~Fifteen Years for Red-shouldered Hawks of Tingsgrove and Beyond~
I am closing in on the end of this blog and I have very mixed feelings. During the first ten years I kept it going and I was very busy with sharing with people who became friends, regulars from around the World. I have thousands of cherished comments from so many that I shared life with through blogging. After my sister passed away 4 years ago, things really slowed down for me in getting myself up for the task. It is a lot of work too, but also very enjoyable. I no longer can make the memes work for me and I am not sure how that even happened, but it has and that leaves me hanging in the land of not being able to reach as many of you as I once was able to do. I doubt many will even see this share for my fifteenth blog-versary, but it is worth the effort for me. I will close the blog as far as any new entries after the first of the year 2025.
This past February I made another journey up to Sax Zim Bog, Minnesota with my dear friend Christine. This time instead of driving the long journey, we flew into Minneapolis and rented a car and drove over to Duluth. We had about a thirty minute ride every morning and evening to get back and forth from the bog.
*Remember to double click on the first image, to view a larger slideshow
presentation after you have read the narratives.
Thanking you so very much~
In this mosaic, I am sharing three of my recent acrylics...
A primitive horse, a bird feather and an abstract. It is always fun to create and also nice when I sell one. I most often gift them as well and it is delightful to go into a home and see one of my creations on display~
On what began as a rainy morning and became a very cold, very windy no good colour kind of late Winter day, my friends Christine, Barbara and I saw between twenty and twenty five Bald Eagles that were in different stages of maturity ranging up to adults.
The eagles were enjoying what appeared to be a favorite perch tree overlooking the water. A juvenile bird flew in to join them and found that another juvenile was already present on the same branch and it didn't want it there. A bit of a squabble developed and then the new arrival won the perch. We also saw other wonderful birds while out and about in Southern Indiana and enjoyed the time together~
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| Bald Eagles |
We just needed nature to work in our favor even if the weather took a change.
Sax Zim Bog is absolutely beautiful and mysterious and full of wonder.
My quest once again this past February as it was a year ago January was to see and photograph a Great Grey Owl. Of course I am always up for an adventure and whatever we see is extraordinary because of being in a different place.
Driving through Sax Zim Bog...
The scenery is magical!
Within these hundreds of acres are some of the most amazing nature and wildlife photo opportunities anywhere in the world~
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| My good friend Christine and I ready for take off~ |
Some of the roadway scenes in the bog.
Unlike the year before, we did not encounter as much snow this time~
Our first evening visiting Sax Zim Bog gave us a gorgeous sunset~
No Great Gray Owls yet, BUT we finally got the Northern Hawk Owl close up. What a stunning bird. We were so happy to see it because last year when we saw one, it was too far away.
This Northern Hawk-owl is quite the grand delight of those who have been visiting Sax Zim Bog in recent weeks! A year ago this past January when we were there, another NHOW was present, but it was so far away, it was nearly impossible for us to capture any images.
There are still many mysteries about this species and so at the end of the season from their visit this year, like last year, the owl will be captured, bands placed and also a tracking transmitter. I took more pictures of this wonderful small size owl than anything during our week there, as it was almost always present for it's picture to be taken.
Everyone was very respectful in staying far enough away not to disturb the bird as well as not crowd one another. The bird was able to successfully hunt and while I got no pictures of it snagging anything, I did observe it catch a vole...I observed it make a visit to what appeared to be a cache tree also. The bird seemed comfortable and unshaken by our presence as it went about preening and even bringing up a pellet at one point. It took a while for it to force it out, but once it had been regurgitated, it flew to it's favorite perch to begin another hunt~
One day we saw an adorable Pine Marten and lovely Snowshoe hare. Both were so beautiful and wild and free, and both were on my list to get to see. On the second and third day, still no Great Grey owl sighting... Keep thinking good thoughts I told myself.
