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Thursday, July 13, 2023

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:




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. A wonderful set of photos and interesting pictures and story re the doe and her fawn. I love the blue bird. Cheers Diane

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  2. ...Kenneth, your few critters would have made me busy and content! We had a fawn in our backyard too. Take care and be well.

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  3. I wonder how the signature notch in the deer's ear came about. How clever to try and distract from the fawn. She is a caring mother.

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  4. For a guy that didn't have much time you sure got some great photos.

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  5. Ruby-throated Hummingbird is beautifully photographed. The nature you showed every week has been a stunner.

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  6. Gorgeous nature photography ~ favorites, of course, are of the deer ~ precious ~ So glad you had family visit and your garden is awesome ~ Wow!

    Wishing you good health, laughter and love in your days,
    A ShutterBug Explores,
    aka (A Creative Harbor)

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  7. Hope the smoke isn't getting to you. You saw and photographed an amazing lot of birds and backyard critters especially considering that you were busy with such wonderful company. Thanks for sharing all of it.

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  8. Bluebirds are some of my favorite. We had bluebirds nesting on our front porch this year, which was a first!

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  9. The beak on the hummingbird is really something. Lovely for you to have family stay. #Allseasons

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  10. I didn't know that about woodchucks. Beautiful deer photos. Smoke does make for beautiful suns and sunsets.

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  11. Hi Ken, although you say you didn't have much time to take pictures, you still surprise us with wonderful pictures. It is fascinating what lush nature surrounds you. I wish your brother all the best. Kind regards and thank you for participating in Nature Thursday.
    Elke

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  12. Love the photos- especially of the deer and bluebirds, but all very nice! Have a great weekend!

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  13. Hello, Ken
    You still managed to get some beautiful photos. I love all the Bluebirds and the deer and fawn. Cute shot of the hummer. Sending healing wishes for your brother. Beautiful skies and views. Thank you for linking up and sharing your post. Take care, enjoy your day and have a great week ahead. PS, thank you for leaving me a comment.

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  14. I enjoyed reading your blog post! I was particularly interested in your observations of the White-tailed Deer doe and her fawn. The distraction behavior you described is fascinating. It's amazing to think that animals are capable of such complex social interactions. I also enjoyed your photos. They're all beautiful birds. I'm sorry to hear about your youngest brother's health scare. I hope he's doing well now.

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  15. All stunning and adorable and beautiful photos of the sun!

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  16. You covered a lot subjects in this post!

    First, our thoughts are with your family as your brother recovers.

    We're lucky to have nesting Bluebirds in the yard this year but, of course, we never get to see a juvenile Eastern Phoebe down here. Neat!

    Love all the animals images and interesting information.

    Your mention of Cuban pork is pretty ironic as I'm sitting here with a cup of strong coffee munching toasted Cuban bread smeared with Guava preserves. (Note to self: shop for pork shoulder and wood for the smoker.)

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  17. Wow what lovely photos again I thoroughly enjoyed them thanks for sharing, glad you had a good time with your family too, I hope your brother recovers well
    Have a pigroasttastic week 👍

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  18. Lovely photos...My friend up here outside of Buffalo NY rehabs white-tailed deer mostly orphaned fawns. I think she has 20 or so now......Michelle

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  19. Great shots! Best wishes to your younger brother.

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  20. Your fawn pics are adorable, the sky shots are stunning. Thanks for sharing with Garden Affair.

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