Farm Birds

Blue Jay

2011-02-10T04:14:00.001-08:00

Blue Jay 2
Originally uploaded by paynehollow

I just realized I had not included Blue Jays, yet. Of course, you can find these beautiful birds and their less than beautiful yelling out at the farm.

Yellow Crowned Night Heron

2010-05-13T09:39:00.001-07:00

Yellow Crowned Night Heron
Originally uploaded by paynehollow

I found several of these at a wetlands preserve while visiting Jordan in Murfreesboro, TN. However, in theory, we might spot one at the farm some day.

Just not yet, so far as I know. Perhaps the farm pond is not a big enough wetland area to attract them. This is a fine, striking bird whose yellow "cap" on his head is much brighter than it appears in this photo.

Kingfisher

2010-02-17T11:28:00.001-08:00

Kingfisher
Originally uploaded by paynehollow

by Norman MacCaig

That kingfisher jewelling upstream
seems to leave a streak of itself
in the bright air. The trees
are all the better for its passing.

It's not a mineral eater, though it looks it.
It doesn't nip nicks out of the edges
of rainbows. - It dives
into the burly water, then, perched
on a Japanese bough, gulps
into its own incandescence
a wisp of minnow, a warrior stickleback.
- Or it vanishes into its burrow, resplendent
Samurai, returning home
to his stinking slum.

This beautiful streak of a bird has been spotted over near the pond at the farm, but not often.

Cooper's Hawk

2009-09-30T14:19:00.001-07:00

Hawk 2
Originally uploaded by paynehollow

I think.

This hawk looks (to me) a good bit like the Red-Tailed Hawk (at least from this angle) and I'm told it looks pretty similar to the slightly smaller Sharp-Shinned Hawk.

This particular hawk very nearly flew through the window at our house, lifting up just before crashing into it. He still smacked into it, but as he was slowing down and lifting up.

He looked a bit dazed and stopped to rest a moment in the Maple tree in our backyard.

Let that be a lesson to you...

Black Crowned Night Heron Juvenile

2009-08-27T10:00:00.001-07:00

Black Crowned Night Heron Juvenile 2
Originally uploaded by paynehollow

This wading bird was spotted over on the Ohio, a few miles from the farm. They are in the region and could be spotted at the farm in theory.

This is the Juvenile version of the bird, the full-grown bird looks a bit different. The brown feathers give way to a more luxurious and dignified gray and white coat, complete with a black cap, hence the name. It's a large bird, larger than a crow but smaller than the Great Blue Heron.

Indigo Bunting

2009-08-27T09:22:00.001-07:00

Indigo Bunting 1
Originally uploaded by paynehollow

These are gorgeous birds and any photo that I have ever taken does not do them justice. And, if I'm not mistaken, it's Cindy BK's favorite bird.

As far as I know, no one has spotted one yet at the farm, but they are certainly in the region.

Brown Thrasher

2009-08-27T09:14:00.001-07:00

Brown Thrasher 1
Originally uploaded by paynehollow

The Brown Thrasher is a robin-sized bird with brownish, sparrow-like plumage. Except more brilliant and distinct. I spotted this one down by the bridge in August, interrupting his lunch, it appears.

Catbird

2009-05-12T09:53:00.001-07:00

Catbird
Originally uploaded by paynehollow

I've seen these a good bit at the farm here lately (April/May). This one is hiding in the apple tree.

The catbird is in shades of gray and looks a bit like a mockingbird, but without the white bars on the wings. It actually has a sort of "meow"-y sounding song, at least at times. I don't know, but would suspect that would be the origin of the name.

Downy Woodpecker

2009-05-06T10:54:00.001-07:00

Downy Woodpecker 2
Originally uploaded by paynehollow

Excerpts from The Downy Woodpecker, by John Burroughs

Downy came and dwelt with me,
Taught me hermit lore;
Drilled his cell in oaken tree
Near my cabin door.

Architect of his own home
In the forest dim,
Carving its inverted dome
In a dozy limb...

Waking up the frozen woods,
Shaking down the snows;
Many trees of many moods
Echo to his blows.

When the storms of winter rage,
Be it night or day,
Then I know my little page
Sleeps the time away...

We are neighbors well agreed
Of a common lot;
Peace and love our only creed
In this charm'd spot.

Scarlet Tanager

2009-05-06T10:46:00.001-07:00

Scarlet Tanager
Originally uploaded by paynehollow

The Scarlet Tanager is a brilliant red bird with strikingly crisp black wings that is common in our region. However, they are rarely seen because, I'm told, they are a secretive bird that prefers to remain in the forest canopies.

Not unlike some of us, I suppose...

Eastern Towhee

2009-05-06T10:35:00.001-07:00

Eastern Towhee
Originally uploaded by paynehollow

The Eastern Towhee looks a bit similar in shape and size to the Robin, but has a white breast with red sides and a black back.

