The starlings have been storming the yard lately. I've noticed that when they all storm off, every other bird in the yard takes shelter in the trees.

Have also seen a few robins around. Looking a bit chubby for the dead of winter. Though they are probably saying the same thing about me!

pixie_lou: it's interesting that both you and Jane get large flocks of starlings in your yard. I only get a few at a time, although I've seen large flocks in the area. Maybe it has something to do with the fact that both of you have big expanses of lawn for the starlings to land on. My lawn is severely limited (and getting more so each year).

Claire

Pixie - Good mid-air catch on Henry, and yes, perfect example of those back feet making quite an impression. An aside, I don't think Claire will clobber me from afar, in ref. to a remark you made in another thread about being younger than some other NE members, I say, Good! Personally, I'm delighted that you participate and post otter pics, etc. I joined 6 years ago during a stressful pine tree moment in my yard and I thought, OMG, they all know the Latin names. Well, meet my friend Google and a bunch of books. So forget the age thing...but I still want your pond.

Went looking for an Arctic Snowy Owl today and came home with a Canada Goose. Didn't Gertrude Stein say, 'a bird, is a bird, is a bird'...Maybe the next time.
Jane

But it's a great goose shot, Jane! So powerful and confident.

Didn't somebody say "A bird in the camera is worth two in the news..." or something like that?

Claire

hahahahaha, yup, I think that's right. Chokeberries are still not ripe enough, but they're trying. Reminds of my first time with chopsticks.

Very funny - and in the same vein of birds/critters dangling upside down from a branch to eat :

The squirrel matched the wisteria pods nicely - it almost looked like cannibalism.

Claire

A Yellow-rumped Warbler, AKA Butter Butt, appeared at my bird bath late this afternoon.

I used to see them every day in the winter when I hung the suet cage from the wisteria (the same wisteria the squirrel is hanging from in the previous post). The birds loved the suet there, it was easy to access and the butter butt could guard it. I had to move the suet cage though, because the squirrels would climb up for the suet and stay and nosh on the wisteria flower buds in the spring. I guess the butter butts decided the exposed cage was just not worth guarding and didn't stay.

I miss the butter butts - it was great to see one today.

Claire

Well, maybe the warblers liked the shielded effect better; don't know. Only saw one here once and nothing is shielded, so may be you're right. They are cute.

I'm trying to clean out photos I really don't need to keep which will make my computer's HD happier and today I found a reason to be grateful for having green outside, not white as it was 2 years ago today:

When, at that time, the poor blue bird probably thought, "It's a beak... not a Sawzall".

Jane

Lots of snow there, Jane - good of you to shovel all that for the birds. That doesn't look like a happy bluebird to me.

I don't know about two years ago here, but a year ago yesterday the yard looked pretty much like it does today.

January 16, 2013

However, a few months later, on March 22, 2013, we had snow too (which didn't seem to faze this tom turkey).

I have a sinking feeling that once this January thaw is over, February and March are going to be brutal....

Claire

We haven't seen any turkeys for about two weeks, since we got a lot of snow that then froze when it rained. I think it has made any open ground fairly inhospitable for foraging.

I went out for a walk this morning since on snowy weekends the road is quiet, and down by the stream it was clear that sometime between the last snow and this one the otters had been playing along the bank, sliding down into the water. Unfortunately, unlike Pixie Lou, I can't see the water from my windows, so I didn't get to see them, but I do love knowing that they are around.

aahhhh, another year and my envy of the bay, river, pond, brook owners grows. Otter tracks. Be still my foolish heart. So nice.

nhbabs - are you using your iPhone to take these outdoor scenes or did you get another camera? I'm asking because everything in your pictures is in focus, not just a narrow subject. You're making winter look nice even as I think of fields of lilies in Bermuda.

Jane
59 days until spring

Beautiful scene, nhbabs, and I'm imagining the otters gamboling around making those tracks sliding into the water. They must really crush the serenity that the picture shows - like raucous laughter in a library.

I'm not seeing turkeys very often now either, but I think it's because the neighbors up the street are putting out a superior buffet for them. They were here a few days ago so I think I'm still on the schedule, just not so often.

Claire

Jane, yes it's my iphone5. Getting a good camera with more flexibility is still on my list, but the iphone is fairly good for this type of shot. It can't focus if it gets too close to things, and it doesn't have a functional zoom so anything small at a distance is out of range, and it doesn't always focus on what I'd like it to, but for things starting at about 6' up to wide landscapes it does surprisingly well.

