Tufted Titmouse Grabs A Peanut
Mr Titmouse has his eye on a big roasted peanut, but it's a busy morning at the feeder so he has to wait for his chance! How he is going to get that big thing open - well that's another story......
This is the Woodlink Absolute Squirrel-Resistant Bird Feeder Model 7533 – It has a feeder perch on only one side and holds a lot of seed. I got it so I could leave a large amount of seed for the Florida Backyard birds when I'm traveling for long periods and they won't run out of seed or have the squirrels eat all the bird seed. There are two other models – a larger one with feeders on both sides and a smaller one with a feeder on one side.
This one is heavy – well made and attractive and it forces the birds to one side so I can always see them feeding. Note that it is “Squirrel Resistant” not squirrel-proof – I'm not sure anything can be totally squirrel-proof!
These feeders uses weight adjustable perchs that shut off the access to the seeds whenever anything heavier than birds sits or pushes on it. I have it set a little heavy so as not to exclude any birds – just squirrels and larger. Generally it works great and I am quite happy with this feeder.
Squirrels immediately began attacking it of course and the weight limiting perch works well, but the squirrels found two ways to get a small amount of seed out of the feeder – one was to hang down off the roof for a bit, which is pretty slippery and carefully eat some of the seeds without touching the perch mechanism or try and scoop some seeds out of the feeding holes so they fall on the ground and then they get it later. Most of the time the squirrels slip off the roof and fall to the ground after getting a small amount of seed this way. After awhile they get bored with the small reward for all the work and move on to something else and come back and test it periodically.
I recommend this particular model of the feeder as it seems to be sold at the best price for what you get. It is very sturdy and I simply hung it off the end of a strong branch on an oak tree with the enclosed hanger that is very sturdy. I did not use the pole that came with. I've had it up for eight months now with no problems.
The Queen Crater Snail or Appalachina chilhoweensis is a rare snail and thought to be the largest native land snail in the eastern US - it is big and beautiful. This one was filmed at about 4,600 feet elevation in the Great Smoky Mountains munching on a large fantail fungi. This is a very wet and dark environment that does not get full sun in summer due to the dense forest canopy. The video includes a closeup of their huge rasping "mouth" and its amazing ability to literally "swallow" its own head as a defensive maneuver when it bumps into a large beetle - perhaps some sort of stag-horn that was also eating inside the mushroom. When you see its "face" slowly reappear back out of its body you will be amazed. Combined with the music and the stunning beauty of this snail in action you may come to appreciate these wonderful creatures.
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Male American Goldfinch chilling on a evergreen tree in the Great Smoky Mountains. These delightful and gregarious songbirds love thistle sock feeders where they can gather in large numbers but its always nice to see one out in the open with a nice green contrast. The zoom lens is misleading here - they are some of the smallest birds that come to feeders. This is also a challenging shot technically as the finch is illuminated by direct afternoon sun but the background is in the shade and auto white balance can not handle it giving the bird sort of a whitish color on the back. A lot of defects on film can be simply fixed, but not blown out white!
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A beautiful Mourning Dove in close-up for almost 40 minutes with some nice Coo calls to. This lovely creature will fascinate cats and humans alike. Unusual for one to stay in one place so long - Enjoy!
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 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
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.
