Tufted Titmouse and Chickadee Sunflower Seed Cracking Technique

Video: Tufted Titmouse and Chickadee Sunflower Seed Cracking Technique

Titmice and Chickadees cracking and eating sunflower seeds with their tiny little beaks takes a lot of effort - see how they do it. Having a Blast with the new Window Bird Feeder, MOOKZZ Clear Acrylic Design (see it at Amazon:  http://amzn.to/2yNSa3d ) attached to my window above the PC. A virtual Chickadee and Titmouse magnet with black oil sunflower seeds. You can watch them from dawn til dusk - amazing. I will upload a full test of this feeder and more videos of bird behavior  using this feeder in the coming week. Stay tuned this is going to be fun!

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Video: Tufted Titmouse and Chickadee Sunflower Seed Cracking Technique

Red Bellied Woodpeckers

Red Bellied Woodpeckers

Unusual looking Red Bellied Woodpecker that is almost all light gray and black is a sub-adult female that is essentially full grown but no red on her head yet. After Hurricane Irma the Woodpeckers have been very active perhaps taking advantage of all the food stirred up by the damage to the trees.
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Red Bellied Woodpeckers

Downy Woodpecker

Downy Woodpecker

Male Downy Woodpecker quickly working an Oak tree - they don't hold still for long! The smallest North American Woodpecker is a precious little bird and just the day before the largest North American Woodpecker was in the Backyard - see: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HLbwL... after Hurricane Irma the Woodpeckers in general seem to be much more active.
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Downy Woodpecker

Green Heron Extreme Close Up

Green Heron Extreme Close Up

Close up of a stunning Green Heron hunting in the trees over flooded swamp behind the Backyard. Dense heavy vegetation in or near water is the preferred place to spot these elusive and beautiful herons. This heron was attacked by the Backyard Blue Jays at the end of this film - to see the mobbing and attack that follows check out: Blue Jay Mob Attacks Green Heron https://youtu.be/O-uzC2LF9g0
Along quiet streams or shaded riverbanks, a lone Green Heron may flush ahead of the observer, crying "kyow" as it flies up the creek. This small heron is solitary at most seasons and often somewhat secretive, living around small bodies of water or densely vegetated areas. Seen in the open, it often flicks its tail nervously, raises and lowers its crest. The "green" on this bird's back is an iridescent color, and often looks dull bluish or simply dark.
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Green Heron Extreme Close Up

Pileated Woodpecker Adventure - Mini Documentary

Pileated Woodpecker Adventure - Mini Documentary

Pileated Woodpeckers extreme close-up! A uncut behind the scenes look at the challenges of  wildlife film making as an amazing pair of Pileated Woodpeckers make an appearance in the flooded jungle behind the Backyard after Hurricane Irma and get everybody excited - especially me and the squirrels!
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Pileated Woodpecker Adventure - Mini Documentary

Blue Jay Mob Attacks Green Heron - A Mini-Documentary

Blue Jay Mob Attacks Green Heron - A Mini-Documentary

A Blue Jay Wolf Pack surrounds a much large Green Heron hunting behind the Backyard and mercilessly attacks and harasses it until it moves on. Unlike perching hawks and eagles which are slow -  the nimble Green Heron is one bird that can take out a Blue Jay that gets to close with its sword tip sharp bill attached to a neck that can strike far and lighting fast. The Blue Jays seem to know how dangerous this big bird is and display unusual behavior in confronting it. They are quiet and surround it just like a pack of wolves and taking turns attacking it so the Heron can't focus on one bird to strike and kill. One of the most fascinating encounters I've ever seen in the Backyard. You may think of Herons as hunting fish etc in the water, but they are also quite adept at hunting in the trees above and around the wetlands as this one is doing. Snakes, frogs, baby squirrels, rats and mice and smaller birds are all on the menu. The Blue Jays continue to be the protectors of their own family, but also many other creatures of the Backyard, this aspect of their place in Nature is often not known or overlooked.

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Blue Jay Mob Attacks Green Heron - A Mini-Documentary

Blue Jays Survive Hurricane Irma in Florida

Blue Jays Survive Hurricane Irma in Florida

The Backyard Blue Jays survived Hurricane Irma which was a category one when it passed the Backyard. A lot of trees de-leafed and blown down in the conservation area, but the birds and squirrels know how to survive. More on that later. But that's not to say they weren't hungry and happy for a friendly peanut when I got back home! Good to see them again.
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Blue Jays Survive Hurricane Irma in Florida

Chipmunk Tries To Fit "Square Peg Into Round Hole"

Chipmunk Tries To Fit "Square Peg Into Round Hole"

Chipmunk collects corn cobs as trophies, but how does he get them into his burrow. Any human can relate to the trials and tribulations and frustrations this little fellow goes through - one also wonders what's going on in the cute things tiny little brain. Feel free to suggest other thought bubbles in the comments section! Filmed with great luck using two trail cameras once I found his corn cob decorated burrow entrance.

