Birds
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Feeling Crabby
I have quite a few photos I haven’t posted this year. For this one, I’m reaching back to last summer, when we visited the Outer Banks and were amused and captivated by the hermit crabs. Have you ever seen a more dejected expression than this little crab wears?
We enjoyed watching them survey the world from their holes, darting out now and then and scurrying quickly back to hide. My husband even set up what we happily dubbed the Crab Cam to capture one on film.
Of course, there were plenty of other sights as well: ospreys, pelicans, dolphins, shorebirds, and the various lovely moods and prospects of the ocean.
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Cooper the Stalker
The Cooper’s hawk is not my favorite — especially when he shows up, as he periodically does, at our bird feeder. Though usually he’s unsuccessful, it seems exceptionally uncivil to turn our efforts to help his fellow birds maintain a food supply in winter into an opportunity to kill and eat them. Nevertheless, I have to admire his handsomeness and athleticism. This series captures one of his visits, when he landed on the feeder and then noticed what must’ve been a mouse on the ground near the woodpile. He left empty-taloned, but his thought processes were easy to read.
This is where the appetizers usually get delivered, right? 
Waiting, waiting… Hey, what’s that on the ground near the woodpile? 
Here, mousy mousy! 
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Even sparrows
In trying out the new camera my husband blessed me with, my most cooperative subject was a song sparrow. There were other birds around — a yellow throat, a yellow warbler, a redstart. The sparrow is the least exotic and colorful. Yet a close look shows even sparrows to be remarkably varied.
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Spring songs
A prothonotary warbler that hit a window, recovered, and flew away. My camera is off to a Canon service center to get its autofocus repaired. Some internal problem keeps it from getting sharply focused images. That leaves me with eyes, binoculars, and ears for processing the season.
It’s a blessing in a way, because I’ve been reminded of how much I’ve learned about my place since I started paying attention. Just listening out the windows and around the yard, I’ve heard:
- Rose-breasted grosbeaks
- Orioles
- Catbirds
- A veery
- A hermit thrush
- A chestnut-sided warbler
- Chickadees
- House wrens
- Carolina wrens
- Robins
- Titmice
- Nuthatches
- Blue jays
- Cardinals
- A blue wing
- Song sparrows
- Chipping sparrows
- White-throated sparrows
At a friend’s house, I added:
- An oven bird
- A common yellow throat
- A field sparrow
It’s quite the symphony. Other birds — cedar waxwings, ruby-throated hummingbirds, juncoes, white crowned sparrows, and yellow-rumped and blackburnian warblers — also have songs, but they are often so high pitched that I don’t notice them. They tend to blend in with other kinds of sounds in the neighborhood. I’ve seen these birds here too in recent days, either passing through on their way northward or settling in and staking their territorial claims.
How many other creatures are there out there that I’m not aware of yet? Before learning these birds, the spring brought an indistinguishable barrage of sound, but without knowing who was contributing what songs it was not “readable” or “hearable.” Now I recognize it as intricate orchestral score that showcases the individual themes of any number of birds singing simultaneously, calling and responding to establish property lines, attract mates, or stay together in migration.
The more you look, the more you see — and hear.
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Bob-o-link field
This field invited us to stop the car and try to capture the scene. The field was filled with bob-o-links making their strange, R2D2 racket.
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Interior decoration
She was gathering bark for the nest but dropped it to scream. Yes, I felt badly… even though we were actually passing by at a good clip and did not stop to stare or harrass her.
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Bright Back Yard
The male goldfinches are glorious when they brighten up after their winter drabness.
I fear my camera was damaged when it tipped over and hit the ground at a polo match over the winter. It doesn’t focus sharply when I try to zoom in on the beautiful spring birds. I’m not sure where to take it for repair.
Here are a few more bright fellows back in time for our chilly spring:
Indigo buntings come through this time of year, but they have never stayed before. Who knows? Maybe this year they will.
The rose-breasted grosbeak is always a favorite. We have three pairs of them battling over the feeder.
Orioles are beautiful, conversational singers. I’ve read that grape jelly in a hummingbird feeder will bring them in. We’re using our feeder for the hummers, as we have three ruby throats — a male and two females — depending on it. But maybe I can find a way to rig up a feeder for orioles, too.
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Tree Swallows
If only I could capture these amazing fliers in action… They are too quick for me, so I settle for shots of them looking pensive.
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Protective mother
This leucistic redtail has been sitting on her nest for some weeks, and now she appears to be feeding young.
Instead of being nestled down into the nest, we see her sitting more erect, as she is in this picture. Often she’s on the edge of the nest, peering down, probably giving tiny bites to tiny beaks.
It’s interesting to see the fresh greens she has apparently added to the nest. I know Big Red did the same thing in the Cornell hawk nest we observed a few years ago too, though I’m not sure what the purpose is.
It’s been awhile since I’ve seen the male, so I hope he’s all right. At this stage, there’s plenty for both parents to do.
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Mrs. Junco
The light was poor, but I couldn’t help trying to get a photo of this junco nesting in the artificial wreath at church. She must handle stress well, as her home is right at the main entrance…
and she is perpetually watched by a fake bird almost exactly her size.
