amazing in size and obviously in a good location.

Another week has come and gone.  I have plans to visit our Bird Guru, Ray, this week and see how he is doing.  I also hope to help him type up some articles. 

I greatly look forward to his articles and know all of you feel the same.   It will be wonderful when he is back to normal and able to do his articles on a regular basis… I know my articles lack a lot of the colorful stories and helpful insight that his contain. Plus he is a social bug and loves to talk about all the people he runs into around town, which is fun to read.  I, however, live in Mt. Juliet and spend most of my time around an elementary school…not near as exciting! My two young children provide me little time to socialize as Ray likes to do. 

As much as my left hand is almost hurting constantly, my mind tries to shut out the pain so I can type out a new bird story for you all. There is no way that I can say thanks to you all for your thoughts and prayers as words do not possess the thoughts strong enough for it. I'm still here, and that does count for something.

Happy New Year! I hope everyone has had a wonderful holiday season and is ready for some fun in 2012!  I am very grateful to the doctors and nurses who took care of our friend and Bird Guru, Ray, this past fall and ensured his future with us in 2012.  I hope to see him soon and document his ordeal so you can know what has transpired and how lucky we are to have him.  

Ray always told me he had times when he really struggled to come up with a topic for his weekly article. Well, I can totally relate. If you have any particular bird you would like to know more about or an idea for an article, I would greatly appreciate hearing from you. You can reach me at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it . I’ve heard from a few of you wanting to know how to get in touch with Ray (since his info hasn’t been in the articles). You can reach him via email at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or by phone at 547-7371. I’m sure he would be thrilled to hear from you.

It is hard to believe that Christmas is here, and before we blink it will be 2012. I hope you have all had a great year and are looking forward to another exciting adventure in the coming one. Ray and I would like to wish all of you a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

I live in Mt. Juliet and while traveling around town this past week or two I’ve noticed a frequent feathered friend perched on some power lines near Old Lebanon Dirt Road.  It is a beautiful American Kestrel, and he has been keeping a keen eye on some open fields from his perch.  I decided to look him up this week and learn more about him since I’m not familiar with our smallest falcon. Here are some of the interesting things I learned…

Dark-eyed Junco or Snowbird

Hello to all my birding friends. You do not know how much I have missed you. I have had a very rough time and even looked death straight in the eye. Thanks to our Lord and Savior, Jesus, I have been given an extension on my life. We are planning on giving you the full story on my health problem with a stern warning which may save your life. Many churches have me on their prayer list, and my good friends on Facebook and Bc Yahola and the members of “If you grew up in Lebanon you remember...” have prayed without ceasing. Thanks to all of you.

My mother, Margie Pope, took care of me for a little over two weeks while new friends from Donelson Home Health taught me exercises to help build my muscles which had deteriorated from my two weeks of ICU in a coma. The first chance I went out to my house, my binoculars were a “must-have” so I could see what all was feeding on and below my brother’s sock feeder. There were Chickadees eating the stale Nyjer seed from the sock while other ground feeders were scratching below for leftovers. There was one solitary White-throated Sparrow out by the old shed in the backyard.

It was great to have Karen Franklin and her two children, Anna and Nick, visit me on a Saturday afternoon. The first thing I saw when I awoke in the hospital was a couple of drawings from Nick and Anna, wishing Mr. Ray to get well soon. They are such a loving family. I would like to thank Karen for keeping you informed on my situation and to her husband John for his patience while she wrote articles for your enjoyment. You don't really know what it takes to write something each week, especially when you don't want to repeat yourself.

Dotty Kim and her daughter, Tammy, along with a couple of her grandchildren, Britney and Steven, hijacked me one night to go to Ponderosa for supper. Since I was not working, there was not enough money for a steak, so I ordered the salad bar. The manager Billy Mullinax spotted me and was asking where I had been and why I wasn't eating steak. I explained everything about my condition and my empty wallet. In no time Billy returned to our table with a juicy sirloin steak, compliments of the manager. It was the first real meal that I have eaten outside of what my mother cooked. Thanks Billy!

Finally, like Dorothy said in her famous movie, "There's no place like home." You don't know how many times I have joked with some of my visiting friends, telling them that I have clicked my heels three times and repeated Dorothy’s line. My mother was afraid that I might want to go home too early, but I reminded her about our trips to Florida. It was a lot of fun, but it was so nice to see the lights of Lebanon when we topped Four Mile Hill.

