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Thursday, February 9, 2023

Cold feet and warm toes

One of the fondest memories of my Father was how he read to me at bedtime. He, and consequently I, were fond of nature stories. His inflected narratives formed vivid images of the creatures as their habits and activities were revealed. Admittedly, as I began learning how to read, I did not let him know, in fear that he might stop the practice. 

My first and favorite solo readings were the "The Bedtime Story-Books" by Thornton W Burgess (Boston, Little, Brown and Company, 1937). A kind neighbor, knowing my love of nature, gifted the series of 18 books to me around 1941. They introduced such favorite characters as Peter Rabbit, Reddy Fox and Winsome the Bluebird. Something I saw this week jogged my memory of another interesting character, "Ol' Mistah Buzzard." 

As I mentioned in an earlier post, I grew up calling Turkey Vultures "Buzzards," as did movie cowboys and nearly everyone else. This sight jogged my memories of the behavior of Ol' Mistah Buzzard, who migrated to the deep south in the winter, but had a remedy for cold toes on cool days


Although the vulture's Southern dialect would probably ban this book from classroom use in today's "Woke" culture, this little natural history gem is just one of many that exist as sparks in the recesses of my brain. It burst into flame as I took these photos. Click on the icons if you wish to read the final chapter of the Bedtime-Story "Ol' Mistah Buzzard" as Winsome the Bluebird reveals this secret to Peter Rabbit 

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This Turkey Vulture  flew over the back yard on November 6, 2022:

Three days later, an immature Turkey Vulture appeared. Soon, its dark head will turn pink and the tip of its bill will be white:

Turkey Vultures in New Jersey and all of northeastern US migrated south for the winter when I started keeping my Life List in December, 1948. I saw my first of the year (#29) on March 6, 1949. They have since expanded their year-round range into the northeastern states as human settlement increased, favoring farmland and rural areas. 

High-speed highways provided road kill all year long. A very important factor was the explosion in the numbers of White-tailed Deer. Winter-killed deer, especially yearlings and older bucks as well as carcasses left by hunters became staples of their diet. 

Smaller but more aggressive Black Vultures followed the Turkey Vultures northward, benefiting from the latter species' unique highly sensitive sense of smell which can locate carrion even if not visible from the air. 

Both of our vulture species are now seen all year here in Connecticut, but I had never encountered a Black Vulture while living in New  Jersey. My first sighting was on February 9, 1966 in northern Mississippi (Life List # 228), while I was driving to my first duty station in El Paso, Texas after being drafted into the service. (With only two weeks' notice, I left MaryLou back home with 3 small children in the snow and a house for sale).

The Black Vulture in flight exhibits a black head, light gray-tipped wings and long legs which extend to the tip or beyond its short tail. It flaps more than the Turkey Vulture, which has a shorter neck and long tail:

The past week started with a record-breaking cold snap. Our outside thermometer reached a low of minus 9.4°F (-23°C) at 6 AM on February 4. Strong winds resulted in a "feels like" chill factor of about minus 40°F (-40°C).  Mount Washington in New Hampshire, 250 miles to our north, with a low of -45 °F (-42.7°C), set a new wind chill record for the US of -109°F (-78.3°C).

One of the effects of my chemotherapy is increased sensitivity to cold, especially hands and feet. I was house-bound for several days and collected my wildlife photos through the window panes.

Visits by Eastern Bluebirds brightened our mornings. They foraged on the ground under the feeders and inspected the nest box which was their home last spring:

 



A highlight was the Red Fox which suddenly appeared in semi-darkness before sunrise on the back lawn just outside one of our windows. It was intently watching two squirrels which were running about near the feeders. For about five minutes it simply froze in place. It was so near that I had trouble containing it in the camera's viewfinder. 

At first the fox's pose seemed relaxed, but its eyes were fixed on the squirrels:

Then, it became alert and more attentive:

Furtively, it crept toward some bushes which provided more cover:

The fox then moved slowly along the pool deck before attacking in a burst of speed:

The squirrels got away.

Gray  clouds reflected on the lake's surface before the deep freeze:

The Snow Moon was setting opposite the sunrise on February 7:

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Linking to:



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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27 comments:

  1. Magnificent birds. The sunset sky is beautiful

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  2. Stunning bird photos. The bluebirds are especially nice.

