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Thursday, February 24, 2022

Red shouldered raptor

Feeder birds attract their most-feared predators. When a hawk is sighted, small birds scatter and hide motionless amid the foliage of the evergreen shrubs and trees. Perhaps the first bird to spot the enemy utters an alarm call, but all seem to flee at once.  From my window there is a limited view of the sky and this behavior may also be triggered by overhead predators. Perhaps some of these scatterings for cover are in response to false alarms.

So far I have only seen a single Cooper's Hawk, which specializes in hunting birds, alight briefly nearby. It immediately flew off. There was no time for me to capture a photo of the Cooper's Hawk, but a pair of Red-shouldered Hawks has been very vocal. They are courting, signaling the beginning of breeding season. Although their prey may include birds, they more commonly eat reptiles, insects and small rodents. 

During winter when frogs and snakes are not available, the diet of Red-shouldered Hawks may include more birds, especially doves, starlings and sparrows congregated at feeders. So far I have not seen them near our feeders, but their presence above does cause the birds great anxiety.

One sunny afternoon I captured multiple photos of a member of this pair as it called out to its unseen companion:

The bright sky accented its rich coloration:


The Snow Moon was high in the blue sky: 

Bluebirds have been singing in the adjacent hardwoods. Aside for one which perched above a feeder, they have not visited to sample the fruit in the platform feeder:

Male Eastern Bluebird:


The female's plumage is more subdued:


A White-breasted Nuthatch rested briefly on the granite ledge..

...and then flew up to pluck a sunflower seed:

Also at the feeder were a  Tufted Titmouse and female House Finch:

Thius past week my Son-in-Law and I put up two bluebird houses. They were visited by a pair of bluebirds the very next morning, but so far there is no sign that either or both have been claimed.

I obtaiined a poor photo of the male, through the window. He was resting in a tree next to one of the houses:

Milder weather permitted us to visit Longo Farm, a local preserve. We climbed hills, an unfamiliar experience after living in Florida, but saw few birds:

 

Our granddaughter captured this nice view of sunset from the upstairs patio as the last rays of sunlight reflected off the clouds:


This morning, she alerted me to the view through the dining room window:

My view of sunrise through the window pane. Note that the leaves of the Rhododendron, after seeming to come to life in yesterday's sunny warmth, once again folded into dormancy overnight in the sub-freezing temperature:  

Just after I posted this, another  photo opportunity allowed me to capture my first image of a bluebird investigating one of the nest boxes:




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Linking to:



Skywatch Friday

Weekend Reflections

Saturday's Critters

BirdD'Pot

All Seasons

Wordless Wednesday (on Tuesday)

Natasha Musing

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Please visit the links to all these posts to see some excellent photos on display
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Thursday, February 17, 2022

Feeding the birds

In all of our previous homes (New Jersey, El Paso, Texas, New Orleans, Dallas and New Mexico) we maintained bird feeders, but within weeks of moving into Florida the feeder was beseiged by Muscovy Ducks, pigeons and Monk Parakeets. They spilled its contents within minutes. 

Local ordinances also forbade feeding of wildlife. The prohibition was principally aimed at the exotic ducks which were very numerous and regarded as a nuisance. My choice was limited to hummingbird feeders, during the winter.

The feeders at our new home in Connecticut have been up for about a month. They are located quite close to the front door of our ground-level suite in our daughter and SIL's home. 

One is a tube feeder filled with black oil sunflower seed and also offers a suet cake. The other is a hanging platform feeder with white proso millet seeds and when available, left-over fruit such as berries, cherries or grapes.

The latest of the 22 species which I have photographed at and around the feeders to date was a Northern (Yellow-shafted) Flicker, here partaking of a suet cake:

The flicker is our second-largest woodpecker (exceeded only by the Pileated and the extinct Ivory-billed Woodpeckers). It is a male, distinguished by his black "whiskers," lacking in the female:

The suet attracts other woodpeckers, here a Red-bellied female...

...a Hairy Woodpecker...

...and the similar, but smaller and short-billed Downy Woodpecker:

This past week, House Finches descended on the feeder:


Some bird photographers take a dim view of feeder scenes, regarding them unnatural. In New Mexico, photographers sometimes carried in their own branches and tied them to the railings near the Rosy-Finch feeders on Sandia Crest. I'll admit that a sparrow can look so much better perched in a tree than when competing for seeds at a feeder. 

