Gobblers at the window

Although Wild Turkeys are fairly common in our neighborhood, we have only  seen them a couple of times in the yard since we joined the household of our daughter's family in early 2022. We could have missed some of their visits, as they can be very furtive, especially when accompanied by their young.  

On July 17th, MaryLou happened to look out the window and was surprised to see two hens with three poults (two are visible in these poor iPhone photos):

They were too close by to fit in the viewfinder of my digital camera:

We hoped that the turkeys would find some of the seed under the feeders and maybe return, but they retreated quietly. 

In contrast, probably the most common bird species in our neighborhood posed on the back fence near me as I was watching the deer out in the clear-cut. This perky little Tufted Titmouse seemed to be begging to be seen and photographed:

Rose-breasted Grosbeaks have been scarce this summer. So far I have seen an adult male only twice and none visited the feeder. I was happy that this immature male decided to pay a visit to the suet:

I like to find features which permit identification of individuals. The doe which we call "Notch" had been gleaning the new twigs of a (wild) Black Cherry tree just outside our window:

She turned to provide a better view of her "notched" left ear:

On July 20 three adult does along with a six-week old fawn appeared on the small side lawn. The daylilies were in full bloom and I had to shoot between the blossoms and feeders from the windows in our front door. What my pictures lacked in quality may have been countered by the sentiments they provoked. The fawn briefly nuzzled up to its mother:

When MaryLou spotted a Red-shouldered Hawk resting on the back fence, about 30 Meters (96 feet) away, I had to shoot through a stained porthole window:

I was surprised at how much  detail I was able to capture, as evidenced in these cropped portraits:

In an attempt to obtain a better view, I carefully moved out the door, but the hawk saw me and took flight. Note the distinctive light "crescents" which contrast with the black tips of its primary flight feathers:

A baby Eastern Milk Snake sunbathed on a garden step:

On our morning walk we admired a nice variety of daylilies in bloom:

Breezes broke up the reflections on the lake:

On July 22, the crescent Moon peered through the clouds over a colorful sunset:

As the sky darkened, I enjoyed a pleasant view from the covered patio:

This week's header: Sunset and crescent Moon

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Linking to:

Nature Thursday

Skywatch Friday

Weekend Reflections

Saturday's Critters

BirdD'Pot

Garden Affair

All Seasons

Image-in-ing

Nature Notes

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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Goldfinches and Burnweed

American Goldfinches are common all year around in Connecticut, though their numbers are boosted in autumn and early winter by young birds and others passing through from southern Canada and northern New England. At our feeders they became quite scarce in mid-winter, probably retreating to lower elevations. Our goldfinches could also be called the "Great Procrastinators," as they defer their breeding season until composite flowers bloom and many other bird species are already moving south. 

On July 13, as I was photographing a dragonfly in the back yard, this adult male goldfinch surprised me by resting briefly on a bare branch not far away:

He picked at an errant feather:

He should have left that feather in place!

He turned to exhibit the bold markings on his wings and rump:

My  initial critter of interest was this female Widow Skimmer:

Last summer I noticed a tall weed which emerged in the area of hardwood forest that had been clearcut the previous winter. It had sprouted up very quickly and covered nearly the entire area amid the trunks of the felled trees. These photos of the clear-cut area in the rear acreage illustrate their progression from late spring into summer: 

April 25, 2023:

May 12, 2023:

June 27, 2023:

Although this plant has distinctive buds, they never open as flowers. Goldfinches have a particular affinity for the seeds and the fluffy down (pappus) which carries clouds of seeds in the wind. They use the pappus for the nest structure and their young subsist almost entirely on seeds. I took this picture on September 3, 2022:

This is a young specimen of the plant. It grows on a single stalk up to a height of 4-6 feet:

Thanks to the iPhone plant identification app, I learned that it was Ercitites hieraciifolius, American Burnweed, a member of the daisy family, a composite. (I triggered the Ring alarm while taking this photo): : 

The peak nesting season for American Goldfinch is in early August, just when the  Ercitites begins to release its seeds. This year there has been an unusually large gathering of goldfinches in the trees surrounding the clearing. Presumably, many are young from the previous season. I expect there will be a banner crop of nestlings.

