Red-shouldered Hawk

The most common diurnal raptor seen on or over our property is the Red-shouldered Hawk. A pair nested in a nearby tree and raised two young. This week an immature hawk landed on the back fence. I thought it might be preying on the feeder birds. 

Viewing through a back window, I snapped a quick photo before "he" launched and flew nearer to rest on the back of a chair next to the swimming pool:

His attention seemed fixed on something on the ground nearby, and he flew down to the lawn:

The prey turned out to be a small insect, probably a grasshopper!  It is barely visible in his bill:

I quietly exited to the back yard and hoped to catch better photos, but the hawk took flight and disappeared:

The American Goldfinches typically wait until late summer to begin nesting. They depend upon the spent flowers (notably thistles and other composites) to provide feathery pappus for their nest lining. I observed both members of a pair as they gathered the delicate downy fibers and carried them to an unseen nest site high in the canopy of a maple tree. My photos were taken from quite a distance.

Male American Goldfinch:

Female:

 

Ruby-throated Hummingbirds are swarming to our feeder. It holds one cup of nectar (1/4 cup sugar to 1 cup of water) and is often emptied by mid-afternoon. I am seeing only females and immature birds. Adult males with their red throats (gorgets) have rarely visited and I have not been able to photograph a single one.

Slow-motion video of three hummers vying for a place at the feeder:

The White-tailed Deer fawn is rapidly growing. They lose their spots at 3-4 months of age. Males will stay with their mothers for a year, while females tend to associate with their mothers (and often with a new sibling) for two years.

Our "Bambi" appeared as recently born on June 30. This photo was taken July 23:

On the home front, our younger granddaughter's pet Flemish Giant Rabbit is still growing:

The daylilies left here by the previous homeowner are still blooming and surprising us with several varieties appearing in succession. This one is speckled pink:

We have experienced a heat wave and the swimming pool is popular. One sunset was so beautiful that our daughter texted me after I had prepared for bed and was watching a baseball game on TV. I walked out to photograph the sky, at first not noticing that her husband, who was in the pool, had his "waterproof" cell phone and was also intent on the colorful sky. With Roly's permission, this is his nicely reflected view from inside the pool:

In mismatched plaid pj's and bathrobe, I photobombed his skyscape: 

This was my photo, taken after the sun disappeared behind the western hills:

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Linking to:

Garden Affair

Nature Thursday

Skywatch Friday

Weekend Reflections

Saturday's Critters

BirdD'Pot

All Seasons

Wordless Wednesday (on Tuesday)

Wild Bird Wednesday

My Corner of the World
________________________________________________

Please visit the links to all these posts to see some excellent photos on display
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Yard bird list is stalled

If it were not for a Field Sparrow I heard singing in an open area adjacent to the property, July would have been devoid of new Yard Bird species identified. Since moving to Connecticut in early January I have seen or heard 66 species from the confines  of the property, 16 of which I was unable to photograph on-site.    

We never saw the progeny of the Eastern Bluebird pair which utilized one of the back yard nest boxes. I assume that they fledged successfully but retreated to the edge of  woodlands in the back acreage where I have seen the adults flying with food for them:  

The bluebird box may now being claimed by a pair of House Wrens which have been inspecting it:

Some local birders have seen bluebirds feeding cowbird chicks. We had a pair of Brown-headed Cowbirds which spent a great deal of time loafing near the bluebird nest:

Although the males are said to not take part in selection of nests to be parasitized, a male cowbird often roosted on top of the box, even when the bluebirds were actively bringing in nest materials:

The Ruby-throated Hummingbirds are going through 1/4 cup of table sugar daily. We sometimes have as many as four mobbing our single feeder. (The red color reflects on the white breast of the hummingbird) :

All my photos so far have been of adult female hummingbirds. I have had fleeting views of a single male, but never with camera ready.

The Eastern Chipmunks have had litters of 4-5 pups. For the first week or so, the siblings gather together with their mother and playfully interact. Then, as they mature, adults become less tolerant of their antics and begin to chase them away from under the feeders. At first, they exhibit very little fear of humans. A house cat which visits at nighttime certainly benefits from their innocence. This one has filled its cheek pouches with seeds which have been scattered under the feeder (iPhone photo from about 4 feet): 

By nature, chipmunks are solitary creatures, coming together only during breeding season. This adult was chirping loudly after I disturbed it by walking close to its burrow:

This White-tailed Deer fawn which we sighted on July 14 may be the same one seen as a newborn back on June 30. I only caught this photo with my iPhone as it hastily retreated. 

However, the next day the fawn was so close by that I could not fit it in the camera frame:

Since our family took occupancy of the home only last October, the spring floral displays are unpredictable. Orange Daylily: 

I believe this is a deep red variety of daylily:

Blazing Star (Liatris spicata) occupies a wild area next to the woodland. It is a native non-invasive plant, but also may be cultivated:

Sunsets are spectacular most evenings. Since we are at a greater elevation, on clear mornings we also get a good view of Hartford and the Connecticut River valley, eleven miles away.

This is the view from our bedroom window:

City lights become visible at dusk:

Linking to:

Garden Affair

Nature Thursday

Skywatch Friday

Weekend Reflections

Saturday's Critters

BirdD'Pot

All Seasons

Wordless Wednesday (on Tuesday)

Wild Bird Wednesday

My Corner of the World
________________________________________________

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

New Beginnings

This past week the pair of bluebirds turned up their level of excitement. Presumably their brood was about ready to fledge. Both members of the pair perched near the nest, flying down like little hawks to catch insects and feed them to the nestlings. 

The male sang quite frequently. Then, three days ago, all was quiet at the nest box. We could hear the bluebirds calling and singing at the edge of the woodland and presumed (and hoped) that the chicks had fledged. So far, we have not seen the fledglings although the adults continue to forage near the birdhouse and  appear to be fying away to feed them.

Heavily streaked Immature Chipping Sparrows now outnumber the adults. Both share the dark line through the eye and grayish collar which distinguish the species:

We were delighted when a spotted White-tailed Deer fawn appeared with its mother in the clearing in the rear of the property:

The fawn bedded down in a patch of vegetation just under the back fence. The next morning it surprised me by appearing as if out of nowhere:

The mother deer grazed nearby:

Strangely, all three friendly baby Cottontails, each of which occupied a different corner in the back yard, disappeared on the same day. Did they all develop a fear of humans at the same time? Or, is it possible that the Coyote which appeared the morning before, or the Red Fox or the black house cat which prowl our yard at nighttime were responsible? 

A flock of Wild Turkeys again showed up in the yard. There were three adults and 20 or more chicks of at least two different ages. It was difficult to see them through the trees:

Suddenly, they paraded across the driveway. My camera settings were poor, as I did not have time to increase the depth of field and the photos were overexposed as they moved into sunlight against the dark background:

I had trouble tracking the flock for this video as they moved back into the woodland:

Our daylilies are blooming a bit later than those of many of our neighbors as we are at over 800 feet elevation and the lake surface is only 690 feet--

Yellow Daylily:

Pink Daylily:

Orange Daylily:

Late afternoon rays spread over the distant Hartford skyline:

The lowering sun peeked out from under the cloud deck...

..creating a sunburst as it settled behind the hills

Another evening, our granddaughter caught me photographing a fiery sunset:

Here was my view at that time:

= = =  = = =  = = = =  = = = = =

Linking to:

Garden Affair

Nature Thursday

Skywatch Friday

Weekend Reflections

Saturday's Critters

BirdD'Pot

All Seasons

Wordless Wednesday (on Tuesday)

Wild Bird Wednesday

My Corner of the World
________________________________________________

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