Greater Yellowlegs Calling
Greater and lesser Yellowlegs often hang out together.
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Greater Yellowlegs Calling
Monday, July 10, 2017
Greater Yellowlegs Calling
Greater Yellowlegs Calling
Greater and lesser Yellowlegs often hang out together.
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Greater Yellowlegs Calling
Video For Cats - Mourning Dove Close Up!
Sunday, July 9, 2017
Chipmunk Genius Teaches Blue Jays Lefty-Loosey Righty-Tighty Lesson
Chipmunk Genius Teaches Blue Jays Lefty-Loosey Righty-Tighty Lesson
Chipmunk Genius Teaches Blue Jays Lefty-Loosey Righty-Tighty Lesson
The Albert Einstein of Chipmunks learns which way to turn a "nut" on a screw in five seconds flat - something some humans take a lifetime to learn! Mr Chipmunk is a quick-study and schools the Blue Jays - who are rightfully impressed - how did he do that? They are some of the smartest cookies of the bird world, but lack the proper tools for tightening and untightening fasteners.
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Daddy Long Legs
Daddy Long Legs or Harvestmen are arachnids, but not really spiders. The ones shown in this video are probably the typical large ones that most people in the eastern US encounter. They often just sit and mind their own business, but they can run real fast if bothered. They are harmless and "friendly" and I have found that they seem to cut down on the number of "bad spiders" around the house and deck - perhaps by feasting on spiderlings. Here I am checking underneath my rocker that is kept outside near the the woods and you see two Daddy Long Legs hanging out near the abandoned web and eggs sacs of a spider you don't want under your chair. This is why they are sometime misunderstood as spiders because they can be seen around other spiders abandoned nests. Black and Brown Widows are notorious for deciding to live in seldom used outdoor furniture so take a tip from BB and always check. And if you see a "Daddy Long Legs" let them live they are beneficial. They are also commonly found in the dense foliage of evergreen trees hunting for food as in the second half of the video. These are one of the favorite foods of birds such as the House Wren. If you watch this video of wrens feeding their young you will see they eat a lot of Daddy Long Legs - https://youtu.be/1aLyIbwKwOo
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Brown Thrasher Fledgling
A young Brown Thrasher is out on its own now. The parents are still feeding him once in awhile and he has some feathers to grown into but he's well on his way to independence. First time capture of a Brown Thrasher youngster as they tend to stick to heavy brush as you can tell from the video. Filmed in Florida.
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Wednesday, June 7, 2017
Garter Snake Encounter
Typical encounter with the beneficial Garter Snake. They are defensive and then run - everyone should let them live!
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Swainson's Hawk Dark Morph
A nearly black Swainson's Hawk Dark Morph sitting beside an intermediate morph Swainson's Hawk is a rare sight to behold. Filmed at the Merced National Wildlife Refuge in California in April this was a first time species for me. This is a classic sit and wait position for these hawks of the open country. Like many big raptors they could care less about the humans staring at them.
Swainson's hawk is a raptor and a medium-sized member of the Buteo genus. It broadly overlaps in size with the red-tailed hawk (B. jamaicensis), a related species found as a breeding resident almost throughout North America. Swainson's hawk is on average a little shorter in length, 43–56 cm (17–22 in) long, and weighs a bit less, 0.5–1.7 kg (1.1–3.7 lb).[3][4][5] However, Swainson's hawk has a slightly longer wingspan at 117–137 cm (46–54 in), with more slender, elongated wings, than the red-tailed hawk.[3] Female Swainson's hawks, at an average weight of 1.15 kg (2.5 lb), are somewhat larger and heavier than males, at an average of 0.81 kg (1.8 lb).[3] Among standard measurements, the wing chord is 36.2–42.7 cm (14.3–16.8 in), the tail is 18.5–23.4 cm (7.3–9.2 in), the tarsus is 6.2–8 cm (2.4–3.1 in) and the bill (from the gape) is 3–3.5 cm (1.2–1.4 in).[3] In flight, Swainson's hawk holds its wings in a slight dihedral; it tips back and forth slightly while soaring.
There are two main color variations. Over 90% of individuals are light-morph; the dark morph is most common in the far west of the range:[6]
Light-morph adults are white on the underparts with a dark, reddish "bib" on the chest and a noticeable white throat and face patch. The underwings, seen as the bird soars, have light linings (leading edge) and dark flight feathers (trailing edge), a pattern unique among North American raptors. The tail is gray-brown with about six narrow dark bands and one wider subterminal band. The upperparts are brown. Juveniles are similar but dark areas have pale mottling and light areas, especially the flanks, have dark mottling. The chest is pale with some darker marks. The subterminal band of the tail is less obvious. Birds in their first spring may have pale heads because of feather wear.
Dark-morph birds are dark brown except for a light patch under the tail. There is a rufous variant that is lighter on the underparts with reddish bars. The tails of both these forms resemble those of the light morph.
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Tuesday, May 2, 2017
Eared Grebe
Eared Grebe feeding on surface insects and brine shrimp at Owens Dry Lake, California filmed in early April 2017. Birds are starting to return to Owens Lake now that some shallow water remains in it. This time of year it is unusual for a single grebe to be hanging out. A very unusual looking bird with striking red eyes and head feathers.
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Steller's Jay
Steller's Jay scavenging food from a wildlife refuge parking lot near Flagstaff, Arizona. A stunning bird very similar to the Blue Jay, but with black head and white eye lines. I was surprised to encounter this bird primarily as a scavenger hanging around public areas of western national parks. I have not seen Blue Jays back east exhibit this type of behavior that is more often seen with Grackles.
The Steller's jay (Cyanocitta stelleri) is a jay native to western North America, closely related to the blue jay found in the rest of the continent, but with a black head and upper body. It is also known as the long-crested jay, mountain jay, and pine jay. It is the only crested jay west of the Rocky Mountains. While it does not have as prominent a crest as the Blue Jay (Cyanocitta cristata) it can be found west of the Rockies especially in south east British Columbia.
The Steller's jay shows a great deal of regional variation throughout its range. Blackish-brown-headed birds from the north gradually become bluer-headed farther south. The Steller's jay has a more slender bill and longer legs than the blue jay and has a much more pronounced crest. It is also somewhat larger. The head is blackish-brown with light blue streaks on the forehead. This dark coloring gives way from the shoulders and lower breast to silvery blue. The primaries and tail are a rich blue with darker barring.
It occurs in coniferous forest over much of the western half of North America from Alaska in the north to northern Nicaragua completely replacing the blue jay in most of those areas. Some hybridization with the blue jay in Colorado has been reported. The Steller's jay lives in coniferous and mixed woodland, but not in completely dense forest, and requires open space. It typically lives in flocks of greater than 10 individuals. In autumn, flocks often visit oak woods when acorns are ripe.
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