Relaxing Nature Meditation: 16 minutes of a "Frog and Toad Symphony". Just add water to the woods behind the Backyard and you have the music of Green Tree Frogs, Cuban Tree Frogs, Eastern Narrow Mouthed Frogs, Bull Frogs, Cricket Frogs, Chorus Frogs and a few similar sounding toads that all come out to take advantage of the temporary bounty of standing water. The diversity of calls ranging from various barks to sounds like sheep and crickets is amazing. There is nothing to see - it's pitch dark - just kick back and enjoy the music of nature!
An uncommon capture of a large Turkey Vulture looking rather dignified and handsome and just relaxing on a fence post perch in a remote grassland area of central Florida.
Our Red-Bellied Woodpeckers decided not to nest in our Woodpecker nest box last spring despite trying it out thoroughly. I think they instinctively knew the location was not perfect. The problem was it was exposed to squirrels - and in the months since they have made it into a "squirrel nest box" by chewing right through two 3/4 inch boards. You will see the result at the end of the video! The only thing that can keep squirrels out of a nest box is a metal plate over the opening - maybe
Niagara Falls which includes the larger Horseshoe or Canadian Falls and the smaller Bridal Veil Falls is an amazing natural wonder I haven't visited since a kid. The water flow over the combined falls is the greatest in the world and quite a spectacle. I was pleasantly surprised upon returning recently. There are plenty of touristy things to do away from falls and the "tourist trap" image probably deters some from visiting, but there is still a lot besides the obvious power and beauty of the Falls for the nature lovers who might be reluctant to visit. Pure vistas of the falls can be had and there is plenty for the nature lover to enjoy and spend a day taking in the falls and "hiking" the rim trail and bird watching. Niagara Falls State Park is the first in the U.S. and was designed by Frederick Law Olmsted who designed Central Park and the vast majority of the park is pretty much devoid of tourists away from the falls. The Maid of the Mist is the classic "tourist" experience and the price is still remarkably reasonable - and being close to the Falls is not to be missed - no matter how played or uncool you might think it is. A tip - don't go on top of the boat with the masses - stay on the lower deck right side for the best video and pictures - as you can see in the video - your gear will get wet. Enjoy!
Here is a link for those who might want to take the paths less traveled around Niagara Falls -
This rough looking Painted Bunting arrived yesterday in central Florida about 5 to 6 weeks early. I have never seen one before about October 17th-24th. This appears to be a young male in the middle of molting. Typically we never see a molting bird as they do not depart their northern haunts until done molting. Believe it or not - this rough looking Bunting will become the most spectacular looking songbird in all of North America this fall. See: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v8-TUzAV4A4 for an example.
Ruby Throated Hummingbirds continue their battle with insects over the sweet nectar in the feeder. After getting chased off by a Swallowtail Butterfly in: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UXx0v7lMG40
These Hummers now have a rather gluttonous BumbleBee to deal with. The Bee has quite poor table manners, where the Hummers could grab a quick drink while the ants, small bees and butterflies were also drinking - the stout BumbleBee simply sticks it's entire bulbous head into the entrance - blocking others from sharing. The Hummer is clearly aggrivated and snaps and scolds at the Bee - but does not dispatch it.
The magnificent Crested Caracara are rarely seen members of the falcon family in Florida. There is a stable population in central Florida, however, they typically live in very remote open rangeland/ranch areas. They have adapted to live primarily off (unfortunately abundant) roadkill of wildlife - in this case a rather large wild pig. They themselves (and other raptors) are occasionally killed by cars as they eat carrion. If this had been winter time they would have had to fight hard with abundant vultures that move into the same area.
Mother Donkey (or jenny) and child (foal) by the roadside. OK this is not truly wildlife and a bit gratuitous, but I simply could not resist capturing this roadside scene and uploading it once the mother subtly tells the little one to get up with a nudge - which of course is ignored. Donkeys are very intelligent and cautious animals and the mother sensed my presence was of concern and wanted to get the foal up and moving - it was having no part of that idea.
I finally created a channel trailer for the companion YouTube channel for this blog - Backyard Birding...and Beyond! It's sort of a greatest hits sampler to give people an idea of what the channel is all about and hopefully entice them to watch and subscribe. It is made up of short clips from 23 different videos. If nothing else I hope it is an entertaining three minutes of nature enjoyment.
This is the text that accompanies the video on YouTube -
The home of wild Eastern Screech Owls...this is Backyard Birding ....and Beyond! Sharing original HD videos of birds and Nature in general observed in our backyard and in our travels. Our goal is to capture the unique moments when creatures interact naturally or reveal something unusual. Sometimes funny and cute, beautiful, or surprising and shocking, but always real, wild, and original. New HD videos are uploaded each week and Eastern Screech Owls are live each spring. Also free bird-call ringtones! A companion blog - Screech Owls...and Nature is at: http://screech-owls.blogspot.com . Thanks for visiting - Adventure is as near as the Backyard! If you like what you see please subscribe, comment and share to help support our work.
