Home

Thursday, June 15, 2023

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

= = =  = = =  = = = =  = = = = =

Linking to:




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
________________________________________________

26 comments:

  1. Well, now I know where all our birds went. To your yard!

    Very nice series of photographs, Ken. Love the fawn and all those spots.

    ReplyDelete
  2. You have a lot of wildlife around you. I think you have a sharper eye than most people, especially me, so you see more.
    Great photographs!

    ReplyDelete
  3. ...Kenneth, I don't keep count, but if I did I would come up short compared to you. We have plenty of robins, sparrows, finches and assorted woodpeckers thanks to all the dead and dying ash trees. Thanks for showing my around your place, let's do it again.

    ReplyDelete
  4. You've managed to capture, so brilliantly, all the nature around you. May your yard list continue to grow.

    ReplyDelete
  5. You certainly have a lot of birds and animals.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Thanks for sharing this gorgeous pictures!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Beautiful collection of photos. Nice job capturing the hawk before it flew off!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Warbler is still my favorite. So petite and cute.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Yet another great spottings. Your enthusiasm is motivating!

    ReplyDelete
  10. Lovely set of photos. You are way ahead of me, I have only identified 46 different species on our property though I am quite sure there were many more that I have not seen or was unable to identify. Well done Diane

    ReplyDelete
  11. Hi Ken, today my absolute favorite is the photo of the Red-shouldered Hawk - fantastic! Thank you for the wonderful pictures, you really live in the purest paradise. Well, at least that's how it always looks in the photos 😉. Kind regards and thank you for taking part in Nature Thursday – Elke

    ReplyDelete
  12. Birds are really colorful. I like that you named the deer and deerling. The sunset was unusual. Perhaps from the Canadian fires. Have a good week.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Hello ken,
    75 species of yard birds sounds great to me. Super photos of the Prairie Warbler, I love the Indigo Bunting, Yellow-throated Vireo and the Red-shouldered Hawk, all beautifully captured. Your granddaughter's pet frog reminds me of one I saw in Costa Rica. Beautiful flowers and lovely sky capture. Thank you for linking up and sharing your post. Take care, have a happy weekend! PS, thank you for leaving me a comment.

    ReplyDelete
  14. what a great group of wildlife, i especially enjoyed the birds. your images are really beautiful, i would never guess they were taken through glass!!! 75 species of birds sounds like a lot, especially from right at your home and gardens. i have never counted here at my window maybe i should.

    ReplyDelete
  15. I'm so glad you've seen so many birds there. I know you've missed your daily walks here in FL. I haven't seen a Prairie Warbler lately but I've seen the Blue Grosbeak more than once this week. That was exciting. Enjoy your weekend! Hope you have a wonderful Father's day!

    ReplyDelete
  16. Your birds are so colourful! They're wonderful but the tree frog is spectacular! Thanks for sharing wiht #Allseasons

    ReplyDelete
  17. The Indigo Bunting is beautiful. I don't think I've seen one before.

    ReplyDelete
  18. What a wonderful collection of creatures! And so beautifully captured.

    ReplyDelete
  19. What a colouful collection of photos especially the birds :-)
    Have a buntingtastic week 👍

    ReplyDelete
  20. Kenneth, your bird photos are wonderful. I'm impressed with your Prairie Warbler photos. They are terrific.

    ReplyDelete
  21. the yellow bird is really gorgeous - and I love all your nature photos - stay well

    ReplyDelete
  22. Dear Kenneth,
    I'm amazed at how many species of birds you encounter right on your doorstep - and such pretty specimens at that. I also think your other animal encounters are great. Where I live there are forests and fields and the occasional deer and other wildlife, but I can't get as close to them as you can. Bambi #3 is absolutely adorable. Your granddaughter's frog reminds me of Costa Rica.
    🌸☀️🌸 All the best, Traude
    https://rostrose.blogspot.com/2023/06/meine-erlebnisse-und-outfits-im.html

    ReplyDelete
  23. Gorgeous photos of animals!!!

    ReplyDelete
  24. I love the fact that you can backyard bird...My favorite was an osprey grabbing a fish from the pond. I was awe struck..Wonderful photos...Michelle...PS, I want to get another frog as a pet...I love them....

    ReplyDelete
  25. Beautiful capture of birds as usual , Indigo bunting is a such a vibrant colored bird . Thanks for sharing with Garden affair.

    ReplyDelete

Thank you for visiting Rosyfinch Ramblings! I will enjoy a visit to your page just as soon as possible. Some anonymous comments and some containing active links may not be accepted.