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| Baby Red Squirrel in the rain, just a few days out of the nest. Also known as "Bigfoot" ....... This little one has five brothers and sisters shown in the video below. Last October there were five squirrel kittens. |
Thursday, October 30, 2014
Baby Red Squirrel In The Rain.....
Tufted Titmouse Teaches Blue Jay About Peanuts
A Blue Jay in Smoky Mountains who has never seen peanuts looks quizzically at them and does not know what to do with them until the always savvy Tufted Titmouse shows it the way. A Florida Jay would have had all four peanuts to itself in short order, but in the high dense forest at 4000 feet I've noticed Blue Jays are rare and dare I say a bit "shy". They even make different calls than in Florida, sort of pensive lonely calls as in this video clip: Blue Jays unusual call
Here in the deep dark forest the little birds rule the roost!
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Painted Bunting Migration
Painted Buntings of the 2014-15 season started passing through on October 28th, 2014. Always exciting to see these rare and colorful birds return each fall and stay til April. As is typical the outrageously beautiful males will come a little later. These first "Greenies" of the season are typically immature non-breeding males and young females. Painted Buntings are not ones for migrating great distances typically coming from coastal south Carolina to the east coast of Florida. The early and late season Buntings are typically passing through the backyard on their way south and back north, but by sometime in November we generally get a core population of 8 to 12 Painted Buntings that stay here through March.
Last years Painted Buntings up close -
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Monday, October 27, 2014
"Scary"Halloween Pumpkin Spider - Bach's Toccata and Fugue in D minor
A little Halloween Fun.....Scary Halloween Spider set to Bach's Toccata and Fugue in D minor organ music. Crank up the volume and put this on a big screen TV and enjoy! Actually this is a very large Marbled Orb Weaver Spider that matures and turns quite orange in October and then dies - its a really sweet spider! This poor soul was picked off by a bird after I released it unharmed on a tree branch.
Music courtesy of YouTube Video Library.
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Sunday, October 26, 2014
Carolina Wren
Carolina Wren - Early October Great Smoky Mountains North Carolina. Much of my photography and videography is done in dense forest cover where direct sunlight does not penetrate and clear lines of sight are not possible. This photo was shot at ISO5000.
Inspirational Chipmunk Starts Its Day
Inspiring Chipmunk - starts its day with a great attitude despite a brutal injury to its right front leg. A little hello "Chip" a spit bath and then tending to its injury then listening to the daily news being chirped by its neighbors and surveying its territory and then a snack and off on its busy day with dignity and no self pity. Its rare that one gets to "know" an individual chipmunk, but because of its severe injury, probably due to a foxes jaw that it escaped from it is easily identifiable and its unique habit of collecting corn cobs in and around its burrow made it easy to spot. It may be that the corn cob fence it constructed around its burrow give it a greater sense of security due to it's close call. I observed this particular Eastern Chipmunk much of the summer and early fall and may do a documentary on the fascinating little fellow!
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Friday, October 24, 2014
Banded Tussock Moth Caterpillar - White Variety
Banded Tussock Moth Caterpillar Halysidota tessellaris comes in a variety of colors - this is the white variety. Called "Tussock moth" for the tufts of hair on the caterpillar. (tussock = a tuft or clump of green grass or similar verdure, forming a small hillock--Wiktionary.)
The long black and white "lashes" front and rear shout out - danger! "don't touch me". Indeed they are akin to extremely small sharp needles. A skin irritation and sometimes a severe allergic reaction can occur when contacting the sharp spines which are said to have a feel like rubbing raw fiberglass threads into your skin. This one is in a rush to cocoon up for the winter! The wildest looking variety of Tussock Moth Caterpillar the White-Marked can be seen at:
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Hummingbirds Hover More Efficiently Than Helicopters !
Hummingbird Helicopter! I was having some fun filming Ruby Throated Hummingbirds in slow motion from above - and it turns out a Hummingbird sounds much like a helicopter when filmed in slow motion. You can hear it before you see it - Crank up the volume! Ruby Throated Hummingbird at 1/8 normal speed - 240 FPS and the wings are still a blur, but rather than a circular blur like a helicopter you can see the range of their horizontal motion is much less as they flap in sort of a figure 8 pattern with more of a vertical component than a helicopter. It turns out studies earlier this year by Stanford engineers have found that hummingbirds actually have a more efficient a design than the best helicopter. To hear a hummingbird from above in normal speed check out:
Check out these stories on the quantitative analysis of hummingbird wings that show they generate lift more efficiently than the best micro-helicopter blades. - and Hummingbirds vs. Drone Helicopters: Who Wins?
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Monday, October 20, 2014
Northern Flicker Eating Ants
Northern Flicker - Yellow Shafted variety (unique red mark at nape of the neck) makes a rare appearance in front of the camera eating ants. A very striking member of the woodpecker family it usually eats ants and bugs on the ground and is often heard in the deep woods with a call rivaling the great Pileated Woodpecker, but in the deep Great Smoky Mountains it is a rare sight. It would have stayed longer, but a Chipmunk spooked it.
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Funny Chipmunk Tries To Bring Corn Cob Into Burrow
We now know what the chipmunk last seen steeling a corn cob that it had just eaten the corn of of at:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4zegitIelTY was going to do with the corn cob!
The Chipmunk wants to put a six inch long corn cob in its burrow which is two inches wide. Never mind why it wants to do this, the question is - can it do it or will it give up and throw a chipmunk fit?