In more than 30 years, I've only seen otters once, happily at a time when I could stop and watch them popping in and out of holes in the ice of a frozen pond, but I do occasionally see their slides in the snow. In warm weather it's mostly too buggy to hang out near water unless I am in it.

This post was edited by nhbabs on Mon, Jan 20, 14 at 9:11

Beautiful shots and such interesting facts about birds, other winter friends and their tracks, everyone! I haven't been here in a while. I showed the photos on this thread to my DH who loves to paint birds and winter scenery. (Hope I can easily copy and send them to his computer down in his art room. If not, I may be asking for some to be sent to me via email.)

We've watched the river for weeks --- looking for the Hooded Mergansers. They're such speedy little motorboats on the river --- it's hard to capture them with my camera. I usually end up with just their wake and back ends in my shots. But today my DH spotted a pair around the dock. So I went out onto the deck and steadied my camera against a post. I've included all the photos that were taken in just a minute or so. The Mergansers are the cutest of our "river folk" ---- we wait for them every winter.

Here's the male... on a tear. All the photos are in order as he rounded the bend and disappeared into the reeds.

Racing a friend... he won, of course

The only clear one of him with his little lady

Almost out of view. I love his little brown belly!

Back view --- he's kind of saying, "Eat my dust!"

The final shot --- a mirrored image

ENVY Glad you have that Canon, Molie. I haven't seen one of these fellows yet. Have to keep traveling. Good going!

Jane

Nice photos; I love the colors. In those first two photos he is kicking up quite a bow wave! I haven't seen any here yet, but I spend less time near the river when there's snow & ice on the ground as our bank is quite steep. Today I was out skiing and there's currently lots of open water, but didn't see any water birds (or anything else living other than a few snowmobilers on the other side of the river.) Often I first see the mergansers during the Great Backyard Bird Count in February, though they may be around earlier.

Great pictures of the Hooded Merganser, Molie! Such a cute little bird - I think that's an American Black Duck he left in the dust.

I see the mergansers every once in a while at the local marsh, usually when I don't have a camera with me, and it's always exciting .

Claire

edit note: I saw a pair of Hooded Mergansers a few weeks ago at the marsh as I was driving by. I'm glad nhbabs brought up the GBBC - it's coming up on Feb. 14 - 17, 2014. I reported two Hooded Mergansers on GBBC 2010.

So Molie, you have a new Canon camera?

This post was edited by claire on Mon, Jan 20, 14 at 17:45

Yes, it's a new camera and I'm slowing becoming better at using it, though there's still more I need to learn. I often take photos off our back deck rather than try to go down to the water's edge. We have strong winds on that side of the house --- steadying the camera is a skill I've not yet developed.

We're getting another snowstorm today. The birds are very busy at the feeders and on the ground --- the blue jays were here very early today for their peanuts.

You're doing a great job already, Molie! It's so nice to be able to take a long distance photo without scaring the birds (or going into the woods).

The snowstorm is finally over here - the last band of ocean effect snow hung over us for hours this afternoon before sliding offshore.

I was out in the middle of the storm shoveling to feed the birds and critters, but the fresh water was appreciated just as much if not more than the food. My copper birdbath freezes up and I can't empty it so I put a shallow saucer on top for the birds that prefer their water up in the air.

Here some Mourning Doves settled onto the birdbath and seemed to almost go to sleep.

A female cardinal looked wistful but apparently decided not to try to join them. There were more birdbaths available, this one just happens to be a cardinal and dove favorite.

And a little later on a bunch of robins came in for the water.

While the heated birdbath is always on, I try to refill the other birdbaths first thing in the morning and then again in the afternoon when the birds are going to roost and need a drink.

Claire

Wonderful shots of the communal bath/drinking fountain, Claire. How much snow did you get? I understand the MA shore got socked! Hope you were spared the deep snows I heard about on tonight's news.

Molie

It's hard to say how much snow, Molie, since the strong winds shoved it all over the place with drifts several feet deep - probably an average of 10 to 14 inches. That's quite a change considering there was absolutely no snow on the ground here on Tuesday morning.

It's supposed to be really cold through Friday then suddenly a burst of temperatures in the mid-30's on Saturday and then below freezing again. I'm visualizing an icy crust on everything.

Claire

No otter slides here. No Mergansers. And no heated bird baths. But there has been tons of bird activity at the feeders. I took these pictures earlier in the week. In about 10 minutes I noted the following species on the bird feeder or in the yard (didn't get photos of all of them).
Cardinal (male and female)
Junco
Chickadee
White Thraotes Sparrow
Goldfinch
Rufted Titmouse
Downy Woodpecker (male)
White Breasted Nuthatch
House Finch (male and female)
Starling
Blue Jay
Crow
Robin
Mockingbird
Mourning Dove

As for photos
A crow and a squirrel were having a showdown in the compost heap. Not sure what treasures they were after.

