ID'd early this morning in my backyard with the help of my Merlin Bird ID app! #birds#birdwatching
Great Horned Owl
When clenched, a Great Horned Owl’s strong talons require a force of 28 pounds to open. The Great Horned Owl is a very aggressive nighttime hunter and strikes from above. This is why they are sometimes called “tigers of the night.” They use their strong talons to carry animals several times heavier than they are.
Picture: All About Birds
Using the free Merlin Bird ID app, I was astonished to find there were SIXTEEN different species of birds in my backyard early this morning!
The app identifies a bird by a picture or their chirp. If it's ID'd by chirp, it displays a photo. I learned today that the weird sounding bird I sometimes hear is a Carolina Wren.
This pelican is about to land in the Calcasieu Ship Channel, Cameron Parish Louisiana. Where are large group of white pelicans were gathered.
"American White Pelicans cooperate when feeding. Sometimes, large groups gather in wetlands. They coordinate their swimming to drive schooling fish toward the shallows. The pelicans can then easily scoop up these corralled fish from the water." - allaboutbirds.org
Hmmm ... what will I ramble on about this morning? How about car seats? Do you remember vinal car seats? They were the thing for years. I wonder if they still make vinal car seats. A fashionable car seat back in the day, was black tuck and roll vinal car seats in a souped-up car. I suppose vinal was popular because it looked like leather. I only dreamed of getting something like that done to my old cars, but they had vinal seats ... cracked vinal, but they were vinal :). That was the problem with vinal, after a while, it cracked revealing the foam stuffing. I don't want to forget the torn cloth ceiling liners in the old cars.
“No, no, no. There's no such thing as cheap and cheerful. It's cheap and nasty & expensive and cheerful.” - Jeremy Clarkson
Well, I'm a Dodgers fan, but I know there are lots of blue jay (Cyanocitta cristata) fans out there. The only baseball teams I can think of named after birds are the Blue Jays and the Orioles ... oh there are the Cardinals. I'll post a cardinal tomorrow.
"The Blue Jay frequently mimics the calls of hawks, especially the Red-shouldered Hawk. These calls may provide information to other jays that a hawk is around or may be used to deceive other species into believing a hawk is present." - allaboutbirds.org
I took this photo early this morning with my phone using only the light of the tree. Maybe turning the room lights on would have been a good idea. This Christmas is the first Christmas in a long time that we've had a child in the house, our great-grandchild. Hence the new tree, last year I took a ceramic tree, set it on the table, and said ... done. As you might imagine, most of the gifts under the tree are for him. Hmmm ... it feels strange being a great-grandfather. That's the way the world turns.
“Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn't before! What if Christmas, he thought, doesn't come from a store. What if Christmas...perhaps...means a little bit more!”
Learning how to be hawks 😍 I’m not sure what happened to their mother but these three hawks,who hatched in my pine, seemed to be left alone to learn everything about adult hawk life. One of the three decided he would teach the others and it was the most adorable thing to watch. Here they are attentively watching a lesson. #backyardbirds#birdwatching#birds#raptor#hawk#nature#wildlife#birdphotography
Sitting on my back deck earlier with my Merlin Bird ID app. I identified three new birds! One was a shock!
The new birds were: a brown-headed cowbird, an Indigo Bunting, and....a Great Blue Heron!!! That last one was a shock! I live in SE PA, I had no idea they were here. It popped up on the audio ID, and I looked around. I finally saw it in my neighbor's yard. I tried to get a picture, but it disappeared around the corner. This is what it looks like (picture from Google) #birds#birdwatching
Last year I had exactly ONE butter butt all season and my butter butt has returned 🥳
This is the single most charming little bird I’ve had the pleasure of meeting. Well, up in the top few at least. Now I’m off to do cleaning that I’ve been avoiding, have a lovely day! 🌻 #backyardbirds#birdwatching#birds#nature#wildlife#birdphotography
Attached is a five-minute clip of M15 and his frequent lady friend beginning nestorations!!! This is the female who may have been hanging around with him since late last season. For background: M15 lost his longtime mate last season. Harriet was 25 when she died. M15 is about 13.
Interestingly, despite the fact that this is M15's nest, the new female he pairs with will be the dominant one.
Like a pork rind cowboy ... da da dum 🎶 ... riding out on a bus with a box full of Orieos 🎵
I'll let you guess what tune goes with the preceding jingle.
I can remember my mother working as an usher in a movie theater. I suppose that would have been in the late 50s ... Okland, California, I think. In those days ushers wore uniforms and carried flashlights. She took us with her to work a couple times, at least long enough to watch a movie. I don't recall what movie, but I do remember the Three Stooges. I'm not sure if that was the main feature or one of the shorts they showed before the main feature.
"I mean, the whole idea of movies was it was special to go to see - you went to a movie theater to see something that was magical and amazing, in a very special location. - Bob Balaban
Using my Merlin Bird ID app, I learned today that I had two different kinds of crows in my backyard - The American Crow and the Fish Crow. That was news to me. I just thought they were all the same kind of crows!
American Crows give a burry, full-throated “caw,” while Fish Crows are more nasal sounding, often giving short “cow” notes in pairs.
*photos are not mine. I googled the pictures you see.
There were a bunch of these American crows (Corvus brachyrhynchos) in a pine tree near a lake I was at a couple days ago. They started leaving when I showed up, I guess I was kind of invading their personal space. These two hung around long enough for me to get a few pics.
"Crows are crafty foragers that sometimes follow adult birds to find where their nests are hidden. They sometimes steal food from other animals. A group of crows was seen distracting a river otter to steal its fish, and another group followed Common Mergansers to catch minnows the ducks were chasing into the shallows. They also sometimes follow songbirds as they arrive from a long migration flight and capture the exhausted birds. Crows also catch fish, eat from outdoor dog dishes, and take fruit from trees." - allaboutbirds.org
Using my Merlin Bird ID app when I sit on my back deck, I've identified over 24 species of birds. Pictures are from Google.
Indigo Buntings are not the most social birds. During the breeding season, they can be very territorial and would often search for food alone. They migrate at night and use the stars as their guides. They learn songs while they’re young from male Indigo Buntings nearby. A local Indigo Bunting song can last for up to 20 years
A cheeky Shore Lark overwintering at the Holkham Gap, one of fourteen that were spooked by a springy spaniel half a mile away from us and flew towards us for a spontaneous photoshoot