Mid-Atlantic Birdwatching - Page 2

It feels like I'm repeating myself... but here are some bird shots I took yesterday, down by the river.

Not a pretty bird, but a decent close shot of one... a Black Vulture.
I was surprised by his starkly white legs!

A Red-shouldered Hawk in flight...

Two pair of Mallards...

Ring-billed Gull in flight

Mallard take off

Canada geese in flight

And I found this interesting... a Purple Martin house, made of brick, to match the pre-civil war era home. I wish I could find more info on these... if martin houses were always made this meticulously in the past.

That is a cool purple martin house, the only ones I've ever seen are those white ones.

Can't wait for the snow to go away. Those ducks ate thru 60lbs of cracked corn since the early February storm! But they are so cute they are worth all the trouble.
There are some patches of green near the ponds, Spring is on the way!

Somebody had some extra bricks!!Cool.
I finally heard , and saw, my redbellied woodpecker today at the suet. Maybe he's just an early riser, whereas I am not.

Those durned "pet" squirrels figured out how to get that suet cage off of the pole after we wired it to the pole!! Karen, that's a really nice photo of that red shouldered hawk.

Lady, That Is a great photo of that upside down Titmouse.

Villiers, 60lbs. of corn is a lot! Isn't it nice to be able to see some green?

Va wild rose, love your bird pics, and that martin house is the Ritz.
Holly thinks your rare and wild birds are beautiful.
Stormy, if you have a screw gun, try using a couple of screws with large washers to attach you suet cage. Our squirrels haven't learned to use a screwdriver yet. LOL Ric

It sure is nice to see a forecast with "sunny, 54F" for Sunday. Hope they are right!
The ducks seem happy to just nibble on anything green.
Could not believe that there were not one, but three Toheews at the feeder yesterday!
Just planted tomato and Physalis seeds and tucked them in an organic seed starting mix at 75F.
Is it too early for petunia seeds?

Villiers, I started my petunia seeds last month.

Picture I took yesterday of Petunia Avalanche White.

Love the Purple Martin house, wonder how they clean it?

oooh babies!!!

Nice babies indeed! What kind of fertilizer are you using?
I am thinking of using Algoflash this year (4-6-7) at half strength.
Also I have spindly growth on my California poppies due to an initial lack of light (long story). Would letting lights on for 20 hours at the time, on top of a blowing fan, correct the problem?

Look what visited the feeder area today.
3:00 this afternoon had to make sure he was out of the area before I could leave the dogs out.

He didn't stay long. Looks like a young one in good health.

I want to get out there are rake up the spent seeds soon. Too much snow still on the ground.

LOL Ladyg, What big birds you have up north. LOL

LOL I have been keeping an eye on him off and on. He is across the street in the empty lot. Seems like he doesn't like walking in deep snow. So has been staying in the grassy melted areas looking for food.

I thought they don't come out when it's light??

I thought so too Jen, it is acting normal, doesn't look sick. Maybe the warm weather and an empty tummy is driving him to look for food.

Lady, He is quite the creature!! I have never seen one in my garden but I don't go out much at night. I have always thought they were so cute! Guess everybody is hungry this year!! Sweeping and raking the seeds is a pain, but I keep putting more out. Boy, do I track a lot of them into the house.

Just wanted to let you know that my "pets" were at it again!! DSO wired the suet cage to the pole. I had put 5 twist ties through the cage to keep it snapped shut. I found the cage on the ground. The wires that secured it to the pole were missing. SO WERE THE 5 TWIST TIES!! It was laying flat on the ground completely open and empty!

Wow, Stormy... you've got some persistent pests after that suet!!!

Is it always during the night?

Diva, I don't know. It could be early in the morning before I think to look outside. I saw two Doves out there yesterday. They were cute as could be. That darned BlueJay keeps coming around too.

You need to use ty wraps not twist ties.

Hi ladygardener1 I had one who visited my porch every evening at 6:30 almost all winter. I named him Harry. He got so use to me taking his picture after awhile he didn't even look up when he heard me. I miss him.

I am a cautious about wild animals getting into the fenced in yard area. That is where I leave my 2 little dogs out to run. If they would get one cornered it could spell disaster.
I went out today and raked up as much ground seed as I could,

The dynamic duo

I caught a small possum when I was 12-13. He was dirty and in need of a meal. He was just big enough to have gotten off of mommas back. He was very tame or just in worse shape than I realized. After a bath and a warm meal he was fine. I fixed him a cage and cared for him for 3-4 weeks, and he grew and was almost affectionate. He loved to be groomed and swaddled. Their paws are like little hands and keeping him in his cage became a problem. Twist ties, safety pins, hooks, and bolts weren't even a challenge. After a night of prowling the house my Mom had had enough, so it was back to the wild. I left him food for a while where he was released, but he quit coming around pretty quick. The thing I remember the most was how very soft his fur was. Ric

I thought his fur looked soft, but I wasn't about to go out to find out. LOL

As you know, I did my birdwatching in Marlyand this weekend... at Blackwater NWR.
My daughter Jessie got to hold a barn owl! What an experience! It was awesome!
You can see more of our photos... in other "locations" near you!
I'll try to post more here at a later time.

Oh that is sooo cool. Can't wait to see more pictures.

Here's the eagle shot I've been able to process so far. It was rainy and cloudy, so this is the best I could do.

Great eagle shot Wild Rose. Ric

Very cool!

WWR--WOW!!!!!

You captured a rare sight! The bald Eagle with it's wings in flight!

Now--if you could crop it so the eagle and sdsome o0f the tree is all you see--you could submit it to the Photo Contest....

Gita

Those at wonderful pictures, love the look your DD is giving the camera.

And I second Gita's post.

Thanks! That photo was already heavily cropped, and I liked the trees behind it...
but here it is closer, for your viewing pleasure! :o)

These two are American Kestrels...
This is the male...

And the female...