For years I had wanted to see a Snowshoe Hare. We just missed one by a little while last year, but this time we found them. Many thanks to William Joers who is a friend and one of the kindest people that frequents Sax Zim Bog on a regular basis. He was able to help us locate this lovely Snowshoe hare and other wildlife as well~
The Pine Marten had been on my target list since we were at Sax Zim Bog in January 2023. You have to find out where they are being seen, get there, find a parking spot, turn off your ignition, try to stay in your car and, whisper, and wait patiently with your camera ready. It took Christine and I a total of over three hours in two days time to get to finally see and photograph this beautiful animal. We spent as much time last year and never saw one. The best time to see them is during the hours of 9:00 AM to1:30 PM.
Can you tell what this is at first glance? It's a Sharp-shinned hawk flying upside down as it flew along with several Rock Pigeons at Sax Zim Bog. It was on the hunt for lunch~
Red Squirrels...so adorable and you cannot miss them when they begin to let everyone and everything around them know that they have claimed a position. Their voices carry very well! I thought about bringing one home to our raised and now wild Grey squirrel Bumper but it was only for a really brief Moment 
The beautiful female Red Fox was a pleasant surprise! This lovely fox was just as a crow/raven flies very close to where a Timber wolf had been seen two days before. The bog is filled with so many treasures. One never knows what will show up~
On our way back to the airport in Minneapolis, we stopped to locate and photograph two more species of owls on "Superb Owl Sunday" and found two Long-eared owls and a single Saw-whet owl, both life birds for both Christine and myself. It really was a superb Owl day for us!
For those of you that do not already know...make a fist with your hand and unless you have very large hands, your fist is the size of the very small Saw-whet.
The long-eared owls, just like other species with the name ear, or horn in the name...those are feather tuffs atop their heads, not ears and not horns~
We still also had chances for target birds, but this one was added to the life list.. Check out that beak on this male and female Red crossbill! The criss crossed shape gives them an advantage over other finches, by being able to break into unopened pine cones.
How cool is that?!
This share is of the Boreal Chickadee. Last year when we were at the bog, only one, or two visited the area. This year there were three and they can really be difficult to see. They dart into the bird feeder areas and leave quickly. I feel fortunate enough to have even seen all three, but the images that I got are not worthy of anything other than being used more for documentation to give proof that I did see a new species on my target list~
One of our target birds for the journey to Sax Zim Bog was the Black Backed Woodpecker. What a gorgeous bird and we were so blessed to come upon some people that had located it~
These are a mix of Hoary and Common Redpolls. I absolutely was thrilled to see them up close this year, because last year they were pretty far away and I missed taking pictures. The lighter version of this species is the Hoary Redpolls and the ones that are a little darker with more pink down the front would be the Common Redpolls.
Hairy and Pileated Woodpeckers were part of the scene at Sax Zim Bog. We have both of these birds in Kentucky, but the ambiance of the light snow in the Boreal forest made it even more special.
From the Internet...what makes up a Boreal forest...
A forest that grows in regions of the northern hemisphere with cold temperatures. Made up mostly of cold tolerant coniferous species such as spruce and fir~
A long story...
Great Grey Owls...what makes them so special to me? That for over three decades I have wanted to be in the presence of one! Enough that we took vacation journeys to Northern Idaho, Western Montana, and Wyoming to try and see one. We made plans a few years ago to visit Sax Zim Bog, but with three Long Coat German Shepherds that traveled with us, it would have not been a very smart move to take them on that particular adventure. Once I finally reached the bog with my friend Christine in January of 2023, I knew that by not having taken the dogs was the right decision to have made. Seeking owls, target birds, pine martens, snowshoe hares and so many other things was not a dog friendly activity.
While in Montana one September I was able to see a Great Grey owl at a nature preserve, named Homer. While a lovely bird, it was just very sad, unable to fly, to hunt freely and I felt an even stronger urge to locate one in the wild.
I think that I mentioned it to all of my birding friends at one point, or another, and many had already visited Sax Zim Bog and had seen the majestic birds, but not me.