A White-throated Sparrow alighted on a twig very near the window:


An American  Robin gobbled up the grapes in the platform feeder:

Last Thursday was the third-hottest February 10 on record in Glastonbury. The temperature reached 53.1 degrees Farenheit (11.72 C), compared to 35.8 F (2.1 C) on a typical February 10. The next morning, nearly all the snow had vanished. This is a bird's-eye view of our "front door" from the feeder area. I clean the glass frequently to permit the best images possible through the double-glazed panes:

After a beautiful sunset the next night (February 12),...

... the snow returned with vengeance (iPhone scene at 9:00 PM, illuminated by the door lamp) :

Snow was still falling in the morning:

Tufted Titmouse and snowflakes:

An Eastern Chipmunk maintains a burrow under one of the slate steps in the path which leads down to our door:

It is interesting how the Rhododendron survives through the coldest part of the year. Its leaves hang down and curl up as if lifeless, yet spread out and appear fresh and green when temperatures rise:

Diamond Lake is downslope, just across the road from the home's 5 acre property, its surface now frozen,:

Early on February 15, from our high perch we looked down into the Connecticut River Valley and watched the Snow Moon set over Hartford, 11 miles away:

Share your bird sightings by contributing them to to these Cornell Lab Citizen Science projects:

Participate in the worldwide Great Backyard Bird Count (February 18-21, 2022)

Join Project Feeder Watch 

Enter your sightings and view the global distribution of species in eBird

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Linking to:


Skywatch Friday

Weekend Reflections

Saturday's Critters

BirdD'Pot

All Seasons

Wordless Wednesday (on Tuesday)

Natasha Musing

Our World Tuesday

________________________________________________

Please visit the links to all these posts to see some excellent photos on display
________________________________________________

Wednesday, February 9, 2022

Bluebird brightens snowy scene

Three major snow events have kept the ground mostly covered by the white stuff since Christmas. My newly-placed feeders quickly became popular with the common winter birds. Most numerous were the Dark-eyed Juncos (aka "Snowbirds"), which breed in the far northern expanse and high mountains of North America. The species winters over the entire USA with the exception of southern Florida and coastal Louisiana and Mississippi. 

Four morphologically distinct subspecies or "groups" (formerly considered as separate species) occupy Canada and the USA. The local representative of the species is known as Slate-colored Junco. Here a male junco shares the platform feeder with a male Northern Cardinal. Note its flesh-colored bill:

The female Slate-colored Junco is paler and tinted brownish:

Juncos have distinctive white outer tailfeathers:

The plumage of Slate-colored Juncos can vary, sometimes suggestive of the other groups. This individual, probably a male, exhibits chestnut chest and flanks slightly similar to the western "Oregon" race:

My list of bird species seen in our yard has grown to 25, of which I have photographed 19 through the windows of the front door of our suite. The latest included---

Mourning Doves:


A Carolina Wren:



Two Song Sparrows, fluffed up against the cold:


A White-breasted Nuthatch:


One male House Finch:

And, to our delight, a male Eastern Bluebird appeared briefly:


A blizzard dumped over a foot of snow on January 29. High winds sculpted the surface of the snow in the back yard:

Sunrise and the bird feeders as seen from the front door or our suite on January 30:

MaryLou walking up the long driveway to the house on January 31. It is almost 100 feet long and has two hairpin curves to surmount the 45 degree slope from the road to the house. Heaters underneath the pavement help keep it free of ice but are ineffective in heavy snow cover: 

View from the top of the driveway:

We enjoyed watching a beautiful sunset on February 2 from the Great Room on the main floor of the house:

Moncada, the three year old  (140 lb) Tibetan Mastiff ignored the vista:

Rain and above-freezing temperatures on February 4 melted much of the snow:


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Linking to:


Fences Around the World

Nature Thursday

Skywatch Friday

Weekend Reflections

Saturday's Critters

BirdD'Pot

All Seasons

Wordless Wednesday (on Tuesday)

Natasha Musing

Our World Tuesday

________________________________________________

Please visit the links to all these posts to see some excellent photos on display
________________________________________________