My birdfeeders were dry as a bone and had been for over a month when I finally got around to refilling them. It took two whole days before anything showed up to feast, and the first birds were Carolina Chickadees. The next day one of my favorites showed up. The Dark-eyed Junco was scratching beneath the feeder on the seed that was scattered just for the ground scratchers. My left ring finger is starting to get sore, so I will close this article and hope to have another for you next Wednesday.

I would love to hear from you as to what’s lurking about in your neighborhood and at your feeders. You can write me at 606 Fairview Ave., Lebanon, TN, 37087 or e-mail me at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

by Ray Pope

I’m sure many of you have special bird seed treats you like to put out or make. And I know you have all battled squirrels at one time or another!  I hope you are gleaming a little bit of useful information from recent articles.  My neighbor, Bill, makes a special suet cake he puts out in the winter. It always draws a crowd. However, he does not enjoy the squirrels that make short work of his cakes…so he shoots blanks from his back porch to scare them off.  My kids holler when they hear the shots, “Mr. Bill’s got squirrels again!” 

One type of bird is particularly fond of his suet cakes: the woodpeckers. Both of our yards are frequented by Red-bellied Woodpeckers, Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers and Downy Woodpeckers. The Red-bellied and Downy are daily visitors especially in the winter when we put out suet and peanut butter!  Bill has also seen Pileated on several occasions in our neighborhood. One time last year he spied one on an old stump in our yard and tried to call to let me know I needed to look out the window. Unfortunately, I missed his call but we had been wondering what was turning the stump into mulch and he solved the mystery.

Growing up I was never around mature trees, so woodpeckers were a bird I was not familiar with until my husband and I moved to Tennessee from Indiana.  We bought a house with more than 30 mature trees, and I was immediately rewarded with woodpeckers. They not only enjoyed my regular feeders, but the Downys enjoyed my humming bird feeders and taught their cute youngsters to drink from them in the summer months.  Woodpeckers are amazing creatures! They have elongated sticky tongues they use as a tool to remove insects from the holes they drill or to lick up sap.  Unlike other birds that have three toes pointing forward and one back, most woodpeckers have two pointing forward and two pointing back to help them balance. They also have stiffer tail feathers which help support them on vertical services.  However, what amazes me most is that they can hammer an estimated 8,000 to 12,000 times a day!  Can you imagine the massive headache most of us would have if we slammed our heads into something hard that many times in a single day?  Yet they are designed to handle this action with no side effects!

Hello, again!  Has anyone spotted any of our winter visitors?  I've been keeping an eye out for them but have yet to spot any. Please send me an email if you have seen any!

Last week I talked about the types of bird seed available and what our little feathered friends prefer most.  Many of you may be wondering about squirrels and how to protect our bird seed from their greedy little paws. There is no quick or simple solution to this problem and many, including our Bird Guru Ray, have found it is easier to just feed them (in a separate area).  Feeding them inexpensive cracked corn, ears of dried corn and peanuts in their shells is an easy way to fill them up and prevent them from going after your expensive bird seed. This is the solution Ray gave me a few years ago when I was doing battle with some squirrels of my own.  My daughter, Anna, told me to go with Ray’s suggestion.  She said they needed to eat as well, and they were “cute.”  Therefore, we installed a special squirrel feeder given to her by Kenneth Morgan, who read of her interest in one of Ray’s articles and offered his hand made creation for her enjoyment.  It has been one of her favorite and most cherished gifts!

As you most likely know, squirrels are not only very smart but rather agile. They can jump eight feet straight up and 11 feet if jumping off something, like a roof or tree branch. They also love to chew, and anything you put out will likely be chewed and tested. So you need to start with a strong bird feeder, preferably one made out of an indestructible material like Lexan or metal.  You can go with a cheaper plastic feeder if it is reinforced with metal around the seed holes/ports. 

If possible try to ensure your feeder is more than 10 feet from any jump off point.  Using a baffle can be very effective, but be sure it is at least 18 inches in diameter. Anything less and the squirrels will likely be able to maneuver around it. If putting the baffle on a hanging bird feeder, be sure the baffle is just above the feeder and opens down towards the ground. If you use a baffle for a post mounted feeder, be sure the baffle is just below the feeder. The direction of a post mounted feeder is up for debate. It seems it has its benefits both ways, so you may want to try it opening up and down to determine which works best for you. A post mounted feeder away from any “launch zone” and with a proper baffle is one of the best methods to feed our feathered friends!  However, if you are like me with lots of trees, I lack an area that is free of a launch zone, so it is easiest to hang the feeders.  If you have hanging feeders do not use chain or rope, which is easy for them to climb! Instead use a thick nylon fishing line (with a baffle).