January of 2023 was an unusual year in that even paid tour guides that had come to the bog to take paid clients out to see and photograph a Great Grey, never saw a single one as did we not see any either. There was only one time that we knew of one that was sighted and by the time we arrived, it had finished it's morning hunt by taking down a couple of voles and there I stood with tears slipping down my ice cold face. I don't know why I get so emotional when I think about them either. One person called them my "spirit bird" whatever that means.
Christine was so very kind and offered to go with me again this past February...only this time to fly not drive. I went through a lot to be able to make the journey because my ears have blown a few times on recent flights and so I had not flown for six years. I had ear tubes placed a week apart and I promise that after having had 14 surgeries in my years, those tubes being placed a week apart was the worst pain that I have ever endured, but in the end they worked and I had no problems on either flight.
Several people I have chatted with over the years would encourage me to just be patient... my day would come when I would finally get to see my nemesis bird, meaning finally acquire that goal that many people before me had already accomplished and that this is the single most important species for me to yet see. So with this long summary and with the kindness and generosity of a few very kind people I was at the bog every day for twelve hours, for three whole days and two half days and we did miss seeing at least two sightings, because by the time we arrived within 6 to 10 minutes, the birds were gone.
You have no idea when you are so on edge, so anxious and excited with anticipation, tired from the long hours and then in just a few minutes the opportunity is over. Seeing the others who were there and got to witness the bird in flight, to see the ease in which those huge wings take the bird to the ground and snag a meal. To see them face to face before them, and just missing it...well those who know me well, it is very hard to get those huge lumps to disperse of themselves.
On the early evening of February 10 we were sitting in a "train" of cars parked alone side a lane at the bog where the previous night an owl had been seen, and many got to witness it before our arrival and it was gone. The premise is to go back to the same area the next morning and oftentimes the bird will hunt from there again.
We got there before sunrise the next morning and the bird was a no show, and so we returned to the same place that evening and once again many cars awaited the bird to make a showing. It was getting late, the sun was down and the darkness was taking over quickly. It happened so fast when I saw that people were beginning to get out of their cars and I along with friends got out of our car and began to walk towards the first cars parked before us. I was shaking I was both cold and excited, but as I walked down the lane I could only see darkness in front of me and then a large mass on a tree to my left way out in front of me. And there it was, no doubt about it, a Great Grey Owl! Absolutely incredible!
Tears of joy began to run down my face and then it hit me, I was not going to get any pictures! I knew to set my ISO as high as it would go which I did. My f-stop was set at 5 and 5.6 as I changed it briefly when I realized that I wasn't getting anything, but the owl was there for sure! It reminded me of a silhouette and it was right before me. I was so very thankful to those who made it possible for this trip and the kindness of those who cared so much to step in and make sure this happened and then I failed myself because I didn't know what else I could have done to get any take home pictures. The one that I have shared has been highly edited.
My heart is overjoyed that someone very special to me ( my youngest daughter Ashleigh) has arranged to go with me back to the bog this coming November to see another one...before sunset. I so hope and pray this time that I will not only see a GGOW, but have sweet photo memories to be able to bring back too. I treasure the memories already made so much.
I am holding on to the thought, that three is a charm~
The marshlands at the Muscatatuck National Wildlife Refuge were shrouded in a blanket of fog on the morning of this visit.
A field trip with the Beckham Bird Club.
Included is my first ever fog-bow/white rainbow.
My friend sent me an article that says they are related to rainbows~
Most often on the days when I need to travel into the "Big City" I take the back roads and it s always enjoyable. I could not resist getting these pictures of a beautiful Bald Eagle perched in plain sight along the Ohio River. I used my Nikon D500 with a Sigma 150/600 lens. The edits are simply a crop and a single click on the contrast. I was very pleased to get some nice captures of this most beautiful and majestic bird.
Did you know there is an official day known as World Eagle day...I think there must be a day for everything, but how fun! There are 68 species of eagles and the Golden eagles and Bald Eagles are the two that represent our country.