A titmouse on the feeder, seed in mouth

a pair of House Finches and a Titmouse share the feeder

White Throated Sparrow, Cardinal and Juncos foraging under the feeder

Female house finch sitting on the patio bench

Male house finch on the clotheline post, seed in beak

Chickadee on the clotheline

A pair of juncos

Lastly - in the tree are 6 male cardinals, 2 females, and one male house finch.

Close up of 4 cardinals

Holy cow, Pixie! 6 cardinals at once. You lucky duck! What a great picture. - All of them of neat - even without otters.

Claire, what's not to love about a peaceful crowd around the watering hole? So nice.

New background on GW? Nice.

Well, I don't have any 'visible' critters to show, but by George, yesterday after the snow, the backyard was a pristine rectangle of white powder. But after last night's traffic, I think I should get an outdoor night camera. This is only 1/2 of the tracks.

Jane

pixie_lou: No wonder the crow and the squirrel were vying for the compost - it looks like a giant carrot cake. I'd want a slice myself.

What a nice selection of birds in your yard - all of the usual suspects for New England and a good selection of cardinals to boot. It's like seeing a reunion of old friends.

Jane: You definitely should get some sort of trail camera or whatever is the appropriate type to monitor your yard. There's a lot going on out there at night that you're missing. Without the snow you wouldn't even know any critter had been there!

Maybe some of them are foxes, like this one I saw today drinking out of the heated birdbath. It didn't look very healthy and it was favoring its left hind leg.

The fox looked around a bit and then ran to the neighbor's yard. It apparently had no luck finding dinner there and came back, looking pretty dejected. It drank from the heated birdbath again and then left.

The snow and the extra cold nights must be hard on it.

Heated birdbaths are great but I learned this morning that when the power goes out for a few hours overnight and the birdbath freezes solid, the heater isn't powerful enough to melt that ice when the power comes back on. Once I knocked the ice out and refilled it, it kept the water liquid as usual. Another really cold night forecast for tonight and hopefully no power outage. It wasn't storm related, just some sort of problem with the NSTAR high voltage equipment.

Claire

edit note: I just noticed the new GW background. I was wondering the other day how the southern forums, like Florida, felt about the snowflakes.

This post was edited by claire on Thu, Jan 23, 14 at 16:43

corunum - If you buy a trail camera make sure it's one that will work in below freezing temperatures, many do not.

Although it's hard to tell from your photo those tracks look as though they may have been made by a house (or feral) house cat.

Claire, it's the Disney disease - my heart would want to take the fox in and give him a warm bath and a good brushing along with a large pot roast dinner, alas... good pictures. Your feeding area is marked.
The other day there was squirrel in the nearby cherry tree wedged in a branch fork with an obvious spinal chord injury because from mid-body down, nothing moved. I watched him leave the tree and drag himself away. The hips and legs had no power. Again, human restriction.

Squirejohn, hello, and thank you for the tip. I'm not a zone pusher in any avenue, and being the caretaker here of all things winter, below freezing worthiness for anything is on my mind. Like apples left on the porch, lol. (saved them) You're right about a cat track, but there are tracks of 7 deer, and what may be coyote; 4 toes with nails and about the right 'dog' size. We don't have anything unusual going through at night that I know of but a trail cam sure would be entertaining. I frequently find scats from various nocturnal depositors and grow enough things to eat on my property, so I may have a look at Canada proven trail cams.

Jane

Berries and birds. Now I'm wondering if it's a matter of preserving food or, a 'squishability' factor. Funny that the chokeberries didn't disappear when the crabapples went, but they're still here. The robins test them once in a while, but that's it. The berries have been frozen many times over, so that's not it. The berries seem somewhat 'squishable' according to this fellow's grasp on the situation. Beats me.
Jane

Jane: It hurt to see the fox like that - It's probably a youngster facing its first winter without good hunting skills. The leg injury probably doesn't help in a hunt.

I thought about what I have in the house to feed it, but I don't want a fox relying on me for food, coming around every day and snacking on the birds and squirrels I'm committed to feed. If it was lying on the ground in the yard I'd probably give it food and water to give it a chance and then hope it would move on to better feeding grounds.

I'm sorry about the squirrel - it will probably end up killed by a predator that it can't escape.

That's a great pic of the robin berry-tester. I don't understand when berries are deemed edible by the birds. Squishability seems like a reasonable factor but maybe chokeberries just don't taste good and they're a last resort.

