An Eastern Cottontail Rabbit enjoying some grass near the Great Smoky Mountains in early October. It takes a nice long rabbit stretch at the end of the video displaying the iconic "cottontail".
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Thursday, October 31, 2013
Tuesday, October 29, 2013
Cute Little Red Squirrel Husks a Huge Walnut - Time Lapse Video
A Picture of Determination: Little Red Squirrel Prepares to Husk a Huge Walnut
A little Red Squirrel husks a huge and still quite green Black Walnut. This walnut is about the size of a regulation baseball and about the same weight and too heavy for the little squirrel to carry off. Husking walnuts is one of the more disagreeable tasks and a primary reason many walnuts stay on the ground unharvested by humans. Squirrels of course love them and know that they have to be processed properly before storing them for the winter. After thoroughly husking and cleaning the walnut the shell with the prize nut inside was promptly "squirreled" away for later eating on a dark and cold winter day.
Red Squirrels are rather small and of course cute, but seeing something like this raises my already high opinion of their intelligence and work ethic! The video is processed at 8 times normal speed for a time lapse effect. The actual husking took about 8 minutes of really hard work.
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Monday, October 28, 2013
"Nightwatch" Owl Statuary Carved In Granite North Carolina Arboretum
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| "Nightwatch" Owl Statuary Carved In Granite "Nightwatch" by Barron Brown - an owl carved in granite at North Carolina Arboretum near Asheville, NC. A very simple, but effective representation of an owl for garden statuary. It gives me an idea to find the right piece of stone and a carver! |
Sunday, October 27, 2013
Free Spooky Halloween Screech Owl Ringtone -Subscriber Appreciation Event!
This is a special Halloween edition of a high-quality ringtone of an Eastern Screech Owl "trilling" for readers of this blog and Subscribers and viewers of the companion Backyard Birding...and Beyond YouTube Channel. I will continue to have a new and interesting nature ringtone at least every other month. This one is distinctly different than the first ringtone, the mating call of a male Eastern Screech Owl recorded in our backyard at: http://youtu.be/QpHQ3LFqXC4 .
This special Halloween call is the classic "trilling" of an Eastern Screech Owl that people are often startled by the first time they hear it in the woods. The calls are quite loud and last 40 seconds - perfect for the ringtone. The video contains a slide show of our owls along with a reading of Thoreau's thoughts on the this exact call from "Walden".
If the link on the video doesn't appear on your device here is the link to the free Spooky Halloween Screech Owl Ringtone. It will take you to a Google Drive page with the name "Halloween Eastern Screech Owl Call Download.mp3" in the upper left of the page with a "download" button in the middle. The download address will have a coded URL, but will be put in your download directory with the name: Halloween Eastern Screech Owl Call Download.mp3.
You can download it to your desktop PC and transfer to your phone's ringtone directory via USB connection or download it directly to your phone. I will not provide technical support as there are many devices out there. On my Droid I simply downloaded it to the download directory and then transferred it to the ringtone directory and selected it as a ringtone. Most devices are similar. Good luck. Thanks for watching and reading and enjoy your new ringtone!
link to free Spooky Halloween Screech Owl Ringtone
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Saturday, October 26, 2013
Red Squirrels Kittens Raised in a Screech Owl Nest Box
A mother Red Squirrel raised her five kittens in one of our Screech Owl nest boxes and rather than a nuisance this was a delight. The only regret was not having a camera set up inside. Unlike Gray Squirrels the little Reds don't seem to make a mess of the box and as they have vacated by mid-October the owls can have it back for late winter nesting. I grew rather fond of these little Red Squirrel kittens (that's what baby squirrels are called) and will have some really cute videos in the coming weeks. If you subscribe to the companion YouTube channel you will be sure and get the latest videos - they will be delightful - I guaranty it! Subscribe at:
Two of the five Red Squirrel Kittens - just like owlets they find their first glimpse of humans fascinating.
This cute one with the pointy ears spent its early days staring out at the big world out there to be explored.
Friday, October 25, 2013
Brown Thrasher Thrashing in the Backyard!