This season is my 10th season with a pair of Bald Eagles and I absolutely cherish my time of observation, learning and photographing them. Along the way I made lifelong friendships as well and hope to continue to do so in the future of birding and wildlife photography~
My dear friend Peter Jones who is a Naturalist, Birder, Author, Artist, Field Researcher and Editor "Birds of Andalucia" from Spain that I met from blogging on here, Peter happens to know a gentleman that I had the pleasure of meeting when he came and spoke in far away Kentucky.
David Lindo, known as the "Urban Birder" that travels the world to teach his techniques on locating birds and so much more, as well as author of several birding books came to speak from the far side of the world. I met David while on the Beckham Bird Club field trip at Beckley Park in Louisville, Kentucky.
What a delightful, entertaining and wonderful young man he is~
A non-breeding adult Horned Grebe recently showed up at Cave Hill Cemetery in Louisville. It is the first official notification of one being there. It was really fun getting to observe this one for nearly an hour. It had caught a nice size fish and taken it down over the course of several minutes when it went fishing again. This time it brought up quite a bit larger fish. I watched it drag the fish through the water, shake it in the water, flip it over and over in it's mouth and then...it opened it's mouth and let it go. Just like that! No more fish. I don't know if it was let go alive, or dead, but I guess the Grebe decided it was neither hungry, or going to battle it any longer~
These are photos of two very fast growing, very adorable Great-horned owlets.
They learn from play acting and it is so wonderful to observe. They stretched out their large wings just like their Mom did. These birds as adults have a wingspan of: 4' 6" and only weigh in at 3 pounds.
Unfortunately one of the owlets fell and was injured receiving a compound fracture to it's leg. It was not gathered in when it was first seen following the fall and ended up lost and no one could find it until four days later. It was deceased. The second owlet also took a tumble, but was not injured. New friends that were made due to this nest were Sean, Nick and Catherine. Together they captured the owlet from the middle of the street on evening and kept it safe over night. The next morning my friends Chuck and Michelle with Wingspan of Kentucky placed the owlet into a man-made basket/bucket and within a half hour after everyone was gone, it flew it's first flight, surprising everyone how far it few. I could hear the parents calling and I felt it was with, or near them. Wanting to make sure it was safe, many looked for hours again and I was out for 5 hours and could not find it. That evening Sean let me know it was found, it was hungry had not yet been fed now for well over 24 hours and it was decided that Chuck should get it and take it home to get it's weight up. It was a long stress filled few days when Chuck determined it would be in the best interest of the bird not to return it to the neighborhood where it has been, but to complete the process of strengthening it and getting it into a large aviary for flight training and then give her as it turned out to be a soft release several weeks later~
I will go ahead and let you know that this Gray Squirrel...a lactating adult female Gray Squirrel is one very brave gal. She has survived months of having a Great-horned owls nest in her tree. Actually there are some five dreys in the same tree and while there has been great evidence of squirrels being taken... so far she has not. I have witnessed her pulling this same type of thing once before, but over the weekend in one viewing, she pulled it off twice. I apologize for how many images there are, but I promise they tell an incredible story as you will see as you view them. Very soon now the owlet will leave and then maybe this particular Gray Squirrel can follow on with her life as it had been prior to the arrival of the "Tiger of the Forest" coming to her neck of the woods. I wondered if possibly the Great-horned owl had taken one, or more of her young pups, causing her to behave as she did, as if searching for something very important to her, even more than her own safety~
These are photographs of the second owlet that had taken a tumble and was raised by Chuck and Michele Culp with Wingspan of Kentucky. She did a marvelous job in learning how to hunt and catch rodents that were placed for her to catch in this amazing aviary that Chuck built himself.
She now flies free and has a great chance to have a long life in the wild~
The Great-horned owl hen~
Bumper gave birth to and raised her first four pups in one of two dreys that she built shortly after her release. It was only about fifty feet from her release cage and maybe 25' from our house. Reminder now for those who may not know, or may not remember she was raised a single and so many worry about that, but she has been remarkable champion at being a wild squirrel.
Bumper used the release cage that she lived in 5 weeks before her soft release to raise her second litter this past Spring. She didn't use the same nest box, but used one next to hers.
