Happy Easter 2021!

 Happy nature-filled Easter everyone!

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Northern Flickers Have Returned

New arrivals after a recent rainstorm, two Northern Flickers were in our field. This is the female of the Yellow-shafted subspecies group, the male of that group would have a black moustache line. One of my favorite views of flickers we see here is the red V on their nape.

They're Back! Welcome American Robins

American Robins have newly arrived. Welcome spring!

 

Worm Moon of March Look Tonight

 Last night's full moon, is called the "Worm Moon" because it is the time of year when worms appear as the soil warms. How appropriate then that last night I listened to American Woodcocks "peent" and display on our field, as they eat lots of earthworms. This morning there are 40 American Robins in the rain in our field also eating earthworms. Other Native American names for the March full moon are the Eagle Moon, Goose Moon, and Crow Comes Back Moon. This morning an Adult Bald Eagle sat in a tree next to the field. It knew. Nature watching is magical and can bring joy any time of day, especially at night. Nikon P950 photo on "moon" setting.

American Woodcocks Have Returned!

 

American Woodcock

Feeds by probing in the muddy ground for earthworms

Last year about this time, in our field, at dusk, we heard an American Woodcock calling it's peculiar, nasal "peent" sound. I looked through my binoculars, and could actually see the bird in the dim light. Wow, what a great bird!! Those shoe button eyes on top of its head allow it to look for predators while it feeds on earthworms with its bill stuck in the ground. One of the most astounding things about woodcocks is the males' courtship display, which is exactly what our bird was doing. After giving multiple "peents" he rose in the air in a spiral, hundreds of feet high and you could hear his wings making a twittering sound. At the very top of his flight, he made a canary-like chirping for several seconds, as he began his descent. After landing, he began his "peent" calls again. Male woodcocks do courtship displays, at dusk and dawn, in open fields, hoping to attract as many females as they can. Females go to the fields, mate with a male, then go into the woods and nest and raise the young by themselves. The young are born fully feathered and can walk and soon feed themselves. Woodcocks nest in much of the eastern part of the country. If you live near open fields you can go and listen for woodcock displays and witness this amazing woodcock behavior for yourself.

Red-breasted Nuthatches have reached the Gulf Coast!

 Cute Red-breasted Nuthatches are still at my feeders in SW NH. Even though they can breed in NH, I saw an influx here in late summer. Red-breasted Nuthatches are part of this big "irruptive" year, especially for finches, that's going on now caused by food shortages in northern areas. Many Red-breasted Nuthatches have moved out of their year round range down to the far southern edges of their non-breeding range, as shown in light purple on this eBird map for Feb. Make sure and submit your eBird reports for this species, so more can be learned about the distribution of this little nuthatch.

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Bald Eagle Attacked by Red-shouldered Hawk

Several years ago this young Bald Eagle (2nd yr.) was sitting in a large tree near our Sanibel, FL backyard, minding its own business.

When all of a sudden this Red-shouldered Hawk flies right at it, and the Bald Eagle opens its wings

and decides to get out of there. The Red-shouldered Hawk is about to attack it.

Looks like a mid-air collision. The Bald Eagle continued to fly off and the Red-shouldered Hawk left. This Red-shouldered Hawk is nesting near where the eagle was sitting and it decided it was not going to tolerate the eagle, at least not today. Lucky I had my camera nearby.

Indigo Bunting Cheeriness

Bright cheeriness helps on a gray, icy, day here in NH. Beautiful birds can lift your spirits. Indigo Bunting, male.
 

Nature is Healing

Sometimes when life is full of difficult times, as we are in now, it's just good to focus on the wonderful things in nature. This Snowy Egret may be portraying how some of you feel and just want to escape to the peacefulness of the sleeping White Pelicans, with one eye always watching. Nature is healing. Embrace it.

Northern Harriers still here!