The berries on my American hollies (Ilex opaca 'Goldie') are mostly eaten now but a few are left. There are also a few winterberries uneaten. Late ripening?

I was wrong about my heated birdbath. I don't know whether the ice kept the thermostat on for too long trying to reach a temperature above freezing or whether another cold night was the last straw, but it was solid ice again this morning.

I've had it for about three years which is the average life expectancy of a heated birdbath in my yard, and I already bought the replacement on sale earlier this year. The new one is now in place and a House Sparrow took the christening bath. I'll probably cut the cord off the old one and use it as an unheated saucer bath.

Claire

I think my heated birdbath is 3 or 4 and still maintains its 37 degrees, thankfully. Some day it won't but until then...

It was almost as if I could here them in unison saying, "Places everyone, places...

I'm imagining squirrels breaking out into a song and dance, ending in a chorus line.....

Claire

The Yellow-rumped Warbler (AKA butter butt) has apparently decided he owns the double suet cage feeder which he can guard from the nearby pine. It's not as good an arrangement as when the suet cage was embedded in the wisteria, but it's workable.

He's not very much afraid of me - I can get quite close before he flies away (sort of like a downie). These pics were taken from a distance, though.

Claire

The yellow warbler is cute. Imagine having all that suet to yourself? The fat lottery!

Well, the current residents keep trying the chokeberries, but...

Hmm, these look interesting:

A little taste:

Think lemons:

And he flew away.

Jane

The name "chokeberry" seems to be really apt. I guess when the birds are really desperate in late winter they'll hold their noses/beaks and swallow the fruit.

I've been seeing a Fox Sparrow for the last week lurking at the edge of the brush. I don't see them often but they're around every year.

And the Northern Flickers come for the water - here a male.

Claire

Flickers are nicely marked birds. Good capture with the Poirot mustache. I see you have ice, that's not good.

Jane: The ice is just where I dumped the birdbaths when I refilled them. I've been trying to distribute the ice chunks so when the next melt comes it will go to shrubs that will appreciate it.

I've been very careful to keep the paths non-slippery and so far it's worked.

Claire

Apparently, aronia brilliantissima can be bitter. Even Buster the Bouncer walked away this morning after trying one berry. This year I may try black chokeberries (yes, the choke should be a given to the distastefulness). I did find a blog article about them, so I guess whenever the birds or Buster gets desperate enough, the berries will go. In previous years, the robins flocked the bush and devoured the fruit, but not this year.

Jane

Here is a link that might be useful: landscapeofmeaning.blog

A nice picture of Buster looking disgusted at the taste of the berries.

I'm reminded of the excellent folks who render suet and add their own ingredients to make homemade suet cakes (I'm not one of them). Perhaps, Jane, you'd consider picking the chokeberries and making a nice jam to put out for the birds/critters....

Claire

This post was edited by claire on Wed, Jan 29, 14 at 12:08

How kind that effort would be in the right hands.

Thanks for the link, Jane. Broken Arrow's online catalogue lists one variety of Aronia --- arbutifolia 'Brilliantissima'. Might be worth a ride down in the spring. Wish I had room for this plant.

Claire, how close are you and your camera able to get to the bird baths and feeders? I really admire anyone who goes out on these cold days to take photos of birds and other winter visitors. I thought the pictures of the fox were particularly moving. It's been an awfully cold winter and I agree that he didn't look good. His tail was down and he seemed to be trying to stay close to the ground and unnoticed. Has he ever returned?

Molie

Molie: Pretty much all of my bird and critter photos are taken through a window from inside the house. I placed the feeders and birdbaths so I could see them from one of the windows. The main problem is fuzziness due to dirty windows.

I'll go outside with the camera for the Great Backyard Bird Count but otherwise I'd much rather photograph from the warm inside with my shoes off.

This is the un-zoomed view from the kitchen down the path toward some feeders. A hawk probably stopped by because all of the birds suddenly disappeared.

A partial close-up of the nyjer feeder, taken from the kitchen.

and just beyond the nyjer feeder is a suet feeder, photo taken from the kitchen.

Lens full out at the nyjer feeder, focused on the feeder and not on the goldfinch.

and lens full out at the suet feeder.

Another favorite view is from my computer which I keep by a different window. Down the path is a cluster of birdbaths.

Lens full out at the latest temporary birdbath on top of the frozen copper birdbath.

My camera is an older Canon SX30 IS with a built in 35X zoom.

I haven't seen the fox again. We've had a couple of thaws and I hope it's finding food somewhere. It's warming up now for about a week and hopefully the temperature will be more seasonal after that so local critters can handle what they're used to. Winters here on the coast are generally not very cold - windy but not frigid.