If you have a horizontal line with feeders it is also wise to use a fishing line, but you can add sections of plastic tubing on the line which will spin when the squirrel tries to climb across. Many people will grease or oil their poles or lines, and this can be semi effective for short periods of time.  However, it is dangerous not only for the squirrels, but other animals that can get the oil in their hair or feathers and freeze to death in cold temps.

There are also fancy weighted bird feeders that will shut when a heavy animal tries to feed from them, but I’ve heard many stories of squirrels who have outsmarted these. You can also try adding hot peppers/powder to your bird seed which the squirrels can taste and hate but has no effect on our feathered friends.  Please let me know if you have any successful methods or devices you use to protect your bird feeders so I can pass the info along. You can email me at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .  Again, we wish our dear friend Ray a speedy recovery!

Well, here we are…another week has come and gone!  My grandmother use to tell me the older you get the faster time flies.  She sure was correct, and the older I get the more I realize that a lot of things she tried to warn me about have come to pass.  My grandmother use to feed the birds in her Illinois backyard. She now lives with my parents in Indiana and still insists on feeding them even though she can’t get out into the yard. Now she just cracks her bathroom window and pours seed on the windowsill.  She loves watching the little birds rush to eat as soon as she shuts the window. 

A friend mentioned I should write about bird seed/grain since fall is here and winter will quickly be upon us.  Most of us want to know what is best to stock up on and fill our feeders with. I’m sure Ray has covered this before, but I’ll share with you the different types of seeds and grains for birds. Many species of birds prefer certain types of seeds, so if you want to attract a specific type of bird, put out the seed they prefer.

I hope you all survived Halloween and all the “Trick-or-Treaters” who came to visit.  This year my daughter was a witch and my son decided to be Spiderman.  Halloween ranks second on their list of favorite holidays.  (Christmas is hard to knock out of first place!)  They love to dress up and of course the candy, candy, candy!  I could personally do without all the extra candy in the house because it calls my name when no one else is around… 

Speaking of calls, I’ve decided to write this week about bird talk or in other words, what a birds call sounds like in English.  I’m always impressed when I am birding with Ray because he can hear a call and tell me what type of bird we are looking for. Ray calls this “birding by ear.”  Please keep in mind that all of these can be “translated” in several ways.  The books and our Bird Guru, Ray, make it seem very easy to pick up on, but I can assure you it takes an open mind and a bit of imagination to pull the English out of a call, so I wish you all luck and hope that you will find this useful.

I hope all of you are enjoying this fall weather. Our birds are making preparations for winter, so I thought it might be a good time to share with you some ideas for making bird treats for our feathered friends during the cooler months.  Many different types of treats can be made at home for little money versus store bought treats which can be very costly!  My children love to help make a few of these and they get so excited when the birds come to enjoy their creations.

One of the feeders I use in the winter was made by my husband out of an 8” piece of log.  He drilled half-inch-to-one-inch holes into the log and added a small eye-hook to hang it with.  My kids and I fill the holes with peanut butter and unsalted nuts. This is a huge hit with the woodpeckers.  My kids also love to hunt for pine cones in the fall. We fill in the cracks with peanut butter and roll them in bird seed.  Be sure to hang the pine cones with some strong string or fishing line otherwise the squirrels will run off with your treat!

While searching online, I found a recipe for “edible glue” which consists of 3/4 cup flour, 1/2 cup water, and 3 tbsp. corn syrup (add package of plain Knox gelatin for extra holding power if you need it).  To this you can add 4 cups of whatever your birds like most…unsalted nuts, raisins/fruit, bird seed, sunflower seeds, berries from your bushes, etc. You can form it into a shape or make squares to put in your suet feeders. 

You can also buy lard from your local grocery, melt it and add peanut butter, bread crumbs, bird seed and dried fruit. Then pour the mixture into an empty plastic cup. (Be sure to punch a small hole in the bottom of your cup and put a string through it so you can hang it when you are done.) If the lard is too soft you can add cornstarch, flour or gelatin to firm it up.  This one works best in the mid-to-late winter as warmer temps can make it very messy!