I've seen these guys in the blackberry briars at the farm, which has made getting a photo pretty tricky. This photo was taken at Louisville Nature Preserve, which has a bird blind which helps tremendously in getting good photos...

Purple Finch

2009-05-06T10:32:00.001-07:00

Purple Finch 2
Originally uploaded by paynehollow

A slightly better, if grainier, shot of a purple finch than the previous post...

Purple Finch

2009-04-10T09:30:00.001-07:00

Purple Finch
Originally uploaded by paynehollow

I believe this bird is a purple finch, although I'm open to being corrected.

The purple finch is easy to confuse with normal sparrows, as its reddish color can be fairly muted. Despite its name, I think its color is a bit more in the red range.

Sort of like how the Redbud tree is actually more purplish, but in reverse...

And that's about all I know for now.

Female Bluebird

2009-04-01T07:33:00.001-07:00

Female Bluebird
Originally uploaded by paynehollow

Cautiously watching this cameraman and waiting for him to leave so she can return to her birdhouse.

Bluebird

2009-04-01T07:21:00.001-07:00

Bluebird
Originally uploaded by paynehollow

The Last Word of a Bluebird
Robert Frost

As I went out a Crow
In a low voice said, "Oh,
I was looking for you.
How do you do?
I just came to tell you
To tell Lesley (will you?)
That her little Bluebird
Wanted me to bring word
That the north wind last night
That made the stars bright
And made ice on the trough
Almost made him cough
His tail feathers off.
He just had to fly!
But he sent her Good-by,
And said to be good,
And wear her red hood,
And look for the skunk tracks
In the snow with an ax-
And do everything!
And perhaps in the spring
He would come back and sing."

Cedar Waxwing

2009-04-01T07:09:00.001-07:00

Cedar Waxwing 1
Originally uploaded by paynehollow

I've been seeing these guys around a lot this spring - they gather in the dozens in the holly tree next to the house and in the surrounding trees.

Fun Waxwing Facts...

* Cedar Waxwings normally have bright yellow tail tips. However, some with orange tail tips began appearing in this hemisphere in the 1960s. Apparently, about that time, someone introduced a different species of honeysuckle with red berries. Waxwings that eat the berries while they're growing their tail feathers, may have the tips of the feather come in orange.

* Waxwings are one of the few temperate dwelling birds that specializes in eating fruit (frugivorous!). They can survive on eating fruit alone for months. And, I'm told, that unlike many birds that regurgitate seeds from fruit they eat, the Cedar Waxwing sends the seeds out the other end.

For those who were wondering...

* Waxwings are vulnerable to intoxication and even death if they eat fermented fruit. Not unlike other bipeds we know. (Are birds "bipeds??")

So, keep an eye out for tipsy Waxwings.

Great Blue Heron

2009-03-13T13:26:00.001-07:00

Blue Heron
Originally uploaded by paynehollow

I've yet to see one of these impressive birds at the farm, other than seeing them fly over. I believe Roger has seen one at the pond before, though. Lucky fella.

These guys are massive and beautiful in their awkward, shy grace and one of my favorite birds to watch. You can see them fairly frequently anywhere down on the Ohio River - even alongside the monstrous I-64 stretch of the river.

The American Crow

2009-03-13T13:20:00.001-07:00

Old Crow
Originally uploaded by paynehollow

it is ubiquitous, at the farm as in the rest of the region. Its distinctive call (a very loud and insistent, "Caw - Caw - Caw") and large size makes it easy to hear and see.

One morning last fall, I kept noticing crows in twos, threes and fours, flying overhead at the farm, landing just north of the north ridge. I couldn't see where they were landing but it sounded like there had to be dozens or even hundreds of them cawing away, just beyond my view. It was an eerie and awesome sound coming from that murder of crows.

American Robin

2008-10-20T16:19:00.001-07:00

Robin
Originally uploaded by paynehollow

If I can stop one Heart from breaking I shall not live in vain If I can ease one life the Aching Or cool one Pain Or help one fainting Robin Unto his Nest again I shall not live in Vain.

~Emily Dickinson

When I look at ugliness, I see beauty.
When I am far from home, I see old friends.
When there is noise, I hear a robin's song instead.
When I am in a crowd, it is the mountain's peace I feel.
In the winter of my sorrow, I remember the summer of my joy.
In the nighttime of my loneliness, I breathe the day of my thanksgiving.
But when the sadness spreads its blanket and that is what I see,
I take my eyes to some high place
until I find a reflection of what lies deep inside of me.

~Navajo saying

Northern Flicker

2008-10-20T16:16:00.001-07:00

Northern Flicker
Originally uploaded by paynehollow

A common ant-eating woodpecker of open areas, the Northern Flicker has two color forms found in different regions. The yellow-shafted form is common across the eastern and northern parts of North America, while the red-shafted form is the one found in the West.

