Chipmunk Eats Entire Ear of Corn Time Lapse

Video: Chipmunk Eats Entire Ear of Corn Time Lapse

This Eastern Chipmunk may look innocent, but its about to do something amazing! Chipmunk eats an entire ear of dried "squirrel corn" showing the Red Squirrel how it is done. 

See - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kL6GMQggD3M for a Red Squirrel "Fail". 

Beginning and end of the video in real time and the middle at 8 times normal speed. You will be surprised what he does with the cob when finished. Chipmunk has some sort of injury or disease on right front but doesn't seem to be bothering it.

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Who Me? Video: Chipmunk Eats Entire Ear of Corn Time Lapse

Blue Jay Cracks a Peanut

Video:  Blue Jay Cracks a Peanut

Blue Jay Cracks a Peanut. Close up view shows the Jay's technique and just how powerful their beak strikes can be. Hand feeding Blue Jays peanuts can be seen at:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tAFE1SkiGt0

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Video:  Blue Jay Cracks a Peanut

Haunting Screech Owl Calls For Halloween

Video: Haunting Screech Owl Calls For Halloween 

A most amazing recording of a female Eastern Screech Owl calling in an unusual manner was captured during this years breeding season as she was sitting on three eggs. This is probably a type of contact call with the male outside in a nearby tree - but is unusual for a Screech Owl call. With dozens of hours of recordings this is the only time I can recall the rhythmic trilling going on for so long. The original recording: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c-p-ec-DHlw was captured live and lasts almost an hour with approximately one minute between calls. The original video audio trace is shown below.  This short two minute video Haunting Screech Owl Calls for Halloween - contains highlights of the extended live recording and was made by editing together the first 18 consecutive calls of seven seconds each compressed in time. The audio trace of this shorter video is shown below. Also, and audio trace of an individual call is shown below and each of these calls contains more than 70 segments. You can see the owls entire body shake as she makes these amazing calls! Enjoy......

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Video: Haunting Screech Owl Calls For Halloween 

Audio Trace of Original Live Recording - 27 Calls in about 25 minutes.

Audio Trace of the Remix Video of the first 18 calls cut into seven second sections

Audio Trace of an individual Screech Owl haunting call - Over 70 segments in each call.

This is what Mrs. Owl looks like in daytime

Black Widow Spider Identification and Behaviour

Video: Black Widow Spider Identification and Behaviour

Black Widow behavior, female and male identification, nest or web ID  and egg sac information. Black Widows are one of  the most poisonous spiders in North America, but are generally nocturnal and shy and go to great lengths to avoid confrontation with people as shown in the video. Landscaping work - especially clearing yard debris - or in my case moving rocks is where one is likely to encounter these dangerous spiders. Wear gloves, pants and long sleeve shirts helps reduce the risk of a bit. Eggs sacs may be spiked as in this case or smoother. My philosophy is to let these spiders be in the wild, but to exterminate them anywhere near houses and patios. Brown Widows in my experience tend to live in closer contact with humans - liking lawn and patio furniture in particular - see: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1gn5lLe8cvg

All widow "webs" are messy things with debris and may look abandoned, but you can be sure the mother is hiding in a crevice nearby - and eggs sacs are a sure sign. 

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Video: Black Widow Spider Identification and Behaviour

 Video: Black Widow Spider Identification and Behaviour

Supermoon and Harvest Moon

Video: Supermoon and Harvest Moon

Super Moon, Full Moon and Harvest Moon on September 8th, 2014 at 9:32 PM EDT a few minutes from the crest of the Moon's full phase which occurred at 9:38 PM in Florida. I  Was trying to get bats filmed flying against the moon, but it didn't work out - you can see one blurry flicker around 14 seconds in......

For more info on Super-moon check out:  http://earthsky.org/space/harvest-moon-2

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Video: Supermoon and Harvest Moon

Mother Squirrel

Mother Squirrel enjoys a peanut. Her nest is above in the tree top. I've seen nesting squirrels in Florida (this one) and North Carolina recently so now is not the time to do tree trimming without checking!

Dark Eyed Junco

Video: Friendly Dark Eyed Junco

Friendly Dark-Eyed Junco Great Smoky Mountains, NC eats right next to me. The little guy looks a little roughed up from a recent storm.

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Video: Friendly Dark Eyed Junco

Feral Cat Documentary

Video: Feral Cat Documentary

Feral Cat Documentary. A beautiful feral cat starts hunting backyard wildlife - a dilemma for animal lovers! I decide to watch, film and try to get to know this wild creature and see if a win-win solution is possible. Watch for the bittersweet conclusion....