Lucky break while staking out Flying Squirrels I apparently captured the only known video on the "Web" or at least in the Google World of a Woodland Jumping Mouse in the wild. Of course the individual mice are very small in this night-vision video captured using a Bushnell HD Trail Cam, but what one can see - are the amazing jumps and that of course, is what is the key attribute of this species. Able to jump well over several meters in a single bound, the Woodland Jumping Mouse is an amazing member of the rodent family, rarely, if ever, filmed at night in its natural environment.
In the video they can be seen making easy jumps of 5 to 6 feet. They do very little "walking". Nocturnal, this wild and crazy group of jumping mice live at nearly 4000 feet elevation in an Eastern Hemlock grove on the banks of a small stream in the Great Smoky Mountains - a choice habitat for them. There is leftover seed on the ground from daytime feeding of birds that they are after. A Flying Squirrel is also in the mix - you will note how the jump of the squirrel is not even comparable. The tails of the Woodland Jumping Mice are much longer than their bodies and their rear feet are large. They are more often found in eastern Canada, but populations remain at the higher elevations of the southern Appalachians. They apparently relish the colder winters as they are hibernators and only active during the warmer months. Here are some links to more information: http://www.dnr.sc.gov/cwcs/pdf/woodlandjumpingmousem.pdf http://www.mnh.si.edu/mna/image_info.cfm?species_id=207
I finally caught a Southern Flying Squirrel on camera and video! I noticed a squirrel at the feeder after dark and upon shining a flashlight on it made the happy discovery! Over the next few nights i set up cameras by LED lantern light and night-vision cameras to document them. Flying Squirrels glide through the forest night like a little ghost in the trees. The woods behind the house are incredibly dense and this is the fourth species of squirrel I've documented living there - Red, Gray, Brown and Southern Flying. The Gray's are the largest.
This little squirrel is even smaller than a Red Squirrel with a very flat tail to aide its gliding and large eyes, big ears and extremely long whiskers to fit its nocturnal lifestyle. It would be difficult to capture this squirrel in flight as it tends to move through the forest at high levels in the trees and then quickly run down the trunk to get to the feeder, but I'll try in the future. This squirrel lives in a Hemlock and mixed hardwood forest at 4000 feet in the Great Smoky Mountains - the much rarer and larger Northern Flying Squirrel also lives in these mountains at a little higher elevation. I would love to film one of those. The squirrel feeder box would eventually be discovered by Eastern Screech and Barred Owls so you'll note the extreme caution this little squirrel uses when exposing itself in the open. It spends most of its time lying flat against the tree trunk.
I've seen these little spiders off and on over the years, but never one in such an accesible location for filming. This little Orb Weaver was in our backyard maybe 20 feet from where I found it's huge relative The Golden Web Orb Weaver https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7RXyYzjzZvs earlier in the summer.
But this Orb Weaver spider is only about half an inch across. It is sometimes called a "crab spider", but crab isn't what comes to mind when I see this little jewel of a spider. I don't know if it's just me and the macro lens, but the top of the spider looks a lot like a porcelain Foo Dog or Bowser from Super Mario Brothers.It appears to me to have an eastern art look to it.
The purpose of this amazing colorful deception is to repel potential predators and avoid being eaten. Far from being scary to my eye it looks a bit like a happy face with rays of sunshine. But then I don't eat spiders! Nevertheless, it is a very attractive, beneficial and entertaining little spider. In the video it eats a caught mosquito and also shows a serious aversion to vegetables, as lacking insects, I threw a small flower and piece of green leaf into its web to get it to move around - after which it quickly threw them out of the nest with an expression of obvious disdain! It seemed to be all business and fastidiously keeping a tidy web lest it miss out on a meal, it certainly had no intentions of humoring me. These spiders are small and their bite reportedly causes a very mild reaction and it is extremely unlikely that anyone would be bitten. If you see this colorful little spider let it be and enjoy!
Here is an interesting story out of Southfield, Michigan from Amy Akers of WLNS TV 6 Lansing - Jackson.
A baby Eastern Screech Owl that was born blind and unable to care for itself was living at the Howell Nature Center in Michigan and underwent cataract surgery by a veterinary ophthalmologist in the hopes of returning the creature to normal. It is probably unlikely that this owl could ever be returned to the wild, but hopefully I'll hear of an update on its progress and pass it on. What is fascinating about this story is how far veterinary medicine/science has evolved and the dedication of people and organizations to help injured animals. Check out the Howell Nature Center website!
Surgery completed - the little Screech Owl is coming out of Anesthesia.
Screech Owl before surgery
Doctor Gwen Sila performing eye survery on Screech Owl.
