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More local fawna
Follow Ups:
The Circle of Life plays out quite a bit in our backyard :-) One of the most interesting visitors is the Northern Goshawk. They are apparently not too common, but we have had a breeding pair in the conservation land behind our house for as long as we've lived here -- they guard their territory ferociously when they're on the nest, BTW.The goshawk likes to snack on mourning doves at/near our feeders. The dove population ebbs and flows here regularly!
Sorry I cannot find a better goshawk photo at the moment -- I think the old 'puter has better ones but this'll do for now.
Now... we don't actually get these guys in the yard all that often... but one day last week Mrs. H noticed a Red-Tailed Hawk out in the oak tree by some of the tube feeders. S/he was just sittin' there, so I snapped a bunch of photos. True to my skill as a photographer, they're mediocre at best :-) Still, a big, beautiful hawk.
huge Wedge-tailed Eagles.2nd biggest eagle in de woild!
I was watching the two today! WAY way up!
ALL our butcher birds are cheeky, cocky, and love ter have a chat! maggies are very tuneful, too. Part of our dawn chorus!
We also get, every day, all 5 of the common beautiful and tuneful parrots around here, along with the NOISY Sulphur Crested white BIG ones, and Galahs - in groups.
5? Scarlet Lorrikeet (all day), King Parrot, Red-rumped, Rainbow Lorrikeet, and Eastern Rosella. Occasionaly we get Turqoise Parrots.
Heps of little birds too, Willie Wagtails, one of whom was real chatty earlier this week, and the Superb Blue Wren.
And there are LOTS of roos VERY nearby, who are still grazing our lawns at night! One can greet them in the morn, on the open grass lands, on the way to the bus!
AND, I live in a suburb of our capital city!
WarmestTimbo in Oz
The Skyptical Mensurer and Audio ScroungerAnd gladly would he learn and gladly teach - Chaucer. ;-)!
'Still not saluting.'
...bathroom window; I never gave a thought to taking a picture, darnit. It was there most mornings and I would watch it while showering, it was a great way to start the day.
Dave
Later Gator,
Crank up your talking machine, grab a jar of your favorite "kick-back", sit down, relax, and let the good times roll.Eagles may soar, but weasels do not get sucked into jet engines.
We get 'em every year; I usually manage to see one about once every summer (hear 'em much more often). In June 04 this one appeared on the feeder in front of our screen house (still sans roof at that late date -- must've been a cool spring!). Actually managed to snap a few OK photos.
Dave
Later Gator,
Crank up your talking machine, grab a jar of your favorite "kick-back", sit down, relax, and let the good times roll.Eagles may soar, but weasels do not get sucked into jet engines.
Of one of North America's most gorgeous creatures - very elusive though."Man is the only animal that blushes - or needs to" Mark Twain
Kava, today's local paper in this neck, the Santa Fe New Mexican, features a story titled "Searching for the Bird -- That May Not Exist", bylined at the Big Thicket National Preserve, Texas.Not the Pileated, but about the Ivory-Billed Woodpecker, which some people confuse it with. The article says "The first sighting in generations was made by Gene Sparling in Arkansas on Feb. 11, 2004." The video that Sparling made raises hope that the critter is still with us, but is too vague to be conclusive. People have been looking for verification since then, but no luck. It's a tough region to poke around in, looking for the bird. The Big Thicket is reportedly 100,000 acres of swamp, bog and forest. The sighting prior to 2004 (in the Thicket) was a century before in 1904.
A description of the Ivory-Billed says that the bird is/was approx. 20" long, with a 3-foot wingspan. It's the largest peckerwood north of Mexico and the 3rd largest in the world. I have no idea what the other contenders are.
The Pileated is a great find itself. Seen two together in western Washington a couple of years ago, but they are really skittish. They sound like slow jackhammers while working on trees, but they are dead silent when flying through the tree branches.
Those are very timid birds. I have yet to get a shot, even with a 300 mm lens.
Is that one of those great big woodpeckers? I have seen a few of those in years past. What are they called?
Woodpeckers - about 18" long head to tail. And, just because you don't see them doesn't mean they aren't around. They are very evasive/elusivs but there's no mistaking their sound when they're chopping away at a tree
"Man is the only animal that blushes - or needs to" Mark Twain
They are "locally common"... for example, in the woods behind my house. Here is a not-so-great photo of one taken a few years back with our original (cheap) digital camera, held up to the eyepiece of Mrs. H's not-so-cheap spotting scope. Absolutely beautiful, beautiful birds, with a loud, brash "kuck" call -- similar to a Northern Flicker, but somewhat more intense. Don't usually see them this close to the ground!Here's another fairly common backyard visitor at our house -- a sharp-shinned hawk, a/k/a "sharpie". Looks like a Cooper's Hawk, but smaller. Obviously, this photo, too, was through the eypeiece of the scope (not cropped, in this case).
Ever see the hole and the chips they leave?
"Man is the only animal that blushes - or needs to" Mark Twain
Big ole rectangular/elliptical things. Mrs. H generally insists we leave dead trees in the woods up (unless they are close enough to fall on the house!) for habitat for all the various & sundry woodland creatures.We generally see the pileateds in our yard in the spring and fall, not so much midsummer. They really are pretty common in the 'burbs of Boston in the woods.
Yeah, that right. I used to spend a fair amount of time in the woods, sitting quietly watching wildlife. That is where I saw a few of the Pileated Woodpeckers. And you are right, when they peck, they peck.
where I grew up too. I saw one in the woods at the back of the farm in the late 60s, called the local bird guy and within hours they were birding guys all over the place.
They are reclusive but a breeding pair also need a very large territory.
I thought they were pretty much an eastern bird until I drove around a corner in a wooded neighbourhood area in Edmonton and a very nice specimen of pileated was busy rooting around in the autumn foliage at the side of the road.
Surprised the hell outta' me.
jac - desperaudio
on Pileateds
"Man is the only animal that blushes - or needs to" Mark Twain
According to de Man, dat is.I didn't know they're so big.
"Man is the only animal that blushes - or needs to" Mark Twain
Dave
Later Gator,
Crank up your talking machine, grab a jar of your favorite "kick-back", sit down, relax, and let the good times roll.Eagles may soar, but weasels do not get sucked into jet engines.
I've never seen it done, but if they can do it with skunks I'm sure a `possum shouldn't be too hard.
...lets just say that it was a first for me; a skunk eating out of my hand. Hmmm, I wonder if one would get along with Tyger AND would Tyger get along with the skunk.
Dave
Later Gator,
Crank up your talking machine, grab a jar of your favorite "kick-back", sit down, relax, and let the good times roll.Eagles may soar, but weasels do not get sucked into jet engines.
They say that if they see their shadows on St. Patty's Day, we'll run out of beer too soon.
regarding "if they see their shadows on St. Patty's Day, we'll run out of beer too soon."... That's the O'Buggers...
Best regards,
...although possum is used more commonly.
Dave
Later Gator,
Crank up your talking machine, grab a jar of your favorite "kick-back", sit down, relax, and let the good times roll.Eagles may soar, but weasels do not get sucked into jet engines.
Best regards,
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