I got Bumper as a five week old baby the last week of Ocober 2022 and she has been a wild one since her release March 20, 2023. She trusts my husband and I enough to bring her young ones to our deck, but she has made certain that they do not come to us, but only to the feeders. It is like she knows that they need to remain wild. One of them is very small, yet very healthy and she is the only one from the two litters that I gave a name to...Pecan. The weeks have progressed and the young ones come to eat from feeders with others and I no longer know which ones they are.
Bumper doesn't eat with the others without a chase, or her being a little bit on the aggressive side. She claimed her little territory from where she left the cage for freedom and she ventures out onto our acreage, but so far remains fairly close~
Bumpers four 12 week old Bumperettes from her second litter of pups have made quite the splash on Tingsgrove. This time Bumper didn't move them from the nesting box until they were 10 weeks old.
I have finally seen the pups outside of the nest box and I have seen all of them playing within the exact same cage that Bumper lived in her last five weeks of captivity with us prior to her soft release that began on March 20, 2023. These pups were nine weeks old when the pictures were taken and at soon to be ten weeks old, will be gaining their freedom anytime in the next couple of weeks. Right after these were taken last April it was really cold again and we had severe weather with tornadic winds, and hail... Crazy weather and the temperature reached eighty degrees and the next morning it was down to thirty-six degrees with cold rain and sleet with small hail again that afternoon. There was even a chance to have some snow flurries around the county the next day. Not good weather to even think about leaving the safety and warmth of the cage. What an awesome, very devoted squirrel Mom Bumper is. She has been choosing a tree limb right above the cage where she can keep watch on them. She's a very protective, almost over the top protective which at times gives me great pause just to watch and think what a great creature she has become. She is always finding things in the yard and bringing them closer to her area to bury~
Our Bumper above and her four Bumperettes below~
I took hundreds of pictures at the Muscatatuck National Wildlife Refuge of the Total Solar Eclipse and narrowed them down to my favorites that show the Baily's Beads, the Diamond Ring and the a little bit over 100 % of totality of the eclipse and then following with the end stages. I have to say that I got choked up because of the magnificence of this very rare occurrence and how awe inspiring this gift from above was. These were taken with my Nikon D 500 camera, my Sigma 150/600 lens with using a Concept 95mm ND1000000 Ultra Dark ND Camera Lens Filter with 20-Stops Fixed Neutral Density Filter with 18 Multi-Layer Coatings...in other words a filter for use during a total solar eclipse like yesterday~
What a handsome boy and beautiful girl... That was Mr. and Mrs. Purple Finch on Monday at Muscatatuck National Wildlife Refuge. He was magnificent and she was quite lovely~
I have finally after all of these years encountered the lovely Snow and two of her three kits at Cave Hill Cemetery. I have heard about Snow the Red Fox and her litters of kits for a few years~
For those who are old at birding, or those new to it, a “nemesis bird” is one that you try to see and never get. As soon as someone calls out the name of the bird on a birding field trip and you dash to see it, it has suddenly vanished, ducked behind a bush, or flown across the lane.
Once you finally get a chance to see one, and it's looking for an insect and is doing so on the shady side of a tree and your photos show a dark spot that slightly becomes the form of maybe a small bird, you have missed it once again.
Back in April I had gone birding with a friend who has known that of all of the birds, besides the Great Grey owl, my most sought after bird to view and photograph is the Northern Parula.
As soon as we had arrived and began the walk path she announced there's your Parula...and then it happened! Perfect sunlit morning a splash of Spring colour for a nice bokeh background and then the dashingly handsome male Northern Parula right in front of me. What a beautiful bird! It caught a little green worm and after he ate it he then sang a quick song, before flying on to another tree.
It was a great find finally at last. I took 67 pictures and only deleted two...they were just that good ;)~
Do you have a "nemesis bird"?