Northern Harriers are still here, I saw one here several days ago (adult male "gray ghost") rare for my area of NH, but harriers are still being reported from coastal areas. (My photos are of female in center, and young birds, from my book, Stokes Essential Pocket Guide to Birds)

 

Birding Is A Big Tent

Birding is a big tent. Finding rare birds rates high on the Richter scale of excitement. The more rare the bird the more exciting, such as finding a first Western Hemisphere record (remember the Red-footed Falcon, Martha’s Vineyard, Aug., 2004, I do). Huge areas of birding involve searching for and recording rare birds. Are we hard-wired to seek rare birds? Yes, there is a “novelty center” of the brain (substantia nigra/ventral segmental area) that responds to completely new things. Those new things activate our midbrain area increasing our dopamine levels which make us want to go exploring in search of a reward. 

But there are other ways that people interact with birds. Sometimes it is devotion to a single species, such as a woman I knew who was all things bluebird. She taught and led conservation efforts, had her home decorated with bluebirds on tea towels, wallpaper, dinnerware and coffee mugs. She even had dinner with bluebirds, sitting at one end of her picnic table while the Eastern Bluebirds feasted on mealworms at the other end. 

Statistics tell us that there are 45 million birdwatchers in the U.S. and the majority of them relate to birds in their backyards and at their feeders. Other research says that just being able to see birds on a daily basis from your windows or neighborhood reduces depression, anxiety and stress, so no wonder the bird feeding hobby is booming during this pandemic. Some people do bird feeding in a big way with large numbers of feeders attracting a big diversity of birds. Then there are others like the man I once met in the bird aisle of a store. He had a large bag of cheap seed, full of seeds like milo that have been shown not to attract the widest variety of birds. I tried to politely engage him and educate him about getting more bird diversity with quality seed. He really didn’t want to hear it and maybe the seed he was buying was what he could afford. I don’t even think he knew or particularly cared what species he was attracting. And I though to myself, you know that’s OK. He is where he is and in his own way gets pleasure. 

So birding is a big tent. All are welcome. The point is that all in the tent have a connection to birds. That connection is a force, whether it is a glowing ember or roaring fire. That force is what can lead to people to value and conserve birds, saving the birds, the planet, and ultimately ourselves.

 

Red-shouldered Hawk, Nikon P950 and Ethical Photography

Had a great time yesterday on my NH CBC (Christmas Bird Count), longer post coming on it tomorrow. Took the Nikon P950, 2000mm superzoom and this is one example of what it did. One BIG advantage of these superzoom cameras is the ability to do ethical bird photography! It allowed me to stay in my car and NOT disturb this raptor that was hunting in the cold for much needed food necessary for survival. Photos are untouched, not cropped. For you non-photographers, take my word for it, this is impressive. To get any kind of close photo, even half sharp, at a far distance with a small sensor in dim light is good. Of course I could make them

look better in photoshop etc. but I wanted you to see the reality. 

Good-bye Phoebe, Aug. 3, 2006 - Dec. 7, 2020

Phoebe 

Puppy Phoebe

Last photo of her this morning when she could not move

Phoebe's Paw Print Memento

Cover Girl Phoebe

Phoebe excelled at agility

Abby always looked up to Phoebe

Running to the dock this summer

Phoebe in front, Andre on left, Abby on right

Now we have two Corgis, Abby on left, Andre on right. Abby loves Andre.

We lost our precious, Pembroke Welsh Corgi, Phoebe (age 14 1/2), this morning, she went over the rainbow bridge. Having to put a pet down is one of the hardest things in life, as many of you know. Each pet takes a piece of your heart. It was even harder for me as I was not able to hold her in my arms and comfort her when they put her down, because of Covid. But I know she knew I was with her. I waited in the car and sent her my love. When it was over I was left with her paw print memento and my tears. (I will get her ashes later).

Phoebe was a special girl, sweet, wise, independent, and still was doing well at age 14. In her last year she became nearly deaf (fortunately she knew hand signals from her obedience training) and clingy. She decided to sleep under my bed, wake me at 6 a.m., then kiss my ankles when I got up to take her out. Phoebe was many things: a photogenic cover girl, agility dog, blogger, excellent tracker, foodie, and wonderful mentor to cousin Abby. By the time we got Andre, a year ago, she had become pack leader emeritus, while Abby moved up in leadership. All three Corgis got along extremely well. She died of complications from back disease exacerbated by a slip during the recent storm. Ironically, yesterday, as a Christmas present for myself, I ordered a mug with three Corgis on it and they put the names on under each Corgi, Phoebe, Abby and Andre. We will miss her so much. We are grateful to still have two Corgis, thank god.

