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.
Wednesday, April 1, 2009
Friday, March 13, 2009
Great Blue Heron
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.
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
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.
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.
Monday, October 20, 2008
American Robin
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
~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
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.
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
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.
Sunday, October 19, 2008
Wild Turkey
"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
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
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