Christmas in mid April. A dear friend gave me a gift for Christmas for the two of us to tour the famous Claiborne Farm in Paris, Kentucky. This is the home of the final resting place of the famed race horse Secretariat. It was a gorgeous sunny day, perfect weather to take a tour and relax for the hour and a half presentation. There were brand new foals standing in individual pastures, one born at 8:25 the evening before with their beautiful mares. Handsome stallions stood regal watching over the majestic countryside. Wooden barns are being replaced by fabulous, very expensive metal barns due to horse barn fires that can take many lives. At one point a mare with her foal began a chase around the pasture with other mares and their young ones joined in. Some mares were nursing their long legged beauties, and one horse decided that when the wind whipped the wrong way that it must have been caused by a Canada Goose and chased it for a bit. It was a memorable day enjoyed very much and very much appreciated~
Three for the bucket list, soon to be checked off!
While I have been to Thunder Over Louisville a couple of times, it was from the position of being in the car, all traffic stopped, watched the show and the husby kept on driving afterwards. The three girls were very young and so it was a long time ago.
I've always wanted to see the airshow that happens before Thunder, but instead when the planes would practice, or be returning to the base before, or after the show once in a while they flew over our Tingsgrove.
This year I went and it was so awesome! My daughter Hillary and Ashleigh and their families took me and I loved every minute!
Both the airshow and the fireworks program are kickoff starters leading up to the world renowned Kentucky Derby.
This one will be the 150th running for the Derby.
These are my favorite images taken at Thunder Over Louisville. It was so much fun spending time with family and being able to finally see the fireworks display up close rather than from the televised version. Most of my pictures were not in the direction of the bridge as I was a little bit too short to get my camera up and over the crowd of people also standing to try and get the same shots. I heard on the news that over 600,000 people were in attendance for the event. This was the 35th year for Thunder which begins the Derby festival of activities leading up to the Kentucky Derby. I have to say a few tears came down my cheeks when it first began, because it was such a sweet gift of time spent with Hillary and Ashleigh and their family to make sure that I got there and could scratch this off of my bucket list, but... I would not mind going back and being able to see the whole bridge better and it would be nice if we had a room to go to afterwards and could avoid the heavy traffic that seemed to crawl out of the big city back into the suburbs.
Here are my favorite photos taken at the Air Show for Thunder Over Louisville . I absolutely loved it all! The jets, the sounds, the loud noise of the engines going over that was enough to make the ground feel like it was shaking...absolutely thrilling! There were huge aircraft and helicopters that were used for a long list of things that were very cool too!
While photographing the air show I also snagged an Egret, a bubble blowing, a Ring-billed seagull, a Bald Eagle was very high as were two Wood duck drakes that almost looked like one. Several double crested cormorants as well as Rough-winged swallows and also Tree swallows were plentiful throughout the long day~
The photo below was my absolute favorite from the air show and the small child's bubble captured on the bottom right of this mosaic~
Thunder Over Louisville fireworks display~
The top of my absolute life long bucket list of things to attend took place this year with a huge joy filled lump in my throat... finally, at last I was in attendance when they called the horses to the gate for the 150th running of the Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs!
Oh My Goodness Goodness!!!
I'm not going to lie, people who know me well, know that there were going to be happy tears!
The saying is that you should purchase your outfit first and then choose, or create the hat.
Of course I had to go with my hat first and then choose what I would wear.
My seat was in a box of six seats, two back from the rail near the finish line.
It was so exciting!
I made my list of the horses that I felt were my favorites for the big race.
Don't be too envious of how methodical I was in making my choices 
#1 was Sierra Leone
# 2 was Fierceness
I added others that gave me an interest and Forever Young along with Mystic Dan were included in my list of 8 names.
Mystic Dan won the Derby
What a race it was! It was everything I had ever dreamed of. My heart is so filled with thankfulness for this beautiful gift. God is so good all the time, even when it's a horse race that is included in your prayers. Thankful as well that the jockeys and the horses remained safe all day. The rain held off, the sun was shining and it was beautiful and fabulous.
Before the big day we went to "Dawn at the Downs" and got to watch some of the contenders for both the Kentucky Oaks and the Kentucky Derby races work out~
Seize the Grey was my pick for the "Pat Day Mile" race.
