I suspect that the red oak tree in our front yard will not emerge in full foliage next spring. It’s a multi-trunk tree, and one of the trunks has been devastated by some unknown assailant – borers, oak wilt, dengue fever, black plague, overexposure to Lady Gaga…who knows? We had it treated by a tree… Continue reading Bird’s Nest Troupe
Category: Wildlife – Birds
Mocking Bird
I was driving past the south pond this morning and something caught my eye on the far bank. I pulled into the clubhouse parking lot, grabbed the camera (which, for once, actually had a charged battery) and set out across the grounds to get a closer look. Turned out to be this guy: It’s a… Continue reading Mocking Bird
Goose Update
Remember our neighborhood’s one-legged goose? I’m pleased to report that he/she/it appears to have effectively adapted to its unipedal status, as evidenced by this photo taken yesterday evening: The bird at right is the goose in question, and as we watched the trio feeding along the bank, it was doing the one-foot-hop with ease. It’s… Continue reading Goose Update
The Goose Whisperer
Sorry about the post title; it’s the best I can do at 6:30 a.m. Anyway, this story does deal with a goose – a one-legged goose at that. Earlier this month, someone noticed that one of the three geese that have taken up residence at the ponds had an injured leg. One of our neighbors… Continue reading The Goose Whisperer
Overheard Bird
All afternoon, while puttering around in the front yard, we’ve been hearing this odd bird call, kind of a plaintive “squawk,” not harsh like a grackle’s, but a bit more melodic. It sounded familiar to me, but I just couldn’t place it. Nor could I discern its source. Then, a few minutes ago, the call… Continue reading Overheard Bird
Front Porch Update (or, “Doo doo doo, lookin’ out my front door”)
It’s important to keep the Historical Records up to date, so here’s what’s happening in the front part of la hacienda: Barn Swallows – When last we checked in on the little #@*%& fellows, their nest was almost complete. It’s now finished and positioned so close to the ceiling that we can’t see inside the… Continue reading Front Porch Update (or, “Doo doo doo, lookin’ out my front door”)
Stationary Hummer
So, say you’re a hummingbird trying to cope with 40mph+ winds, blowing dust and smoke from wildfires on the north and the south, temperatures in the 90s and humidity around 5%. What would you do? Probably the same thing this little guy is doing…perching on a tomato cage sheltered by a concrete block wall, and… Continue reading Stationary Hummer
Barn Swallows 1, Us 0
If eternal vigilance is the price of freedom, we’ve just been enslaved due to inattention. I stepped onto the front porch this morning, just before daybreak, and this caught my eye: I swear, that nest was not there yesterday at noon, when Debbie and I did our usual lunch hour tour of the front yard… Continue reading Barn Swallows 1, Us 0
Avocet Video
Remember the flock of avocets that visited our neighborhood pond last weekend? Sure you do! Anyway, I finally got around to editing the video I shot and I’ve uploaded it to YouTube. You can either view it there via this link, or just click the following embed. Note that the source footage* is HD so… Continue reading Avocet Video
Awesome Acrobatic Avocets!
Debbie and I were in the front yard yesterday afternoon – she was working; I was, um, supervising – and our eyes were drawn to a flock of birds circling our neighborhood’s north pond, about two blocks away. I grabbed my video camera, and then returned and got my SLR with a long lens, and… Continue reading Awesome Acrobatic Avocets!