Remember the polar vortex winter we had last year? This robin came to my window every cold morning of it with his feathers so puffed up he looked downright chubby. I fed him raisins for breakfast straight through until spring. He’s back! He (or so…
Tag: Jay
H is for Hawk by Helen Macdonald – review
The arcane world of falconry is infamous for a snobbery that dates back to the medieval period, when different raptors were pegged to a hierarchical list of feudal stations. So the noble peregrine was for princes, the dainty merlin was milady’s bird, and – as we know from Barry Hines’s novel – it was just […]
Well hello there.
It’s about that time. Last week I saw this red-shouldered hawk pair getting to know each other. Right time, right place. I was taking photos of yellow-rumped warblers and the female flew in pretty close and on an exposed snag’s branch. Lucky me! I have a few more photos of the whole thing that I’ll […]
Polar Vortex Winter Birds
It was a cold week in New York. As I sat writing at my desk by the window I saw the neighborhood birds in another light. One of the ways birds keep warm is by fluffing up their insulating feathers; they looked like puffballs all week. They have other ways to keep warm. Their feet […]
South Texas Photography Trip
Over the last several years, in a number of photography forums I follow, I kept seeing wonderful images from several of the photography ranches in south Texas. Each year I would say, I need to get down there. Well, last summer I decided to plan the trip. I asked three of my photog friends if […]
Swallow-tailed Kites Return
Today I found three Swallow-tailed Kites near Jay Blanchard Park (actually in an abandoned horse farm behind my church parking lot). One of them flew pretty close to me. I suppose they’re creatures of habit, since I used to see them last year roosting in a tree right where these were flying. But these weren’t […]
Sunday Breakfast
I scatter seeds on my porch for the birds when the weather gets cold. This morning I had lots of visitors. Click on the photos to enlarge. House sparrows, Passerdomesticus, are always the first to arrive. They like seeds and breadcrumbs. They usually come in a group. The cardinal, Cardinalis cardinalis, eats seeds, nuts, and […]
The Eurasian Jay (Garrulus glandarius)
The Eurasian Jay is a common bird in the UK and a common, colourful member of the Crow family. They are an intelligent, resourceful, bird that will eat a variety of food including nuts, seeds and even other birds and small mammals whenever they get the opportunity. They are well known to cache away food […]