Category Archives: Year 5

Fishing in Progress … Birds and Mammals!

Year 5

Over the past 24 hours I have had fun watching a few of my favorite birds and mammals fish. The Green Heron chicks are almost as big as the adults, and their coloration is now mostly adult plumage. While taking my Texas relatives birding yesterday afternoon, this juvenile heron posed nicely for us and allowed viewing of its fishing expedition from only ten feet distant!

This morning at sunrise I visited a local river and watched more fishing in progress. This River Otter was happily at work finding breakfast and was happy to ignore me! However, the local kingfisher family was most definitely NOT happy with my presence, and chattered at me … hoping I would move to a different spot on the river.

River Otter … the Movie!

Realistically, although fish is a perfectly acceptable catch for both the heron and the otter, the bird was happy to eat frogs while the otter was also eating shellfish.

Hummingbird and Not Hummingbird!

Year 5

Summer is a great time. Some of the best birding and nature outings are only a few feet from my front door. Having observed up to five hummingbird moths and three ruby-throated hummingbirds visiting my bee balm at the same time in the early evening, I made the HUGE trip from my living room to the bee balm (about 20 yards).

Although I thought it was a pipe dream to get both species in the same image, this sequence of five photos put me in seventh heaven. A hummer showed up, and decided to drink nectar from the same blossom as the moth. Although for a moment it looked as if the hummingbird had to decide if it would share the blossom!

Bellying Up to the Bee Balm Bar!

Hummingbird Moth (White-Lined Sphinx Moth)

Before There Were Red Heads …

Year 5, ,

There were black heads! Yup, Red-Headed Woodpeckers have to wait to get their brilliant scarlet heads. When these chicks first fledge they do not win beauty contests when compared to their parents, but their day will come. I had been monitoring this woodpecker family for a few weeks, and although I never found their nest hole, I knew their haunts. I first had to wait for the Lake Superior fog to burn off this morning. 

In addition to visiting Cloverland this morning, over the past few days I have been back to the duck pong to check on my Green Heron chicks many times. As the winter migration of shore birds is beginning, I also have to keep my eyes open for new arrivals. Yesterday morning it was a few Sanderlings, and in the afternoon a Solitary Sandpiper. Birding should improve in terms of species as the winter migration gets going. The heron chicks are starting to look less dorky! No ID is necessary for the the final duck pong bird.

On this afternoon’s bike ride, my Talmedge River Belted Kingfisher was sitting it her normal spot on a tree in the fog!

Finally, Turkey Vultures can also be beautiful, particularly when one photographs them just a few minutes after sunrise (image taken during last week’s trip over to Cloverland).