Claire

That's a good camera range from inside. How wonderful to have nature outside every window. Very nice.

This morning a hermit thrush tried the chokeberries:

And after tasting just one berry:

Oh, well. I like the shrubs. Carbon and Copy were caught in the same pose today:

Thanks for the explanation of your zoom, Claire. More information for camera shopping is always appreciated.

We have finally had some warmer weather and so I went for a long walk yesterday down by the stream, through our far corn field (not visible from the house) and then through the next farm south which was an ornamental tree & sod farm at one point and is now returning to its roots as a food farm. I had been wondering where "our turkeys" had wandered off to and found evidence of them in several places:

Crossing the stream

and then up to check out the manure piles in the field

but the real attraction seems to have been the ornamental crabs in the tree fields. There were lots of tracks in this area, but almost none around the other rows of trees.

Earlier in the week I had taken a quick ski around the corn field by the house and found tracks from fox and coyote as well as this little guy, perhaps a mouse based on the size and tail drag, where his track and the fox coincided.

I suppose, Jane, you can tell yourself that the birds and squirrels in your yard are just so well fed that they don't have to stoop in desperation to eat the yucky chokeberries. And you'll have a nice berry display into the spring (and maybe residual berries into next fall).

It's amazing that aronia is a common native shrub - they must seed around somehow - all those desperate late-winter birds?

Very pretty pic of the titmice in the birch.

Claire

nhbabs posted while I was responding to Jane.

Those tracks are really like an outline of the turkeys' day. You can see where they went without them being watched and disturbed. Did the ornamental crabs drop crabapple fruit that the turkeys were looking for in the snow?

I don't understand the fox/mouse story - did the mouse go by first and then the fox came by? The mouse tracks seem to continue unchanged but there's that pounce hole.

Claire

Those New Hampshire turkeys are just plain lucky. Actually, just from this one thread alone, I've learned just how lucky wild turkeys are. They seem to frequent prime properties only, country and seaside. Turkeys are smart.

Today I went to a large pond (I will have a pond in my next life) . Why is it when you scan a large raft of ducks (I looked that collective noun up) there is usually at least one that is different? (where's Waldo) I did discover that the more time I spend with ducks, the stronger my desire for orange sneakers.

Jane

I honestly don't know how the turkeys got the crabapples, but I didn't see any evidence of fruit on the ground or scratching in the snow, so I don't know if they flew up into the trees and wobbled on the branches while eating (I've seen grouse do that) or if the fruit had fallen.

The ongoing fox track was a regular trot, and the photo included a mark where two paws (front and back) hit almost the same spot, so I am sure that the mouse came first since there was no pause in the fox's journey. The fox print is mostly there for a size indicator (so much more interesting than my mitten.)

Jane - The photo is quite 'Waldo' and I echo the wish for orange high tops!

NHBabs, please post a picture this spring of your crabapple lined avenue when the trees are all in bloom! How lovely, even in winter! Did you plant these trees. This is inspiring me to create something similar.

Jane: Now I'm wondering why all of those waterfowl have orange feet and legs..... it can't be so they can find their feet if they lose them in the garden.... and it wouldn't be much camouflage if a snapping turtle was swimming underneath.

It looks like they're all milling around waiting for the parade to start, or the gates to the stadium to open - maybe the different ones are the color guard to lead the parade?

nhbabs: Maybe the turkeys stretched up like a giraffe and browsed in the crabapple trees? I've seen them do that reaching for a nyjer sock (the sock emptied out really fast with a hole in it).

Claire

Sped - The double row of crabs isn't my doing; I was cheating a bit, and it's on the next farm south that was an ornamental tree and sod farm before a combination of mismanagement and the economy put it out of business 5 or 6 years ago. The photo is of two adjacent nursery rows, spaced wide enough for a commercial mower to fit between. It has now grown well past its sell by date and I imagine will get torn out at some point, but I don't know since the current farmer (food) only ripped out pines and spruce rows this summer. I will try to remember to take some photos this spring since it is quite spectacular in bloom with rows of white and all shades of pink as well as various non-fruiting trees pushing leaves.

I think for an allee planned to remain long-term you would want your trees spaced further apart in all directions, but I do love the look trees spaced regularly along a drive or path. Here's a slightly broader view - the left side of this photo is the right side of the one above.

I just noticed we have 93 follow-ups on this thread! This is too many for those with slow loading problems. I'll start another thread ASAP, maybe even without a start-off photo.

As always, you're welcome to continue the discussion on this thread.

Claire