A White-tailed doe found a shady spot to rest at the edge of our side yard:

When she turned her head, this revealed the ragged tips of her left ear, which identified her as "Notch." We wondered if her fawn may have been out of sight in the adjacent woods:

At the suet feeder, a male Downy Woodpecker was confronted by a hungry Gray Catbird:

A much larger female Hairy Woodpecker also appeared:

The stormy weather and several obligations kept me from getting out to photograph a street scene meme. Here is a favorite from my archives, during a visit to the Acoma Pueblo in New Mexico, on June 21, 2010: 

This week's header: Sunset from the back yard on July 7, 2023:

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Linking to:

Nature Thursday

Skywatch Friday

Weekend Reflections

Saturday's Critters

BirdD'Pot

Garden Affair

All Seasons

Image-in-ing

Nature Notes

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
________________________________________________

Busy weeks with few birds

The past two weeks have kept me busy with visitors. We were delighted to have our Texas medical student grandson and his wife spend several days with us. Our daughter was the driver and tour guide during their first-ever visit to Boston, while our SIL accompanied them as they discovered New York City. I stayed home and conserved energy. Luckily, a couple of severe thunderstorms did not interfere with their plans and also kept us inside to just visit and enjoy their company. 

Then, my sister and her husband, who live in upstate New York, stayed for the annual Cuban-style pig roast which our SIL cooks in the back yard. There were  about 80 guests. The food and company were great. In the middle of all this, my youngest brother, at home in New Jersey, required an emergency cardiac catheterization and then underwent a triple coronary artery bypass.

This left very little time for bird photography, although I did  get an Eastern Bluebird window shot as one roosted atop the shepherd's hook over the bird feeder...

...and, viewed from outside the door at the sugar water, an adult female Ruby-throated Hummingbird:

A family of bluebirds visited us and occupied the back fence. I captured photos of the adult male and two of three fledglings:

Nearby was a juvenile Eastern Phoebe:

The adult phoebe has more uniform darker plumage and lacks the buffy wing bars:

There was quite a bit of action among the mammals---

One morning I saw interesting distraction behavior when watching a White-tailed Deer doe with her 4 week old fawn. They were out in the open in the clear-cut behind the back lawn, peacefully grazing:  

The fawn was following the doe. Suddenly they both noticed me:

The doe started walking slowly towards the wooded margin of the clear-cut. The fawn followed her but suddenly disappeared in the patch of ferns as the doe kept walking, alone: 

Then, the doe turned around and surprised me by conspicuously walking back out into the open, past the patch of ferns where the fawn was hiding. 

After she had moved about 40-50 yards away from the fawn, the latter suddenly burst out of hiding and ran into the woods. The doe then turned around and bounded back to join the fawn as they both disappeared into the shadows. The doe appeared to have purposely drawn our attention away from the fawn:   

(We call the doe "Notch" because of her torn left ear. She was mother of a male fawn, "Bambi2," the second of the two we saw as newborns last season. Since this was the first of this season, we will call it "Bambi3" if  it continues to associate it with Notch.) Here is "Notch" seen a bit closer while it was raining:

A Woodchuck paused at the edge of the lawn, exposing "his" chestnut-red undersides. I was puzzled when I first heard it calling in a series of bird-like chirps and trills, as well as a prolonged "tin whistle" sound. Then I understood why this rodent is also known as a "Whistle Pig:"

The Gray Squirrels are fattening up on bird food:

The hillside garden is alive with color:

On July 10 the late afternoon Sun was barely visible through the smoky haze created by numerous forest fires in Canada:

The next day, rain had cleared out much of the smoke, and storm clouds enveloped the Sun just before it disappeared behind a distant ridge:

This week's header: Hartford under stormy sky 

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Linking to:

Nature Thursday

Skywatch Friday

Weekend Reflections

Saturday's Critters

BirdD'Pot

Garden Affair

All Seasons

Image-in-ing

Nature Notes

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
________________________________________________