Watching Red Shouldered hawk family

First off been awhile and I'm thinking of starting this back up so if you happen to like this at all please leave a smiley or something as a comment to let me know and of course share it if you could.

Now for the topic, this year I had the great pleasure of having a red shouldered hawk couple choose to nest in a tree that I can see from my living room. This meant that I could watch the entire process literally everyday. 

First off, I was shocked at the size of the nest. I would think it would be big for such a big bird but it was shockingly small and easily missed if I didn't know it was there. 

Red shouldered hawk nest

The first flights in started in the middle of March. We had a few strong spring storms that had me concerned but the nest location seems perfect and nothing bothered them. One would stay on the nest while the other hunted and the hunter would scream when she/he had something and they would join up in a nearby tree.

Red shouldered hawk with a snake for lunch

By early April I could tell something had hatched by the parents behavior but had to wait till mid month to actually see the little heads. The cuteness was overwhelming.

Red shouldered hawk feeding young chicks

For days I could watch the little ones getting fed. It was easy to know when it was feeding time as mom and dad would scream as they returned with food. In some cases like the below video, they both would be at the nest with food.  

Red shoulder hawk nest with hatchlings

The fact that this nest was visible from my yard and the parents hunted in the neighborhood, I really got to watch all aspects of this process and all while still getting spring yard work done, does it get any better than that? I think not!

Red shouldered hawk chicks growing fast

Within two weeks of seeing their little heads the tree was full of leaves and they were getting their adult feathers. One more week and they looked like adult birds and were starting to venture out of the nest and onto connecting limbs.

Red shouldered hawk Looking all grown up

Young red shouldered hawk gaining that needed courage

Their parents both made continuous trips to the nest everyday to feed these quickly growing red shouldered hawk chicks. Main meals I saw where mice and snakes. I would see squirrels in their tree and close to the nest and they never bothered them nor did they bother anyone at my many bird feeders.

Red shouldered hawk leaving nest

Red shouldered hawk in flight

Soon the three red shouldered chicks where looking like they were ready to venture out in the big world. 

Young red shouldered hawks growing

Then one day I came home from work looked across the street and no one was on the big branch and I knew, it had happened. I walked over and looked up to an empty tree. I said a thank you to Mother Nature for sharing them and wished them luck wherever they were.

The next day to my shock there was a chick on the roosting branch staring at me. I was excited but a little confused. But seems they were must have been hiding in the other trees connected to their nest tree. I went over and found all three hiding in the branches of the trees. 

Red shouldered hawk chick explores the tree canopy and yells for mom

So now it's the end of May and they are exploring the trees doing short flights to branches. Sometimes learning the hard way what limbs can hold them and what ones can't. But mom and dad are right there watching and helping them along or maybe laughing at them like me but who really knows what they think but they were always there. 

Red shouldered hawk parent

Through June the chicks continue to grow and look more and more like adult hawks. The neighborhood is clean of snakes and full of the feathers of the five hawk family. The young ones are still learning the art of flying in the woods but they are a joy to watch.

Immature red shouldered hawk

Trail cam footage of an immature red shouldered hawk

I'm so glad I have been able to watch this family for all these months and I sincerely hope this is a yearly tradition.

Great Blue Heron Community

For my entire life the Great Blue Heron has been one of my favorite birds. Growing up I would try to sneak down to our pond and see what was there and ite a draw between the Great Blues and the wood ducks on which it's hardest to get close to. It doesn't matter where I've traveled it seems the Great Blue Heron can be found and no matter how many I've seen I'm still taken pictures of them. So jump to this year and I've become even more fascinated by this bird. Back in February I was crossing a bridge and happened to look up the stream and saw these things in the trees that looked like large nests but there were a lot of them. Strange I though but figured it wasn't nests because what build nest together like that. Figured it was some weird tree growth or something.

First sighting in February Of course my curiosity was up after the first sighting so on all my wildlife outing I would have make sure to go across this bridge and check out the 'nests' still thinking these are nests. So imagine my shock when in mid March I looked and each of those spots I thought might be nests now had a pair of Great Blue Herons on them. I would have NEVER thought Great Blue Herons as I have rarely seen more than two together at any point in my years of watching these feather friends.

First sighting of the herons on the nests
Well now I'm obsessed! I counted 19 nests but think there might be more. Since then there obviously have been herons everywhere looking for food.

I've seen a few trip to the home improvement store.