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Video: Feral Cat Documentary

Unusual Blue Jay Song in Great Smoky Mountains

Video: Unusual Blue Jay Song in Great Smoky Mountains

Unusual Blue Jay calling in dense hardwood and hemlock forest at 4000 feet in the Great Smoky Mountains of North Carolina in early September. I have not heard this call before, but the consensus is that it is in fact a Blue Jay. I'm very familiar with Blue Jays - in my Florida backyard I have trained them to eat from my hand

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tAFE1SkiGt0

,but I never heard them call like this - lengthy repetitive and melodious. However, I have noticed a difference in behavior between the typical suburban Jay as in Florida and those few that inhabit the high mountain forests, I've been visiting this same area of the Smokies for eight years and can count on one hand the number of Blue Jays I've seen. They do not come to feeders - at least in the warm season - and generally make little if any sound. The bird calls that ring out are Towhees, various sparrows, warblers, Wrens, chickadees, nuthatches and titmice and Pileated and Downy Woodpeckers, but never the classic Blue Jay calls. 

A GSMNP bird checklist is at: http://www.nps.gov/grsm/naturescience/birds-checklist.htm

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Video: Unusual Blue Jay Song in Great Smoky Mountains

Red Squirrel Tries Corn to Go!

Video:  Red Squirrel Corn to Go!

Mother Red Squirrel tries to take an entire ear of squirrel corn back to her nest with predictably humorous results. She is nursing the kittens in a nearby nest and I leave out a feast of fresh nuts for her several times each day, but I did not expect her to try and take a heavy ear of dried corn which weighs many times her body weight to go! Hope to have more baby Red Squirrel videos in October when they are big enough to get out and around.

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Video:  Red Squirrel Corn to Go!

Tufted Titmouse Call

Video:  Tufted Titmouse Call

Tufted Titmouse excitedly calling at dawn at a flying squirrel feeding station. This little expressive and excitable bird is one of my forest favorites!

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Video:  Tufted Titmouse Call

Bald-Headed Blue Jay or Blue Jay Buzzard?

Video:  Bald-Headed Blue Jay or Blue Jay Buzzard?

A Bald Blue Jay or a new species of Blue Jay Buzzard? A rare vulture look for a Blue Jay in early September and the first I've seen in the Florida backyard in many years of watching. Molting is usually a gradual process, but for some reason once in awhile all the head feathers fall off at once. It is also possible it is mites or lice , but it only affects the head. You will see in the video that the rest of this bird looks fine. There are some raw red patches on its head and it has been seen scratching at its head. This bad hair blue jay was actually quite hard to film compared to the dozen or so other jays that frequent the backyard who look normal. This one was quite skittish and generally in a bad mood. I also have squirrels with skin problems this summer - big festering sores from parasitic fly larvae - a subject for another video. Here is some reference material on abnormally "bald birds".

http://benburtt.blogspot.com/2004/02/bald-headed-cardinals-and-blue-jays-in.html

http://feederwatch.org/learn/unusual-birds/

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Video:  Bald-Headed Blue Jay or Blue Jay Buzzard?

Max Patch Mountain 360 Degree Panorama on Appalachian Trail

Video:  Max Patch Mountain 360 Degree Panorama on Appalachian Trail

Max Patch Mountain west of Asheville, NC is on the Appalachian Trail and not too far off of I-40. It offers one of the most breathtaking mountain vistas in the eastern U.S. An easy climb to the bald summit at 4616' offers unique vistas over the seemingly endless southern Appalachian Mountains. Barn Swallows and Rough Wing Swallows were constantly swooping at great speed just above the tall grass catching bugs. A great day-trip out of the Asheville, NC area. Note - filmed with my cell phone - a little shaky but not too bad!

http://ncbirdingtrail.org/sites/2012/8/1/max-patch.html

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Video:  Max Patch Mountain 360 Degree Panorama on Appalachian Trail

Elk Great Smoky Mountains

Video:  Elk Great Smoky Mountains

Female and young Elk stroll down a residential street near the Great Smoky Mountains National Park in North Carolina. The Elk reintroduction program has been quite successful. 

http://www.nps.gov/grsm/naturescience/elk.htm

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Video:  Elk Great Smoky Mountains

Ruby Throated Hummingbird Preening

Video: Ruby Throated Hummingbird Preening

Female Ruby Throated Hummingbird chilling out and preening on her favorite perch overlooking a source of nectar. She may have a nest nearby - this is some rare quality down time between fighting with other hummingbirds over nectar sources.

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Video: Ruby Throated Hummingbird Preening