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Tuesday, October 14, 2014
Marbled Orb Weaver Spider - Halloween Pumpkin Spider
Orange Marbled Orb Weaver Spider in Macro - this is the perfect Halloween or "Pumpkin Spider" as it matures to a bright orange in October. Jack-O-Lantern Head and Eight big eyes staring at you - what's not to love! This one was blown out of its web onto the deck in a storm and like most Orb Weavers they are not great "Walkers" and people have nothing to fear. They are gentle spiders and quite patient while I filmed with the lens about an inch away. You can see it set a silk thread to secure itself several times so it could jump to escape if need be. This gorgeous spider was safely put back in the brush.
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Funny Talking Chipmunk Falls Off Deck !
Chipmunk inexplicably tries to take a corn cob home and takes a fall off the deck. Just remember this is one tough Chipmunk and it was not hurt - because it is a Mighty Chipmunk! Having survived a nasty wound from a predator - probably a fox- he now survives a 12 foot fall off a deck in the woods with a corn cob and just shakes it off! Much more to come from this little one - because of the injury its easy to tell it from the many other Chipmunks - and it is a character!
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Elk Eating Apples Great Smoky Mountains
Young Buck Elk feasting on ripe apples in the Great Smoky Mountains and checking out a bird feeder too. Much too young to participate in the fall rut he's off by himself enjoying a fall bounty.
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Thursday, October 9, 2014
Banded Tussock Moth Caterpillar - Yellow
Banded Tussock Moth Caterpillar Halysidota tessellaris comes in a variety of colors - this is the yellow variety. Called "Tussock moth" for the tufts of hair on the caterpillar. (tussock = a tuft or clump of green grass or similar verdure, forming a small hillock--Wiktionary.)
The long black and white "lashes" front and reare shout out - danger! "don't touch me". Indeed they are akin to extremely small sharp needles. A skin irritation and sometimes a severe allergic reaction can occur when contacting the sharp spines which are said to have a feel like rubbing raw fiberglass threads into your skin. This one is in a rush to cocoon up for the winter! The wildest looking variety of Tussock Moth Caterpillar the White-Marked can be seen at:
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Wednesday, October 8, 2014
Haunting Screech Owl Call Ringtone Free Download - Subscriber Appreciation!
Free High Quality Haunting Screech Owl Call Ringtone Download for YouTube Subscribers and Blog Readers!
Free Haunting Screech Owl Call Ringtone for your phone. I will try and have a new and interesting nature ringtone every other month for Blog readers and viewers of the companion Backyard Birding...and Beyond YouTube Channel.
Here is the Link to the free Haunting Screech Owl Ringtone. On a desktop PC it will take you to a Google Drive page with the name "Haunting Screech Owl Ringtone.mp3" in the upper left of the page with a download arrow and there will be a "download" button in the top middle . The download address will have a coded URL, but will be put in your download directory with the name: "Haunting Screech Owl Ringtone.mp3". However, on some smart phones you'll only see the download button in the middle of the page and the coded file-name may be put in your download directory and look like a bunch of numbers and letters - this is not a problem - simply rename it to "Haunting Owl" for example - it just takes one extra step.
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 and it is stored in the download directory and then I copied it to the ringtone directory and selected it as a ringtone. I also copied it to the alarm and notification directories as it would be great for these as well. Most devices are similar. Good luck. Thanks for watching and reading and enjoy your new ringtone!
Link to the free Haunting Screech Owl Ringtone.
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| Audiogram of the original recording |
Tuesday, October 7, 2014
Downy Woodpecker
Male Downy Woodpecker gets first dibs on fresh block of suet. This handsome fellow may be one of the fledglings from earlier in the summer. Downy Woodpeckers will come to suet feeders all summer - just have to put them away at night if you live in bear country or the Raccoons zero in on the suet..
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Canadian Geese Migration
Canadian Geese flocks forming up and loudly honking over the Great Smoky Mountains early October 2014 and continuing south as part of fall migration.
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Hummingbirds Bulk Up For Fall Migration
Preparing for fall migration southward a cold Ruby Throated Hummingbird puts on a lot of weight in early October and guards its nectar feeder in preparation for the long flight from the Great Smoky Mountains to perhaps Mexico or Central America. Freezing temperatures have arrived as of 10/5/14 and a few straggler migrants will continue passing through and feeding voraciously. Feeders will be kept out for a few more weeks just in case a late arrival needs help. Contrary to some beliefs, leaving hummingbird nectar feeders out in the fall does not delay migration, but rather helps those hummers migrating later in the season.
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| A Slender Summer Resident Ruby Throated Hummingbird |
Friday, October 3, 2014
Hummingbird Wing Sounds
Continuing on the hummingbird theme as the little birds will soon be gone until next year this is a recording of loud Ruby Throated Hummingbird wing sounds that provide the characteristic "humming" of the hummingbirds. This very close and unique perspective from above gives a great view of the wings and the very loud humming sound that results from wings beating from 50 to perhaps 200 beats per second. You can also see the ripples on the nectar from the wind generated by the rapid beat of the tiny wings.
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High Class Hummingbird Drinks From Wine Glass
This Ruby Throated Hummingbird knows how to enjoy life high in the Great Smoky Mountains and prefers to drink his nectar from a tiny wine glass while socializing on the deck. Crank up the volume and put on a large screen and enjoy the view! It was a challenge to get the bird in sharp focus and the forest and mountains in the background, but it came out nice. The hummers will soon be heading south for the winter - they will be missed!
No alcohol was served to the hummingbird.
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