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  3. Those are lovely memories, Ken. It was extremely cold with you, but I hope you don't have to sit on the chimney to warm your toes ;-) The bluebirds are very beautiful birds but spotting the red fox is a highlight. We only see vultures in the zoo. I hope You are fine.
    Kind regards - Elke (Nature Thursday)

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  4. These photographs of vultures were super duper, APlus, Excellent! I saw an interesting thing in Wisconsin a few summers ago. Dinner was on the side of the road. A tree loaded with all types of fowl waited their turn including eagles and vultures. A small bird pecked away. The strong and the quick survive. But there is an order to eating.

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  5. Turkey vultures are a common sight in our local desert. Sometimes they swarm in large groups. Wonderful memory of your father reading to you. I really enjoy reading to my granddaughter at bedtime. Hopefully her memories are fond as well!

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  6. Glad the squirrel got away - they're a great series of photos tho - it's amazing the vultures change colour. Was it on the chimney to keep warm or just a good fit? Thanks for joining in #Allseasons

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    1. It was quite cold and they commonly rest on this neighbor's chimney to capture warmth, possibly created by exhaust from the heating system, or simply leakage of warm room air through a fireplace.

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  7. Wonderful nature shots.

    Visiting from Skywatch Friday!

    Worth a Thousand Words

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  8. Hello,
    Wonderful post and story on your love of reading and nature. We see the Vultures here year round too, they are great clean up crews. Your Bluebird photos are beautiful, one of my all time favorite birds. Pretty view of the forest and lake. The moon shot is lovely. Thank you for linking up and sharing your post. Take care, have a great weekend! PS, thank you for leaving me a comment!

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  9. Hello :=)
    I had to laugh at the Turkey Vultures sitting on the chimneys for warmth. I don't know if saying they are not just a pretty face applies to them,:=) but it was a smart move.
    Lovely captures of the Eastern Bluebird, and the fox.
    All the best.

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  10. That was fabulous, especially the fox and your father of course. Blessings!

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  11. The fox was a neat sighting and you took beautiful photos of this critter. I hope your treatments are going well and I'm glad you have such a nice home to be comfortable in. Take care of yourself! (I went to Etsy to see some of these books and they are delightful)

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  12. Beautiful photos!
    I'm spoiled. The low 50s fahrenheit seems cold to me but when I lived in Pennsylvania it seemed warm during the winters.

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  13. It was heart warming to know about how your father introduced you to nature through book reading. Fantastic pictures as always!

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  14. That vulture was incredibly clever imo. And, I too suffer from cold feet and hands.
    Hello Ken! Thanks for linking in at IRBB this week.

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  15. Reddy Fox, Winsome Bluebird and, of course, Ol' Mistah Buzzard! You brought them all to life with some exquisite photographs. The excerpts I'll be reading to my grandchildren, even though they think they're too old for bedtime stories. You just proved none of us are too old for such heart- (and toe-) warming tales!

    The vultures don't get much respect, especially from photographers, so thank you for highlighting them.

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  16. Love the Turkey Vulture flight shots Kenneth, but then I also adore those of the fox too. Beautiful. Not sure I'd like the -40 though, so I hope things wamr up for you soon.

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  17. What a stunning Snow Moon it was! I was fortunate to be woken up by the waxing moon three days prior to its rising.

    The Turkey Vultures are stunning. In India a major population of our Indian Vultures have been driven close to extinction due to Dicholorofenac which was given to cattle when they got sick. Then their carcass would be mindlessly thrown away, which the vultures fed on.
    We need scavengers as much in our ecosystem, as a herbivore or carnivore.

    The Blue bIrds and Red fox are quite lovely too.

    I wrote about my recent trip to Tiger Country in Central India this week. Here's the link:
    https://natashamusing.com/2023/02/tiger-safari-in-bandhavgarh-experiences-in-bandhavgarh-natasha-musing/

    I hope the winters recede and you can be up and about far more than you are at this point of time. For window shots these are outstanding.

    Wishing you well.

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  18. Great shots, Kenneth! And isn't it great to see the beauty of the bluebirds lightening up a drab winter landscape? I'm glad they stay here year-round.
    Thanks for sharing at http://image-in-ing.blogspot.com/2023/02/a-just-bit-more.html

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  19. Wow so amazing photos, I realy loved them

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  20. Beautiful photos loved yourpost too very heartwarming those bluebirds are stunning

    Have a nostalgictastic week 👍

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  21. I read all the Burgess books and loved them!

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  22. Beautiful bluebirds! Talk about roadkill… I see some great looking hawks perched near the highways, watching for roadkill. Unfortunately I can’t take their picture while driving.

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  23. Stunning vulture shots, the moon shot with Sunrise is astonishing. Thanks for sharing with Garden Affair.

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