He not only won that race easily, but also later claimed the win in the Preakness~
The 150th running of the Kentucky Derby.
Cameras with detachable lenses are not allowed and so my pictures were taken with my phone and a small point and shoot camera~
This was when I saw for the first time the line up of the Kentucky Derby contenders on the track getting ready to head to the starting gate. Tears of joy came a few times throughout the day and this was one of them. My first choice for the winner was Sierra Leone and Fierceness was my second choice.
They were awesome!
Amazing~
Two sweet and lovely singing birds from my weekend trip to Mammoth Cave National Park to attend the bi-annual Kentucky Ornithological Society meeting. If you have not been before, or lately to the park, it is absolutely gorgeous! The field trips were really great and I got to see at least three, maybe four life birds.
Here is a Summer Tanager singing, as well as a Cerulean Warbler singing their little hearts away in the morning sunshine. The Cerulean warblers were life birds. I was happy to mark this little beauty off of my list~
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So Fantastic!
One of His masterpieces was so close last night and I slept through it!
Long on my list for viewing is the Northern Lights. I had looked it up before going to bed the night before and felt like they were probably not going to be seen South of Indianapolis.
That was wrong!
My cousin Scott lives in the Carolinas and got marvelous pictures! My friend Clare lives between Louisville and Indianapolis and she got great pictures! I have a new friend that I think lives in, or near Louisville and took pictures from their backyard.
This is the perfect storm to bring Earth together for alignment for this amazing occurrence.
This is crazy wild and I had no idea! My next door neighbor took this picture with her cell phone last night. That's my three story house in the woods beyond her place. The Northern Lights shown right over Tingsgrove!
His gifts are the very best ~
It has taken three years to be able to make this kind of announcement. I have followed the local Red-Shouldered hawks since 1994. The last three, maybe even four years was just sad. One tree fell, with one nest the two eyas were attacked by a mother raccoon and one died and one went to rehab and was successfully released six weeks later. One nest was struck by a Great-horned owl and last season the adults brooded eggs for over two months and of course the eggs failed. This year they chose a favorite species of tree... a Sycamore and it is in a yard next to where they were last year. I placed aluminum pending around the base of nest tree and two others where the canopy of green can be reached by climbing racoons. There is always a chance that a Great-horned owl can reach the nest by flying in. A young eyas can be taken off of the nest by the large wings of the adults as they turn to feed each eyas and they are usually oblivious when this first happens. The family who owns the land kept a close watch out for them. It was thought that there were two eyas, but after observing them for a while, I noticed slight movement on the back left of the nest and sure enough just as I was going to get back in my car, eyas number three appeared. In these pictures you will first see the adult male land in the nest and the in a couple after that you will see the much larger adult female hen. They are doing a great job so far and I am feeling hopeful this season. All three fledged and are soaring with parents, continuning to be broguht food by the adults, while trying to hunt a bit on their own~~
Another nest of Red-shouldered hawks brought to my attention actually from being tagged for help on Facebook,
At the time the lady that had contacted me, said that she wasn't sure which tree was the nest tree, but had a good idea. It turned out to be a very large Oak tree and the nest was at least a good 50 to 60' up in the tree. She thought that there were two more eyas up in the nest and I had wanted to check on them, not that there was anything that I could do, other than make sure they too were not on the ground. When I first arrived the adult hen was present and being hit by a Blue Jay which is very common behavior...it's called bullying. I stood near the tree for 90 minutes trying to figure out what I was supposed to be seeing and also what I was seeing. I finally determined that there was only one eyas remaining in the tree, and notice I didn't say nest. The second bird that she had seen had to have been one of the adults based on a dark photo that she had taken and once I cropped it and looked closer figured out. I must say I was thankful that there is only one remaining because there is no nest, ZERO leaves, or twigs. The young bird is pretty much laying and standing in a tight crotch of the tree where more than likely the nest once had been. It had to be so careful when it stood up and turned around. The adults could easily accidentally knock it out of the tree with their broad wings when landing, feeding and taking off. I am hoping that this one will be alright a few more days so it can fly and live a good hawks life~
The young eyas I am holding was not left to be raised by adults as it's crop was empty and needed immediate attention. The entire nest, every leaf and branch was missing which made me think that if it fell, the young one may have come down with it. It was extremely underweight and starving! Last evening Chuck with Wingspan thought he may have to force feed the young one if need be. He didn't have to. The beautiful eyas ate on it's own.