Winter Storm Eartha, Here Comes Winter!

Yesterday winter storm Eartha dropped every kind of winter weather ending with lots of ice. What a difference a day makes, as the goldfinches are demonstrating. First there was big conglomerate snowflakes as wet, heavy snow, the kind that is good for snowman making and hard to shovel! Then it changed to rain and sleet. The only good thing was that the rain washed off some of the heavy snow on branches so they did not break causing massive power outages. I know there are outages, but could have been worse, we did not lose power. The rain diminished the depth of snow cover. Then the finale was everything turning to ice last night as temps dipped. Also lots of wind. I shoveled deck three times, still ice. Keep feeders filled the birds need it!

American Tree Sparrow, Winter Beauty

American Tree Sparrow, from a few days ago. There are two at the feeder this morning, chowing down before the snowstorm. These beautiful sparrows breed in the far north and come down into much of the U.S. for winter. (Nikon p950 superzoom camera, on "birdwatching" mode, photo untouched).

 

Pine Grosbeaks, Beautiful Northern Finches, Are Here!

Finally found Pine Grosbeaks recently after searching for Common Redpolls, White-winged Crossbills and other irruptive finches all day. They were eating crabapples in a parking lot and very undisturbed by people going to their cars. Such pretty birds. In the flock of 17, I saw no adult males. Adult females and male and female first year birds look similar. Pine Grosbeaks are part of this super year for irruptive finches. They come down into the U.S. from their far northern range of mainly Canada and AK and a few northern states when their food supply there is low. Look for them at good fruit sources.

 

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Famous Barred Owl

 

If you haven't yet heard of Barry the Barred Owl, the celebrity bird now in Central Park, you soon will. This Barred Owl is one I photographed from my car so as not to disturb the owl, who was sitting on a signpost by the side of the road. Owls fascinate people and having attention focused on one can inspire and educate people, a good thing. Getting too close to photograph one and thereby disturbing it, especially if it is trying to hunt for survival, is not a good thing.

https://www.nytimes.com/.../central-park-owl-barry.html

Snow Buntings Are Coming!

Snow Buntings

Now this is the kind of snow I might be ready for. Snow Buntings are being seen in NH, especially on the coast. These beautiful small birds breed way up there in Alaska and the Arctic on tundra and rocky slopes. They winter across much of the upper one-third of the U.S, and southern Canada on weedy fields and shores. In summer, the buffy feather edges wear off, revealing the breeding plumage which is more black-and-white especially in males. The eBird map shows where they are now. A few days ago in dense fog rising from the pond, I thought I may have seen a flock across our big field, but just couldn't get a good enough confirming look, don't you hate that when it happens? However, now I am on the lookout, you should be too. (photos from another time on the NH coast)

Project FeederWatch

 

Fun winter project! Participate in Project FeederWatch from Cornell which starts this weekend. Count birds at your feeders for science.

Join now!

https://feederwatch.org/

White-winged Dove, surprise in NH!!

There's a White-winged Dove being seen at bird feeders near an industrial park in Concord, NH! Usually found in the Southwest and Southeast this Mourning Dove look-alike can be told by the white edge of its folded wings. In the Southwest it is a resident of arid areas, while in the Gulf states it is common in landscaped suburbs and parklands and regularly visits bird feeders. So even if you are not in those areas, check closely your Mourning Doves, one could turn out to be a White-winged Dove! (photo from another time)

Evening Grosbeaks, Common Redpolls, So Pretty! VOTE!

Common Redpoll

Evening Grosbeak

Some pretty winter "irruptive" finches to take your mind off today. Common Redpoll, male, left, Evening Grosbeak, male right. Hoping to see some at our feeders soon. Common Redpoll breeds way up north in northern Canada and AK, Evening Grosbeak breeds in Canada and some of western U.S. Both come down into the lower U.S. when their usual winter food supply is low. They will visit feeders here and this is looking like a good year to see them here!!