Archive - November 2008
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| Late November 2008 |
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We saw a white
throated sparrow foraging on the ground under
the feeders with some juncos. This version had
the black and white head (sure stands out in a
crowd) and, of course, the yellow spot at each
eye. Our backyard is located at the line
between migration and summer, which makes him a
surprise visitor, but always more than welcome. |
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| ...more info and photos |
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| While getting the last drink
of water before bed, I heard a rustling at the kitchen
window. Turning on the porch light, after I also saw
two of my cats staring out into the darkness, I saw
something fly across the porch. I was certain it must
be a bat. Surprise! A goldfinch landed on the heated
birdbath. He took several sips tilting his head back to
swallow each time. He was there long enough for Food
Guy to see this unusual sight. Unfortunately, we don't
have the camera equipment yet to take photos in that
much darkness. Sources say, night flight for this type
of bird is rare and is probably the result of predator
disturbance or a lighted area resembling dawn.
Personally, I think someone pushed him off his perch for
snoring. |
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November 28, 2008 - I
read an article recently that said that pine
siskins often go unnoticed at bird feeders. They
tend to feed with house and purple finches (and
in my yard, lots of goldfinches). A quick,
passing glance at a group of finches chomping
away at sunflower seeds or on nyjer sacks may
not be enough to distinguish these quiet,
unassuming birds. |
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November 28, 2008 -
While scanning the main feeder area for
potential bird pictures, I noticed a flash of
red in the distance. After adjusting my lens, I
was thrilled to see a pileated woodpecker in a
pine tree by our log garden. We have
occasionally seen one of these woodpeckers, but
get very little chance to take clear, focused
photos. We are proud to be part of their large
territory. Since they need a huge area of
mature deciduous and conifer trees to survive,
we only see them when they visit our trees
(assuming, of course, we are actually watching). |
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November 28, 2008 -
Following a pileated woodpecker into the woods
with the camera lens, Food Guy saw a small group
of four robins in one tree. (This photo was the
sharpest of the group.) So, our robins did head
further into our wooded area and didn't migrate
south. (If they're closer at hand, does that
mean spring is closer, as well? --- Guess not.)
In spring and summer, our robins were not as
gregarious (instinctively seeking the company of
others ) as they appear to be in cold weather.
This is true of most birds, as there is no need
for competition over territory and mate
selection in fall and winter. |
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| ...more photos and info |
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| Mid November 2008 |
| November 12, 2008 - In the
Northeast we're having some winter-like changes in our
weather. The gusty winds seem to have blown in some
strange doings in our backyard today: |
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First we saw a common
grackle- unusual enough since he is a summer
bird in our area. Admittedly we did see several
grackles in mid October, but they ceased to be
part of the regular yard gang the first week of
August. This particular grackle was dragging one
wing. But he had no apparent trouble snatching
corn that had dropped to the ground from tray
feeders. When startled by a bossy blue jay, the
grackle easily flew to a tree branch. A few of
his friends wandered around under the outer
feeders feasting on the overboard, easy pickin's.
After several hours, the grackles moved on,
taking their wing-challenged brother with them. |
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| ...more photos and info |
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November 16, 2008 -
While scanning the backyard looking for photo
opportunities, I noticed a group of ground grazers that consisted of
mourning doves, blue jays and several sparrow-like birds. I was expecting to see
American tree sparrows, since these guys were with us all last winter. I had only one
sighting of them this fall in mid October. I've been watching for this
group ever since the chipping sparrows left the first day of September. Instead, I saw
several house sparrows, both male and female. I hadn't seen these guys since last June, when
their last fledgling had left the nest they placed in one of the birdhouses. |
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We installed a heated
birdbath this weekend. We already have two
birdbaths with solar powered fountain sprays, a
small cascading fountain, two ceramic birdbaths
with stones and small pavers for perches, one
dish of water at ground level, a small pond with
pavers and a slightly elevated glass bowl with
rocks and water, and a hanging water pan. In
addition to these, the back of our property
drops down steeply to a small river. (These
sources of water for the birds and other
wildlife in our yard will be discussed further
at Backyard Habitat.) However, since none of
this other water will be available consistently
throughout our Northeast winters, we decided to
now offer a constant supply of water for our
wintering birds. |
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| We added a water
wiggler to attract any thirsty residents or
casual visitors. It makes little waves that
resembles the ripples made while skipping stones
in a pond. So far we have seen only one curious
tufted titmouse sit on the edge and watch the
action. |
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November 16, 2008 -
At first we thought we saw a song sparrow. The
size, the gray on the head, and the bright
cinnamon color soon indicated that we had a
migrating visitor we had never seen before. We
managed to snap some photos for the "guest book"
of the fox sparrow. What a pretty bird! More on
this guy will be posted soon in his own spot in
the feathered friends section. |
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| ...more photos and info |
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| Early November 2008 |
| The beginning of November has
brought back some old friends and presented us with
interesting new buddies. |
| The song sparrow was
last seen in our backyard the first week of
August. On November 1st he came back. Judging
by the picture we took, I can't imagine how we
even saw him in his better than average
camouflage colors. Perhaps he was still wearing
his Halloween costume from the day before--going
as the seed and autumn debris found under a bird
feeder. Anyway, we are happy he's back in time
to enjoy the winter with us. Our backyard falls
almost exactly on the division between his
summer and year-round territory. Please stay-
we'll be able see ya better in the snow. |
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The last time we took
a photo of a bluebird was the end of July.
So, I thought Food
Guy was seeing things when he said he saw one in
early November. A couple of days later, a
beautiful bluebird was trying to drink from our
leaf covered pond. We had pulled and cleaned the
pump and bubbler in anticipation of
winterizing the backyard. Much fresher
sources of water surround us. Anyway, the
opportunity to take pictures was priceless. |
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| It seems that the bluebird
has a very similar seasonal and territorial situation as
the song sparrow. Lucky us, that one stopped by to
quench his thirst and say hello. |
| ...more photos and info |
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| This week brought some other
visitors to our backyard and front yard. We have
caught opossum, deer and skunks in our headlights on our
own driveway. |
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We set up some lights
in our side yard near the pond and took photos
of two different skunks, one having much broader
white, side strips than the other. After
several nights of watching, we noticed that an
opossum also arrived in the yard at the same
time, every time (no clear photos of him yet).
He kept a healthy distance from the skunk, and
it wasn't clear if the skunk was even aware of
the opossum. Both animals enjoyed the
areas under the feeders,
especially those sloppy with sunflower seeds.
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| We were careful not
to annoy or startle our new black and white
friends and hoped all other
nocturnal travelers were equally careful.
Before we ever saw any skunks, we were aware of
at least one unhappy, encounter when
we smelled the results of his spray. |
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