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I see large flocks of them descending on any plants left with a berry or seed in sight
Thank you so much for your visits and inspiration!
this jay struck a dramatic pose as the end of the day's light made its way through the trees. I decided not to pull up the shadows and just enjoyed the drama of the contrasts and colors
Thank you for your visits and inspiration!
Many of the birds on this hillside use the blackberry brambles for cover. Even leafless, they provide a line of defense for winter birds and an abstract light patterning when the sun pours through.
Thank you for your visits and conversations!
A few weeks ago I saw a single baby Red Squirrel mostly hairless. Recently when I was out on the hillside overlooking the meadow, I saw two scrambling through the blackberry bushes. They are such cute squirrels and when the paw helped with the steadiness, I snapped away. I love seeing their mauve bodies as the lovely rust-red fur comes in. It is supposed to snow this week so I hope they have developed
more fur!
Thank you so very much!
little woodpecker camped out in a little leafy lane near me, not the greatest shot, but high up and the lane has plenty of tree cover so its pretty dark.
I had heard the intense jackhammer drumming in the spring of the Pileateds across the meadow and forest but had not seen one...until yesterday! I was pleased to capture this beautiful female with the radiant fall foliage behind her as she carved out chunks of bark in the Ash tree in her search for food.
a wind blown Golden-crowned Sparrow atop rhamnus californica a hearty California native that provides good cover and "coffeeberries" for wildlife
Thank you for your visits and inspiration!
I find that the birds along the coastal shoreline are scruffier than their inland counterparts
Thank you for your visits and inspiration!
Anyone who has followed Acorn Woodpeckers knows they are anything but "quiet." One of their more charming qualities is their very raucous social life - think of middle schoolers living in trees...
This is a favorite perch for the Acorn Woodpeckers that live in the buckeye and eucalyptus glade on the hillside. It is the very highest branch at a certain level of the hillside and gives them a good lookout over their territory which they control with ferocity.
Thank you for your visits and inspiration!
Sometime in January, I started hearing a singular call repeated over and over in the woods for long periods at a time that I could not identify. I listened to audio and just couldn't find a good match. The only constant was that the general vicinity of the calling remained the same. I could not think of a bird that would stay in the same place for weeks on end and make a call that was so loud as to echo across a meadow and up a hill. I was stumped. I called Audubon and they could not identify it either. Time passed.
As nature often reveals itself, weeks after hearing the calls, far downhill at the edge of the woods, I saw a beautiful, brightly colored good-sized bird against the drab field. I instantly knew this must be who was making the calls and the colors were easily identifiable as a Ring-necked pheasant.
I also knew there was no way I was going to get to him without scaring him off.
I bided my time and a few weeks later he was further up the hill foraging in the newly greening hay meadow. As an added bonus to shooting several shots, he threw his chest out, flapped his wings and let out the very loud drawn out squawk/scream that I had become so familiar with. It was dusk and even in poor light, his beautiful feather patterning and colors lifted my spirits during this early period of sheltering in place.
Further reading if interested: portal.ct.gov/DEEP/Wildlife/Fact-Sheets/Ring-necked-Pheasant
As always, thank you for stopping by for visits and conversation!
Can't say I've ever had a groundhog at the ready but this guy made an appearance on the hillside on a bright summer Connecticut day. He was combing the ground underneath a mulberry tree for berries.
I'm sure he is supporting Punxsutawney Phil's prediction of an early Spring for 2020! ...we can only hope...
Thank you for your visits and conversation!
with the added boost of early morning rose gold sunlight, this sweet male house finch seems to become one more mulberry!
I appreciate all visits, comments and inspiration you bring to my stream!
This female pileated woodpecker was stopped from her digging out of this ash when a hawk landed higher up in the tree. She did not immediately fly away. She positioned herself so she could see him better but surprisingly stayed on the tree for several more minutes. It was not a large hawk and I couldn't help but think these well armed woodpeckers could be harder to handle in a tussle
Thank you so much for your visits and inspiration!
inspired by Leonard Cohen's Tower of Song
Thank you for your visits!
www.google.com/search?q=leonard+cohen+tower+of+song+lyric...
Hoping that all my flickr friends are doing well as we close this year and my profound thanks for the visits, inspiration and time taken to create such a lovely human presence on flickr....a truly unique place to find one's self still wanting to come back to. I am constantly amazed at the unending creativity and stewardship that you all put forth visually as you share images of your lives and the natural world around you. I don't use the word "inspire" lightly.
With much respect and deep fondness, risa
I thought the dusting of red on the spring coat was a nice variation to see on this Eastern Gray squirrel
A definite plus for New England birding! and my 2018 bird crush was definitely the Red-bellied Woodpecker. We don't have these woodpeckers in California and their full mane of red hair gives them a very distinctive look!
Thank you so much for your visits and inspiration!
With nightfall close at hand I watched these youngsters hightail it across the meadow when they were startled by something.
In seconds they were bounding over the obstacle course of winter's discarded vegetation. It was a very enjoyable moment to watch as they leapt so high and effortlessly to get to cover. The one in the back overtook not only its sibling but caught up to the mother. By the time they made it to the woods, he took first place in the lineup.
With the meadow filled with all the clutter of windswept grasses, I decided to process this more like a drawing and soften the tangled framing and enjoy the movement they created.
a portrait of this juvenile red tail in the late afternoon glare
Thank you so much for your visits and inspiration!
I have to say that the first snow is quite exciting! I really enjoy seeing the disappearing colors of the foliage as they get a shawl of white wrapped around them.
thank you for your visits!
shot along the bank of the Shepaug River in Connecticut
Thank you so much for your visits and inspiration!
Sunrise atop the still flowering buckeye....
I read a description of the California Scrub Jay that said "A fairly large songbird with lanky dimensions," and thought that I never really had considered them as songbirds, more, birds with a very large vocabulary that is littered with discordant expletives, whistles, clicks, whines and pretty darn good raptor impersonations! I have been exposed by them on numerous occasions as I'm out birding but I still find them very entertaining and masters at knowing how to clear a room by any means possible in order to gain the upper hand or escape trouble.
I've been thinking about all the summer rainstorms lately with the unending tropical storms and hurricanes coming through Connecticut and this picture where the sky took the shape of the sea came to mind
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a handsome Red-bellied Woodpecker captures your attention in the quiet light of the forest
Thank you for your visits and inspiration!
I have not seen a red-shouldered hawk in awhile. When I first saw him, he looked so much bigger than a red-shouldered...then I realized he was wearing his winter plumage on this 7 degree morning!
Thank you for your visits and inspiration!
This female Red-wing Blackbird captured the moment of summer birding in record temperatures for me this morning with her desire to be near the trees and as the heat of the day began to ignite, she was off with a quick retreat and back into the shadows.
Thanks for all your visits! ...and if you can put out water for wildlife, please do...
As of this week, I am seeing that the Eastern Phoebes are returning to Connecticut. This one paused long enough on what I think is a wild blackberry bramble to get a few shots.
Thank you for your visits and inspiration!
flying over the Pacific at a time when hundreds of California Brown Pelicans were camped out and feasting on sardines along with all manner of marine life
Snow melt certainly has the power to transform itself into just about anything it wants - A couple of years ago I enjoyed watching this snow art unfold and with camera in hand took a few pictures of the more definitive shapes. This particular one felt serpentine with a fox type head, maybe even dragon-like, and was my favorite. I left the few spots of twigs in for reference. My dad would have been proud of my ability to create a Rorschach test out of any surface...haha...
Thanks always for the visits!