It is the yellow-shafted (ie, it has a bright yellow coloring under its tail) seen in this photo and on the farm.

Mourning Dove

2008-10-20T16:13:00.001-07:00

Dove
Originally uploaded by paynehollow

Abundant and widespread, the Mourning Dove is well known throughout most of North America. Its mournful call is heard from deserts to forest edges, from farmlands to inner cities.

Wild Turkey

2008-10-19T07:20:00.001-07:00

Turkey Closeup 2
Originally uploaded by paynehollow

"I froze and saw a few turkeys heading away, up a hill. More foraged farther up, and others to the right were threading their way through shrubs and boulders. Spread out across the hillside, the flock moved slowly to the left, noisily raking their feet through the leaves...

My approach drove half the flock over the crest of the hill; the rest went over a stone wall to the left. Suddenly, I was alone on the hillside, and all was quiet. An eerie peacefulness pervaded the scene—had they really been here, these feathered dinosaurs?

The proof was all around: dozens of bare circles of earth rimmed with leaves, a swath covering the full breadth of the hillside, bordered by a stone wall to the west, a road to the east. It was, I thought, an avian Stonehenge, and I had seen its creators at work."

~Robert Winkler

Northern Flicker

2008-09-22T12:51:00.001-07:00

Northern Flicker
Originally uploaded by paynehollow

Or Yellow-Shafted Flicker, I believe, would be the most accurate name. In the woodpecker family, but doesn't have the more distinctive black/white coloration.

Eastern Towhee

2008-09-22T12:06:00.001-07:00

Eastern Towhee, Maybe?
Originally uploaded by paynehollow

This is not a very good photo, but you can see that the Towhee looks a bit similar in shape and size to the Robin, but has a white breast with red sides and a black back.

I've seen these guys in the blackberry briars at the farm, which has made getting a photo pretty tricky.

Mockingbird

2008-09-22T12:04:00.001-07:00

Mockingbird
Originally uploaded by paynehollow

Mock

Yeah

ing

Yeah

Bird

Yeah

Yeah

Yeah

Mockingbird...

American Redstart

2008-09-21T21:02:00.001-07:00

American Redstart, Maybe 1
Originally uploaded by paynehollow

Maybe. I am not at all sure of this one, as it is a new identify for me. I was suspecting some sort of Oriole, as I've seen Baltimore Orioles in these Indiana woods. But it does not appear to be any type of Oriole, so far as I can tell and the Redstart seems to match.

I spotted this one in September and there were several of these flying around with what looked like some finches.

Red-Bellied Woodpecker

2008-06-30T14:16:00.001-07:00

Red-Bellied Woodpecker
Originally uploaded by paynehollow

Unless I'm mistaken, this is the red-BELLIED woodpecker, not the red-HEADED woodpecker (which is what I've been calling it). The Red-headed woodpecker - which I've never seen in person - has a distinctive red hood covering his whole head.

Regardless, this here bird in this picture is a frequent visitor to the farm and can be often heard and occasionally spotted, if one is so inclined.

Carolina Chicadee

2008-05-16T12:31:00.001-07:00

Carolina Chicadee
Originally uploaded by paynehollow

Indiana, I believe, is the northern edge of this bird's range, but they have been frequent visitors in the woods of the farm. As their name suggests, their song sounds a bit like "chick-a-dee, chick-a-dee."

Or so I'm told.

Brown-headed Cowbirds

2008-05-13T14:09:00.001-07:00

Brownheaded Cowbirds
Originally uploaded by paynehollow

Fairly easy to mistake, at a glance, for a starling, with a closer look, you will notice the male has a brownish head and a blue-ish/black body.

Does anyone know if the gray bird in this photo is the female brown-headed cowbird? I assumed it was because I spot these together frequently, but it didn't really look like the pictures I've seen online of the female.

Cowbirds like to make their nests in already existing nests of other birds. I'm assuming the other birds don't like that much.

Redwing Blackbird

2008-05-13T13:44:00.001-07:00

Redwing Blackbird
Originally uploaded by paynehollow

A very common bird in the countryside in this region. Often found near wetlands, they have been seen regularly at the farm.

Cardinal

2008-04-30T09:45:00.001-07:00

Cardinal
Originally uploaded by paynehollow

The cardinal has the distinction of being the State Bird for both Indiana and Kentucky. Easy to spot the bright red male cardinals and seen at the farm year-round.

Tufted Titmouse

2008-04-30T09:42:00.001-07:00

Tufted Titmouse
Originally uploaded by paynehollow

Spotted at the farm. Small, grey and white with flashes of orange beneath their wings.

Nuthatch

2008-04-30T09:38:00.001-07:00

Nuthatch
Originally uploaded by paynehollow

Nuthatches have been frequently spotted at the farm. They are fun to watch as they climb trees in that they "walk down" headfirst when heading towards the ground.