Yesterday a friend and I took our twelve year on a nearby trail as part of our current Ecosystems unit. They were participating but not really having a riveting time until they found some left behind bird seed. They both stood still for a long time so that the chickadees would feed from their hands. That was the highlight until, not far from the end of our walk, a barred owl swooped through the woods ahead of us, 2 feet from my son's face and landed on a tree about 20 feet away. It was huge and impressive and absolutely made our afternoon.
Before it got built up around here we saw deer on a very regular basis, even the mama and her fawns :) Also had a very proud pheasant who would strut his stuff for the hens and stand on a dirt mound and call. Hubby used to say he was too handsome to eat. Hawks used to hunt in that empty field a lot too - even had one sit on our back fence and on the swing set a few times.
Now that it is all built in, we get bunnies, squirrels, doves, hawks now and then and a beautiful red headed woodpecker that is about 1.5 feet tall. Totally amazing seeing him in all his glory.
Heather, that barred owl experience must have been amazing! Lu C, we need to have a hummingbird feeder next year...I just love those bold little birds. (Was dive-bombed by one repeatedly, once!). And Marisa, building up is so sad. I wonder how long we will be "in the country". But we're part of that urban sprawl ourselves. Hopefully, the deer will keep coming.
We see deer and elk, enjoy fish jumping in the river, watch the eagles and osprey swoop down and grab a fish, keep an eye on the hawks, and listen to the noisy calls of the pheasants. But our hands down favorite are the cute little quail. The guard is alert at all times, and the others blissfully eat whatever they like near our patio. Beautiful fall days really are a reason for gratitude.
We love to watch the crazy antics of the squirrels! There are lots of deer in our area but they never come into our yard. Our neighbor sees them but we don't so we enjoy the squirrels, cardinals, and many other little birds!
We live in the middle of the city but were able to find a house with a patch of woods between our house and our backdoor neighbors. We have lots of birds in our yard year round. We've seen Red Bellied, Hairy and Downy Woodpeckers, Chickadees, Finches, Cardinals, Bluebirds, Blue Jays, Towhees and lots of Robins. We have loads of squirrels too.
One day last week when Jack and I were in the driveway, he started pointing to the sky. There was a huge Turkey Buzzard circling. I noticed a dead squirrel in the road and figured he (the buzzard not Jack) had his eye on it. He landed on a street light and stretched his wings all the way out for the longest time. From the back he was a beautiful creation. Can't say that I was overly fond of his heads though.
I love watching the wild birds on my feeders. The Goldfinches are wonderful. Great to see the Robins are back now and the little Wren is a treat to hear. It has been a very poor summer this year in the UK so we were privileged to see any moths or butterflies at all, which is such a shame. Bees are my favourites too....sooooo busy :)
At home we have rabbits that make me laugh as they stand stone still so you won't see them. We have nests of robins in our evergreens. We had a mama duck make a nest underneath one of those everygreens last year. She was there one day and hatched and gone soon after. We have a fox that we see occasionally and even deer in our very urban environment.
At our boat we see all the waterfowl, gulls, cormorants, geese, ducks, swans, blue heron, white heron and tri-color heron. There is a diving bird that is so fun to watch, they dive headfirst into the water and grab minnows. My husband calls them "fishers"; but I think they are a variety of tern. In the spring/summer we have a swan family and papa swan goes on the attack to keep the bay clear of most waterfowl while his mate is nesting and they rasie their young. He is very fierce. Come fall he relaxes a bit and we see quite the variety. I believe they are mute swans. Sometimes the babies are all white and sometimes they have a combination of gray ones and white ones. They look so funny when they stretch their wings and have only stubby shoulder blades.
We also feel, see and hear the fish. They swim lazily around our boat, they jump out of the water, they make bubbles. In the spring the carp slam themselves against the boat and the dock to release their eggs. It's quite the sound when you are down below. We have carp, bluegill, bass, perch and crappies.
We have a 2nd home (to be our retiremnet home in the future) near a wild life refuge on the north south flyway for migratory birds in Delaware. We live on the pond in our community and always see wildlife. Turtles, red winged black birds, flocks of robins in the spring, blue heron, snow geese (by the hundreds in the late fall), candaian geese (several returnevery year have their babies every spring), but the most special birds we have ever seen are bald eagles (seen them 3 times in 4 years), YES bald eagles!Coming down and getting fish from the pond. It's amazing. A God gift everytime we see them. Sorry to go on, but sitting in my kitchen nook,makes me so glad we put in sliding glass doors (to no where at this time) but I have a perfect view of the pond. Even bought binoculars so we could see the birds better. It's a blessing.
Hummingbirds! We have a feeder within a foot of our dining room window and we often have multiple birds perched on our feeder. We had to refill the two feeders about every four days this summer!
Yesterday a friend and I took our twelve year on a nearby trail as part of our current Ecosystems unit. They were participating but not really having a riveting time until they found some left behind bird seed. They both stood still for a long time so that the chickadees would feed from their hands. That was the highlight until, not far from the end of our walk, a barred owl swooped through the woods ahead of us, 2 feet from my son's face and landed on a tree about 20 feet away. It was huge and impressive and absolutely made our afternoon.
