birds
Flying Tennis Balls
Feb/14/2021 09:34 AM
Carolina Wrens amuse me endlessly. There's something about their bulbous bodies and perky up-angled tails that's sort of comical. The fact that they can dart and zip around in the air proves they are nonetheless very aerodynamic. We have a couple of Wrens that frequent our feeder each day. They avoid a crowd and usually show up when the bluebirds, sparrows and (damn) starlings are elsewhere. (BTW…it's not that I dislike Starlings, but they are gluttons of the highest order. And they're bullies). Wrens on the other hand are quite polite and very tidy eaters!
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Hello Mr. Cooper!
Feb/11/2021 01:20 PM
WHILE WRITING THE POST that precedes this one I was surprised by sudden motion on the bird feeders outside my window. I turned to see a gorgeous Coopers Hawk settle on top of my feeder pole! Talk about aggressive feeding techniques! This guy (probably a male since he was on the smaller side) sat there for about five minutes looking all around. He obviously knew somebody was hiding nearby. After a short while he suddenly stepped off the pole and dropped into the snow below right by a small fir tree. There must have been some small birds taking refuge inside because Mr. Cooper crouched down and started peering up into the lower branches looking for them. I'm sure those little birds were not happy with those vermillion eyes searching for them.
There are additional pictures in the gallery of this Coopers Hawk.
Photo taken 2/11/21
There are additional pictures in the gallery of this Coopers Hawk.
Photo taken 2/11/21
They live among us...
Feb/11/2021 10:16 AM
At the beginning of February 2020 I was just finishing up building this Biota web site that I'd been contemplating for a while. Around Feb. 3rd I published the site and sent a sample link to a couple of people to get some feedback. That evening I began getting sick from what apparently was Covid-19. While the virus didn't quite kill me, it did stop the web site in its tracks. Now, a full year later, my mind has wandered back to this web site. A big part of that is a result of the vivid interest people in the Northview neighborhood have shown toward the wild life recently spotted around our houses and on our porches! So consider this web site an homage to the bears and the birds and the bugs and bramble that we live among.
Be sure to check out the hawk and owl photos in the Gallery taken by Stuart Chipkin from his back deck. When I say the animals live among us—I'm not kidding!
Photo: © 2021 Stuart Chipkin
Be sure to check out the hawk and owl photos in the Gallery taken by Stuart Chipkin from his back deck. When I say the animals live among us—I'm not kidding!
Photo: © 2021 Stuart Chipkin
The Bluebirds of Happy-ness Valley
Feb/01/2020 03:15 PM
WE'VE BEEN BIRD WATCHING on and off for almost 40 years. So it's odd that I've never seen a Bluebird until this past year. Right here in Northampton they show up each year at our feeders. Last year they'd just visit and watch from nearby. This year we decided to "go big" with dried mealworms to tempt them. It worked! Now while the sparrows and finches fight like angry hoards over seeds, the Bluebirds perch on the mealworm tray and dine. I was beginning to think they were a little self-entitled until the European Starlings showed up. The way those guys eat, the Bluebirds are going to have to be a little more assertive or go hungry.
Photo taken: January 28, 2020, Feeders adjacent to Mill River trail head on Higgins Way.
Photo taken: January 28, 2020, Feeders adjacent to Mill River trail head on Higgins Way.