The landowner had seen one more eyas very high up in the tree, a good 50' up.
When they are at this age, with storms, it can become a very precarious situation for one, or more of the young ones. The remaining eyas laid and perched in crotch of tree where the nest once had been. It looked very uncomfortable during high winds that we had a couple of days. As it turned out the remaining eyas was raised by the parents and did fledge after a rather bad start when it too fell, but was able to hop up into a small tree and make it's way branch hopping after that~
Bobolinks and more on Bennett Lane~
I think that it was three years ago while driving one of my most favorite country roads when I saw a fascinating and beautiful bird that looked like it was wearing a yellowish white bonnet on it's head. It turned out to be a male Bobolink and I fell in love with trying to locate them and they became one of my top favorite birds. They have become rarer to find in places like Land Between the Lakes and other plains type areas where they mate and raise their young on the ground. Thankfully they have been returning every Spring for a long while now and have successfully raised at least one clutch and hopefully this season if mowing and cutting can be delayed, they will have been able to raise two clutches of young ones here in Oldham County. Here are a few images taken in fog, after a rain, and the first of bright morning sunshine~
Eastern Meadowlark
Tree Swallows, Mourning Doves, Eastern Bluebirds and Red-winged blackbirds and an occasional Grackle~
Also on Bennett Lane were these three adorable newly born lambs at my friends Emily and Rick's farm.
I could not resist watching and photographing them~
A couple of weeks ago Christine and I went to visit the MyRacehorse farm near Lexington. One of the horses that we got to see was a favorite of Christines called Chasing Time. What a beauty he was too. We watched future contenders warming up and learning while being exercised~
One early morning recently I drove North to see the rare Brown Booby in Mitchell, Indiana. The lone juvenile bird had been there for over three weeks now and seems to be thriving well in this rather unusual environment. They are sea birds and having fresh water fish has not dampened it's appetite in the least~
I looked up some fun facts...
1) Brown Boobies eat mainly fish and squid. They are acrobatic birds, particularly for their size, able to soar when searching for prey and then pivot rapidly to dive. They dive from various heights and at various angles, using their narrow wings and long tail to change direction, speed, and angle as they dive.
2) 'Ā (brown booby) is the only ground nesting booby that builds a nest, and its construction is an important part of courtship. Nests are constructed from whatever is available including branches, seabird bones, and human debris. Unlike most seabirds, 'ā (brown booby) typically lays two eggs per breeding season.
3) Brown Boobies are found across tropical regions of the Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian Oceans. In the Americas, they breed on islands off the Pacific Coast, in the Gulf of Mexico, and in the Caribbean.
4) Brown Boobies usually finish swallowing prey as they reach the water’s surface. They have a varied diet that includes shrimp, prawns, squid, anchovy, sardine, flying fish, halfbeak, mullet, mackerel, sea catfish, queenfish, garfish, goatfish, squirrelfish, parrotfish, and various types of flatfish and blennies.
Needless to say this young bird is a really long way from home!
At one point the Booby caught a fish that was quite large. Half of the people that were there were of the opinion that it ended up letting the fish go after trying to drown it, while others thought that it fought the fish and took it down.
Another painting that I did recently just for the fun of it~
Farewell for now. Enjoy your Summer. Stay safe and well. I shall see you one more time in about six months.
Wouldn't it be so wonderful for me to be able to share a large portion of my final blog post of the Great Grey Owls from Sax Zim Bog!?
Remember third time is a charm ;)
Blessings to all who come to view. Please if you can, leave me a comment~