ReplyDeleteHummingbirds at our feeder and squirrels zipping over the grass and up into our cedar trees!
ReplyDeleteLu C
Before it got built up around here we saw deer on a very regular basis, even the mama and her fawns :) Also had a very proud pheasant who would strut his stuff for the hens and stand on a dirt mound and call. Hubby used to say he was too handsome to eat. Hawks used to hunt in that empty field a lot too - even had one sit on our back fence and on the swing set a few times.
ReplyDeleteNow that it is all built in, we get bunnies, squirrels, doves, hawks now and then and a beautiful red headed woodpecker that is about 1.5 feet tall. Totally amazing seeing him in all his glory.
Heather, that barred owl experience must have been amazing! Lu C, we need to have a hummingbird feeder next year...I just love those bold little birds. (Was dive-bombed by one repeatedly, once!). And Marisa, building up is so sad. I wonder how long we will be "in the country". But we're part of that urban sprawl ourselves. Hopefully, the deer will keep coming.
ReplyDeleteWe see deer and elk, enjoy fish jumping in the river, watch the eagles and osprey swoop down and grab a fish, keep an eye on the hawks, and listen to the noisy calls of the pheasants. But our hands down favorite are the cute little quail. The guard is alert at all times, and the others blissfully eat whatever they like near our patio. Beautiful fall days really are a reason for gratitude.
ReplyDeleteWe love to watch the crazy antics of the squirrels! There are lots of deer in our area but they never come into our yard. Our neighbor sees them but we don't so we enjoy the squirrels, cardinals, and many other little birds!
ReplyDeleteWe live in the middle of the city but were able to find a house with a patch of woods between our house and our backdoor neighbors. We have lots of birds in our yard year round. We've seen Red Bellied, Hairy and Downy Woodpeckers, Chickadees, Finches, Cardinals, Bluebirds, Blue Jays, Towhees and lots of Robins. We have loads of squirrels too.
ReplyDeleteOne day last week when Jack and I were in the driveway, he started pointing to the sky. There was a huge Turkey Buzzard circling. I noticed a dead squirrel in the road and figured he (the buzzard not Jack) had his eye on it. He landed on a street light and stretched his wings all the way out for the longest time. From the back he was a beautiful creation. Can't say that I was overly fond of his heads though.
I live right in the middle of town, and there are deer all around. Also love seeing the birds and squirrels. Not so much the raccoons though!
ReplyDeleteI love watching the wild birds on my feeders. The Goldfinches are wonderful. Great to see the Robins are back now and the little Wren is a treat to hear.
ReplyDeleteIt has been a very poor summer this year in the UK so we were privileged to see any moths or butterflies at all, which is such a shame.
Bees are my favourites too....sooooo busy :)
I love watching for all of the creatures.
ReplyDeleteAt home we have rabbits that make me laugh as they stand stone still so you won't see them. We have nests of robins in our evergreens. We had a mama duck make a nest underneath one of those everygreens last year. She was there one day and hatched and gone soon after. We have a fox that we see occasionally and even deer in our very urban environment.
At our boat we see all the waterfowl, gulls, cormorants, geese, ducks, swans, blue heron, white heron and tri-color heron.
There is a diving bird that is so fun to watch, they dive headfirst into the water and grab minnows. My husband calls them "fishers"; but I think they are a variety of tern. In the spring/summer we have a swan family and papa swan goes on the attack to keep the bay clear of most waterfowl while his mate is nesting and they rasie their young. He is very fierce. Come fall he relaxes a bit and we see quite the variety. I believe they are mute swans. Sometimes the babies are all white and sometimes they have a combination of gray ones and white ones. They look so funny when they stretch their wings and have only stubby shoulder blades.
We also feel, see and hear the fish. They swim lazily around our boat, they jump out of the water, they make bubbles. In the spring the carp slam themselves against the boat and the dock to release their eggs. It's quite the sound when you are down below. We have carp, bluegill, bass, perch and crappies.
I can sit and watch for hours....
We have a 2nd home (to be our retiremnet home in the future) near a wild life refuge on the north south flyway for migratory birds in Delaware. We live on the pond in our community and always see wildlife. Turtles, red winged black birds, flocks of robins in the spring, blue heron, snow geese (by the hundreds in the late fall), candaian geese (several returnevery year have their babies every spring), but the most special birds we have ever seen are bald eagles (seen them 3 times in 4 years), YES bald eagles!Coming down and getting fish from the pond. It's amazing. A God gift everytime we see them. Sorry to go on, but sitting in my kitchen nook,makes me so glad we put in sliding glass doors (to no where at this time) but I have a perfect view of the pond. Even bought binoculars so we could see the birds better. It's a blessing.
ReplyDeleteHummingbirds! We have a feeder within a foot of our dining room window and we often have multiple birds perched on our feeder. We had to refill the two feeders about every four days this summer!
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