Keeping a yard list

As of today, since moving to Connecticut in Mid-January 2022, I have recorded sightings of 75 bird species on or from the property of our residence. I was able to photograph nearly all of them, often through the windows of our "front" door. This provides a nice view of the feeders and the woods that cover the top of the bluff and form a  wildlife corridor connecting the large preserve to the left and the lake below to the right. 

The most recent entry on my yard bird list was a Prairie Warbler, which breeds in the eastern USA and southern Ontario, wintering in Florida and the Caribbean islands. While this species is common year-round in most of Florida, in southeast Florida they puzzled me by nearly disappearing in May, June and July. I learned that they migrate laterally to coastal mangroves during breeding season. 

This male Prairie Warbler made his presence known by singing a very high-pitched ascending trill. Movement in the shrubs along the fence revealed his location, but usually the bird was obscured in the foliage.  During two very brief photo-ops I snapped a series of images, these at the top of the shrub...

...and in the lower branches of an oak tree:

An Indigo Bunting was another brightly adorned arrival:

A Yellow-throated Vireo was singing vigorously in the treetops. While it breeds all across the eastern half of the USA except for southern Florida and the western Gulf Coast, its winter range includes Cuba, southern Mexico, Central America and northern South America. It permitted only a few snaps when it ventured into the understory: 

An adult Red-shouldered Hawk surprised me by resting on the stairway hand rail just outside our window. I steathily grabbed my camera and got these quick shots before it flew off:

Mammal species I've encountered here include Deer Mice, whose color pattern matches the summer coats of the White-tailed Deer, omnipresent Gray Squirrels and Eastern Chipmunks, Cottontail Rabbits, Raccoons, Woodchucks, Bobcats, Coyotes, Opossums, bat species and Black Bears. I have also rescued Eastern Meadow Voles from the swimming pool and once caught a fleeting view of a Fisher (locally called fisher-cats, though they are in the same family as weasels, skunks and badgers, not cats). So far, we have not seen a skunk or any other member of their family, though they surely range here. 

A mischievous squirrel stole a Clementine from the oriole feeder:

Wild animals usually are impossible to recognize individually, but one of our frequent visitors is an adult doe White-tailed Deer, identifiable by a deformity or old injury to her left ear which leaves a "notch." Last spring she had a male fawn. This week she gave birth to at least one fawn, the third we have seen on the property:

This is "Notch" on June 12...

...followed through a fern patch by a tiny "Bambi #3"...

...who encountered a serious obstruction in the path...

...and then found its way to a hiding place in a brush pile: 

Our granddaughter has a new pet, a Red-eyed Tree Frog:

Back yard flowers are in full bloom:

Reflections on the swimming pool:

The wooded "wildlife corridor" outside our window:

This week's header: Sunset May 18 2023

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Linking to:

Nature Thursday

Skywatch Friday

Weekend Reflections

Saturday's Critters

BirdD'Pot

Garden Affair

All Seasons

Image-in-ing

Nature Notes

Wordless Wednesday (on Tuesday)

Wild Bird Wednesday

My Corner of the World
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Please visit the links to all these posts to see some excellent photos on display
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