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Thursday, March 16, 2023

Bluebirds and a frolicking fox

Dreary and chilly weather has kept us inside and I have had only window shots of the common birds. Dark-eyed (Slate-colored) Juncos have been the most numerous avian visitors:


Although I have seen only one pair of Eastern Bluebirds during the past few weeks, they frequently visited the suet. Deprived of their usual diet of insects, they craved the high energy, so readily available.

Light was often poor and my bluebird photos were soft, having been taken through the windows of our main entrance. The male foraged on the ground, appearing to pick up seeds and suet crumbs, while the female occupied the feeder:



Seemingly impatient, he looked up at the female...


...and then displaced her:

It was his mate's turn to watchfully wait:

The Red Fox stole the show early this month, first parading on the back lawn after a light snowfall on March 3:

The fox seemed to be looking for voles (short-tailed "Meadow Mice"), which were quite numerous this past summer:







I credit our granddaughter for alerting us to the presence of the fox. While I was retrieving my camera she captured a very interesting performance:

Is this play, or possibly a purposeful behavior as a way to groom its coat, remove parasites or perhaps give relief for some skin condition? Also, in deeper snow, foxes are known to tunnel under the surface-- could this be a displacement behavior in response to the unusual snow conditions? Their sharp hearing allows them to "see" the prey as they move through passages in the snow. Of course they often pounce into deep snow and land directly on the prey. So far, as winter wanes, our area has had record low snowfall and  no persistent snow cover.

The same fox (identified by the dark mark on its forehead) returned briefly on March 9, again appearing to be hunting for voles:



Something spooked the fox and it ran off:

Colorful sunrise from our patio on March 5. A nocturnal windstorm had tossed the lawn furniture about:

On March 6   the full Worm Moon set over the city of Hartford, 11 miles to the northwest:

The floor of the hardwood forest is very dry. The lake reflected a rare blue sky:

This week's header: Sunset on March 8

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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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21 comments:

  1. Your photographs through the window are great, Ken! What a show by that fox! For the first time ever, we have bluebirds building a nest in the yard. Hope they're successful.

    Simply gorgeous skyscapes!

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  2. That fox makes for amazing photos. Great photos of the birds.

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  3. The sunset makes a beautiful header. I saw the video and it does look like the fox is frolicking. It's nice to think not everything is a hunt for food, maybe it just wanted to go sledding and have fun.

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  4. Hi Ken, I like your bird photos, even if they aren't that sharp. Shots through the window are never perfect. But the photos of the red fox are really unique, I don't get to see anything like that here. When I saw the video, I immediately thought that maybe he was rolling in the snow against parasites in his fur. But that Looks funny.
    Thank you for participating in Nature Thursday and best regards - Elke

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  5. I read I should have western bluebirds where I live, but I've never seen one. Pretty birds, eastern or western.

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  6. You have a wonderful backyard. Wish I had one such!

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  7. Gorgeous photography! Fun to see that fox in hunting mode.

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  8. I would never have guessed your photos are taken through a window.

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  9. Hello :=) Your images of the Bluebird and the Fox are great. I love your first image and the closeup of the Bluebird.

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  10. Hello Ken,
    Beautiful captures of the birds, I just love all your Bluebird photos. Cool series on the fox. I enjoyed your granddaughter's video. The sky shots are lovely, beautiful moon. Thank you for linking up and sharing your post. Take care, have a happy weekend.

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  11. The red fox is gorgeous! Makes me want to get my sketching pencils out and try to draw one. Love your photos of the sky! Happy weekend my friend!

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  12. You truly got some fantastic photos despite not being able to get out due to the weather. I love the little Junco. I have a Japanese friend with that name. Your Bluebird is beautiful and so is the fox. My guess is the fox is trying to relieve an itch of some sort. Here's to hoping your winter will soon warm up. It seems to be a long winter everywhere this year.

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  13. Fabulous blue bird images. Fun fox!!

    It's great that you shared this post with us at IRBB, thanks!

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  14. Marvelous photos!
    Thanks so much for sharing at http://image-in-ing.blogspot.com/2023/03/labneh-love-it.html

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  15. I got fox in my yard, they are nice animals

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  16. Love the Blue birds and that Red Fox is quite the stunner. I would say these are incredible for window and patio photography dear Ken.

    Hope the weather is turning up and you will get to be more outdoors.

    https://natashamusing.com/2023/03/spring-splendour-spring-equinox-natasha-musing/

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  17. What nice captures again as always the bluebirds look amazing too :-)
    Have a foxytastic week 👍

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  18. Bluebirds are adorable , The fox story is very entertaining. Thanks for sharing with Garden affair.

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