Brown Thrasher "thrashing" around for bugs next to a tree trunk
The Brown Thrasher is a very rare, attractive and exciting visitor to the open backyard. Living up to its name, this one has found a prime spot next to a small tree trunk full of insects to thrash about with its long curved beak. These birds are heard making some wild calls that rival a Mockingbird, but rarely seen in the open as they stick to the heavy brush nearby. Preferring nature's own table, these industrious birds never come to the feeder.
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Thursday, October 24, 2013
Dance Of The Nuthatch - Nature's Magic!
Every once in awhile Nature blesses one with the unusual and unexpected. Such was the case on a recent field trip into the Great Smoky Mountains of North Carolina.
On October 14th I was having some fun with young Red Squirrels and Chipmunks by placing a little bird seed mix on a large fallen Black Cherry log next to an Eastern Hemlock Tree on a steep bank beside a small stream at the edge of dense forest behind the cabin. The chipmunks and squirrels were fast learners and in relatively short order a Black-Capped Chickadee and a Tufted Titmouse found the seed and started making frequent trips back and forth to the log.
I was filming this routine action just for fun when suddenly a male White-Breasted Nuthatch landed center stage in the middle of the log and put on a continuous two-plus minute "dance" - or ballet if you will - to scare off chipmunks to the left and right and a red squirrel on the Hemlock just in front of him that was simply incredible. It's purpose was to make himself look big and scary no doubt - much like our Screech Owls do at times when confronted with a threat.
Well it worked, for over two minutes as the film rolled this little Nuthatch put on quite a show that had elements of a defensive and a courtship dance while the furry mammals watched, no doubt in amazement, from the cheap seats. Towards the end of the dance the Nuthatch appears to get a bit tired - it was quite a physical dance with its long legs pushing hard against its tail feathers to anchor himself to the log and then sway and sashay around the log. It is certainly a strong little bird and more beautiful than many people give it credit for. Incredibly it did the performance for the reward of exactly one sunflower seed!
After it left a Chickadee made a quick grab at a seed and the chipmunk and squirrel were just getting ready to return when the Nuthatch came back and scared them off again with a brief display and a quick seed grab. After that the Nuthatch never returned and the mammals came back to finish off the seed. Probably a one-in-a-million performance!
I will never forget this little bird that put on one of the most amazing and unexpected dance performances. I was able to capture the complete two-minute "ballet" from arrival to departure and as near as I can tell there is no other such complete and extended footage on the "web". It illustrates the under-appreciated beauty, grace, strength, and character of the White-Breasted Nuthatch. This little bird shows how nature is always full of surprises for even the most jaded observers.
Center Stage - Video: Dance of the Nuthatch
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Kicking it Up!
Shake it waaay to the left!
Sunday, October 20, 2013
Autumn Mountain Sunrise and Moonset - Bird Calls - Nature's Magic
What a great day to be alive and take in all that Nature offers! A full Moon sets over the crest of the Great Smoky Mountains ablaze in autumn foliage just as the sun rises on a still, cold and clear morning in late October. The incessant chirping of Chipmunks stops - and the bird calls increase - just as the moon sinks below the crest of the mountains - surely a coincidence? Which bird calls loudly : "Judy-Judy-Judy" - at the end? A hint: it is not the star of, but makes an appearance in, the video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DXIZegEKYKs
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Thursday, October 17, 2013
Male Hairy Woodpecker In Deep Forest
A special treat to capture any woodpecker in the deep
wild forest that has not seen people.
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Baby Hummingbird Rescue - an Original Nature Documentary
A fledgling Ruby-Throated Hummingbird crashed into our lives high in the Smoky Mountains of western North Carolina in late August 2013. Over the course of the next five hours we nursed the little hummer back to health and released it back to the wild hoping the mother would return. When she did - the drama was just beginning. We tell the story in full HD in: Baby Hummingbird Rescue - an original Nature Documentary. The story of a young Ruby Throated Hummingbird's wild and rocky first day out of the nest. Includes extreme closeup video of the birds rescue and reunion with its mother. Some of the interactions between the mother hummingbird and the fledgling out of the nest have not been put on film before. Please enjoy!