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Chipmunk Tries To Fit "Square Peg Into Round Hole"

Bizarre Fly Imitates A Hornet or Yellow Jacket

Video: Bizarre Fly Imitates A Hornet or Yellow Jacket

The Virginia Flower Fly or Yellow Jacket Hover Fly (Milesia virginiensis) is a bizarre fly that looks like a big scary hornet. In the south, it is sometimes called the 'good news bee' for its habit of hovering in front of a person "giving the news". It is also said to be good luck if one can get the insect to perch on a finger, no doubt because this is difficult to do. It mimics the southern YellowJacket as a defense mechanism - that works really well because when you see one of these you don't want to mess with it. I have only caught fleeting glimpses of this strange fly over the years, but here caught in the open on the deck it is making an aggressive hornet stand - lucky for it I know its secret. Despite its looks -once you realize what it is you should remember is is actually an important pollinator of flowers and not dangerous at all. Enjoy one of the more unique disguise adoptions of Nature and let them "Bee" - maybe they'll bring you luck.
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Video: Bizarre Fly Imitates A Hornet or Yellow Jacket

Song Birds Pull Together After Hurricane Irma

Song Birds Pull Together After Hurricane Irma

After a rocking windy and rainy night of the remnants of Hurricane Irma passing through the Great Smoky Mountains its #Songbird strong this Morning! Daylight brought an unusual sense of camaraderie among the American Goldfinches, Juncos, Chickadees and other small birds. Six Goldfinches managed to squeeze together on what was left of the finch sock with no fuss or pushing and shoving and even the Dark Eyed Junco's were behaving themselves. A note: deciduous trees provide little shelter in high winds - little birds just love big dense arborvitae  trees for shelter from storms and nest building.

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Song Birds Pull Together After Hurricane Irma

Eye Of Hurricane Irma Passing Over Florida Keys - HI Res Radar Animation...

Eye Of Hurricane Irma Passing Over Florida Keys

HI-Res Doppler radar loop of Cat 4 Hurricane Irma's Eye passing over Key West and the Florida Keys this morning Sunday September 10, 2017. The Florida Backyard and its creatures are well away from the worst of Irma, but our thoughts are with those people and wildlife in her path. Radar imagery courtesy of NOAA NCEI and the dedicated NWS people keeping it running at the Key West NWS office.

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Eye Of Hurricane Irma Passing Over Florida Keys

Goldfinches Up close

Goldfinches Up close

A male American Goldfinch in all its splendor spends some quality time in front of the camera - taking a break from the Finch feeder. Summer is almost over and you can begin to see a little fading of the bright yellow that is the hallmark of these gorgeous little birds. The bad little birds acting up are Dark Eyed Junco's - starting to see a lot of them lately. They are cute little tubby birds in their own way.

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Goldfinches Up close

Chickadees!

Chickadees!

Chickadees!

Chickadees - just Chickadees for a change. A rare chance to have food to themselves except for one brief visitor. In the Great Smoky Mountains Black-capped and Carolina Chickadees ranges overlap and it can be a challenge to tell them apart. What type of Chickadees do you think these are?

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Squirrel Fight In The Forest

Squirrel Fight In The Forest

Short and violent - a Red Squirrel challenges another for dominance over a feeder by launching a sneak attack high in the forest of the Great Smoky Mountains. Only in slow motion can we appreciate these amazing animal athletes of the tree tops - they jump through the air with abandon - and they're not even flying squirrels.
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Squirrel Fight In The Forest

Squirrel Fight In The Forest

Mourning Dove Deciding

Mourning Dove Deciding

A Mourning Dove is having quite the time deciding what little piece of root it wants - Its the end of August so I don't know what it wants to do with it - nest building is a little late. The Doves have been attracted to this digging site around a deck I'm fixing for some reason I thought maybe the clay or loose dirt. Doves tend to have an indecisive look about them anyway. It likes the real long root, but its still connected so the quest continues until it slowly walks away with just the perfect little piece of root.

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Mourning Dove Deciding

Bull Elk Enjoying A Sit Down Breakfast

Bull Elk Enjoying A Sit Down Breakfast



A bull Elk or Wapiti relaxing and enjoying a tasty breakfast of some sort of tree branch he has brought out into the open near the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Happened upon this fellow while hiking - I have never seen a bull elk so mellow before although most are habituated to some degree to humans this is a little unusual. Of course I did not approach any nearer than my initial encounter - talked softly and then moved on. Although large this fellow is not big enough to seriously compete in the upcoming fall rut for the right to a harem maybe in a year or two.

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Bull Elk Enjoying A Sit Down Breakfast