An easy way to make a garland is by using a thread or yarn with a needle and stringing bread, orange quarters, thick apple slices, cranberries, raisins, bananas, banana peppers, chili peppers or whatever else you can find. You can hang this garland on trees, shrubs, decks, etc.  (Chili peppers will not harm the birds and may actually deter your squirrels. Birds do not have the taste receptors we have, therefore the “heat” from the peppers does not bother them.)

If you are like me I often times have left over rice, beans, or pasta from dinner, as well as bread or crackers that have gone stale.  Spread the pasta, rice and beans out on the ground below the feeders for an occasional treat, and crumbling up the bread and crackers will make them last longer. Be sure that the rice is well cooked, because uncooked rice will swell in the bird’s bellies and can make them very ill. If you make popcorn that is unsalted you can also throw that out. Please be sure that whatever you give to our feathered friends contains little to NO salt!

I would like to again wish our friend and mentor, Ray, a speedy recovery.  We all wish you well and look forward to the day you can return to writing your articles. Until then, I would like to thank all of you for your patience and I hope that I have provided you with some useful information. 

By Karen Franklin

Believe it or not, I still have some Hummers hitting the juice here at home. There has been at least one each day. I have been busy doing other things, so my next door neighbor's niece was able to help me refill the feeders. Peggy Carver, who lives next door, has a sister, Kinnie Long, whose daughter Kelly Long was more than happy to fill my Hummingbird feeders for me. I enjoy some of the neighborhood children taking an interest in my avian friends. Kelly is an 11-year-old student at Carroll Oakland Elementary School on Highway 231 and has a soft spot in her heart for our feathered friends.

Many thanks to Karen Franklin for taking time out of her busy schedule to write an article for me as I was out of town, visiting old friends up in Seymour, Indiana. Dotty Kim went up with me, and I believe she might have a touch of German in her as Dotty really enjoyed the Oktoberfest celebration there. We had ringside seats for the annual parade up the main street of the town. Right in the middle of the parade, there came these four dudes with Alpenhorns, the big long horns, maybe 15 feet long, you see in movies about the Alps. I didn't realize how such good sounds could come from something that I had feared since a little child. Anyway, I have to be different from everyone else, so as they got through playing in front of us, I holler out, "Ricola," like in the commercial. The gentleman on the left, hollered back, "who said that?" I held my hand up and said that it was me. He reached into his pocket and tossed me a Ricola. I guess he gets that a lot.

by Karen Franklin

Well, as I sit here and watch my hummingbirds fight over the feeder at my back kitchen window, I am reminded that their time here is limited. Especially since the weather has started to cool off a bit. I get amused watching them fight over the juice, not realizing they could all drink to their hearts content and I would refill it every time! One little female has even positioned herself on a branch right under the feeder so she can "protect" it. Unfortunately, she is greatly outnumbered and fighting a losing battle! While she is busy chasing off one "intruder" two or three more swoop in for a drink only to be replaced by more when she chases the next round away. I'm sure most of you are experiencing this same phenomenon at your house. My two young children keep asking me why they can't just share!

While I greatly enjoy the hummingbirds, I'm very excited by cooler temps and the return of our winter visitors. My children get so excited when they see the dark-eyed juncos have returned. They know winter and possible sledding opportunities are just around the corner. I personally look forward to seeing my White-throated Sparrows and Yellow-rumped Warblers. About three years ago I had my first White-throated Sparrow show up. Last year I had three to four, plus their mates. Well, I assume it is the same one, plus friends. I wish I could band them to know for sure! I've only been graced with a single Yellow-rumped Warbler for the past two years. He is hard to miss with the bright yellow patch on his back above his tail. It is like he carries the sun around with him in the cold/cloudy winter months.

We get too many juncos to count… I think they like the safety of my raised/protected deck in the backyard. Anytime a threat comes near they all dart under the deck for safety and then slowly return when the coast is clear. I greatly enjoy “winter birding” because I can generally put out good seed and see a wide variety of feathered friends right outside my picture window. And if we get lucky with a good snowfall that number doubles or triples! Although I have lots of fun and gain a lot more from my actual birding trips with Ray, it is hard to beat sitting inside a warm house drinking coffee and enjoying the birds from the inside.