Hummingbird Rescue Kit - We were fortunate we could assist this little bird, but feeding hummingbirds and now knowing we might be called upon to rescue one - we have completed a "Hummingbird Rescue Kit" based on information from http://www.worldofhummingbirds.com.
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A very hungry young Hummer - Feeding fresh nectar by hand.
Sunday, October 13, 2013
White-Marked Tussock Moth Caterpillar Spits a Wild Grape - Really Far!
Talk about a "random act of Nature" - I ran across this White-marked Tussock Moth Caterpillar, one of the more bizarre-looking ones there is and as I started filming it spit a wild grape out with the utmost disdain. I'm sure the almost wild "raisin" was pretty bitter, but who would suspect they would be such picky eaters - and be able to propel a sour wild grape so far. I'm pretty sure this is the documented distance record for caterpillar grape spitting - If anyone has a contender bring it on. This was a fascinating caterpillar and I will include some more footage of this bizarre creature in another blog post.
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The White-marked Tussock Moth Caterpillar sharp needle like spines mean - don't touch me!
Thursday, October 10, 2013
Waterfall of Clouds or Cloud Cascade - Amazing Natural Phenomena!
I was very fortunate to be in the right place at the right time on a recent trip to the high peaks of the southern Appalachian Mountains and documented a true waterfall of clouds or cloudfall through time-lapse photography and close-up HD video of a virtual Waterfall of Clouds spilling down a steep narrow mountain valley. Most pictures or videos of "cloud waterfalls" are of valley fog or slow moving low clouds covering a large area taken from way above or far away. This is the real deal - a very small scale "Cloudfall" or Cloud Cascade that one could walk right up to and watch as if it was a waterfall! This occurred on October 7th 2013 after a strong cold front pushed through the Plott Balsam Mountain Range of southern Appalachia - one of the greatest concentration of 6 thousand foot peaks east of the Rockies. The simple graphics below explain the phenomena.
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How a CloudFall forms in the gap between two high mountain peaks.
A true small scale Cloud Waterfall or Cloud Cascade can form in the saddle between two high peaks. This phenomena can continue for hours under the right conditions.
Sunday, October 6, 2013
Catbird Produces, Directs, Writes, and Stars in His Own Movie!
Catbird - the Movie. Catbirds have never been known to be shrinking violets. This Catbird raises the bar by producing, directing, writing and starring in its own movie! But its not just any movie, Catbird came up with the novel idea of a bird movie....within a bird movie. Sort of an art house concept. Brilliant! Big stars can be hard to work with - in this case Catbird had a tendency to wipe it's greasy beak on the camera equipment between takes.
Truth be told I had a camera trap set up for woodpeckers feeding on a suet holder but this Catbird had taken to calling the suet his own and vigorously defending it for several days. You will note he quickly chases away a Yellow-Rumped Warbler who also had a taste for suet and would have to sneak in a bite whenever the Catbird wasn't looking.
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Clever Acrobatic Raccoon Steals Entire Bird Feeder!
This night-vision camera remix shows a clever Raccoon stealing a woodpecker suet feeder by holding on until it - and he - falls to the ground. That's a drop of about 7 feet. He then carries it off into the forest to figure out how to open it. Not high on style marks, but it works. I managed to recover the empty feeder down by the stream.
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Saturday, October 5, 2013
An Elk's Opinion on the U.S. Government Shutdown of National Parks
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| This young Elk behind a road closed gate at the Great Smoky Mountains National Park offers up its own opinion of the U.S. Government Shutdown. |
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| National Parks Remain Closes due to U. S. Government Shutdown! |
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Thursday, October 3, 2013
U. S. Government Shutdown 2013 Closes All National Parks
Sequestration closed some areas and services at the U.S. National Parks and the current government-wide shutdown has now closed all national parks and their web sites. October is peak season for nature and outdoor enthusiasts and tourists enjoying the changing season. Your best bet is to "Google" for the latest status updates as Government webpages are down!
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