I've walked back to the nests twice now but I don't stay long at all because I don't want to disturb them too much. They really freak as they should.

The eggs have hatched and the chicks are moving around but not out of the nest yet. I'm not sure I'll go back there once they get that big as I don't want to scare them plus you can't see all that great with the leaves going in so it will only get worse as summer quickly approaches.

Be sure to see more photos at http://flyingturkey.smugmug.com and Find me on Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/FlyingTurkeyPhotography

Been awhile.....

Thinking about bringing this blog back to life but debating if it's too much with everything else I've started recently. If you find this you can check out my photos at the following places but be looking for some blog entries soon. https://www.facebook.com/FlyingTurkeyPhotography Photo site: http://flyingturkey.smugmug.com/ Prints available at http://fineartamerica.com/profiles/marjorie-lehman.html but here are some categories. sandhill photos
sandhill art
fox photos
turkey photos
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maine photos
nubble photos
goat island photos
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birds photographs for sale
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Bluebirds are back early

It's now April in Kentucky but I was surprised that my bluebirds were back and picking the house again in mid March. The weather is not normal for March so I thought they wouldn't start laying eggs so early. I meant to start blogging from the beginning but didn't get around to get but I will try to do better. So let me catch you up though the photos I've been taking.

First house they started to build in. They always start in two houses, so forget what you read about only one bluebird house per acre or whatever, these teo house are literally 20 feet apart and until I had two for them to choose from they would always start in one and leave. Ever since I'be had the the two houses close to each other I've had babies.

This is the house they choose which they have used for three years now, this photo was taken March 18th.

March 22nd, we had two eggs. I missed the first one. I honestly thought it was too early in the year to be laying eggs.

March 23rd three eggs

March 24th four eggs

March 25th five eggs

March 26th six eggs

March 28th still six eggs moved around

April 7th still six eggs

April 8th two hatched

Ok that brings everyone up to date on this one nest. Look for more updates as they hatch and grow. Let me know if you enjoy.

Snowy friends

Been a little while since I've posted any thing so decided to share a few pictures from about 10 minutes at my feeders. It had snowed the day before and will snow really brings my feathered friends in. Enjoy!

Disastrous Spring

So I give up! Once again the raccoons have raided a birdhouse, this time taking out the new bluebird nest and taking the four eggs!

I'm a nature lover and actually been tolerant of raccoons but this year they have turned destructive! They have raided my bird food buckets which are in a deck box. They have got into cabinets! They have broke bungie cords! They have killed over 15 babies! And today they broke a feeder line and carried off the feeder to parts unknown!

I've bought extension poles, feeders on metal wire, moved houses and feeders and this year nothing seems to stop them. I've been at this house for over 10 years and NEVER had this much damage in basically one month. ARGH!!!!

I love my birds but not sure what to do about these raccoons!

Let's try this again!

So my awesome bluebird couple is over the disappointment of the raccoon attack and have taken up residence in one of the other houses on my property. I wasn't sure they were going to stay as I watch the nest building but today we have eggs, 3 so far.

A few days ago they started the build but then disappeared. Not sure if the constant rain on those days made a difference or not. However, Thursday I noticed the nest was completed but still no sign of the couple. Well, yesterday I saw the male on a wire above the new house and today I saw them together by the house.

I took a picture and BAM we've got eggs. I'm actually glad they picked this house because my thin cell phone slides in a gap in the top so I don't have to disturb them too much to track progress.

Bandits in the neighborhood

Well, it's another sad time for me and my feathered friends. The gang of masked bandits came through with a vengeance the other night. The raccoons got into my birds seed which I thought was pretty secure. I always take the seed out of the bags it comes in and put it into buckets with lids then place inside a deck box. Well, they figured that out and got in the deck box and opened three of the five buckets I have in there. All I can say is they prefer Duncraft's Chickadee Blend (http://www.duncraft.com/Duncraft-Chickadee-Blend) because they throw that everywhere and ate every nut in the bucket. What a mess!

The saddest thing is that they destroyed the bluebird nest and all the babies are gone. The picture here was taken the day before the attack. I was scared that the mama didn't make it but happy to report that both mama and papa bluebird survived. I've moved the house about five feet and secured it to some lattice-work on the side of my house. I was hoping to do this early this spring but the birds beat me to it this year. If you don't know, this particular bird house was one I was going to throw away last year. However I changed my mind and sit it on the end of my deck while I decided where to hang it. In that time this pair of bluebirds build a nest in it so I simply bungee corded it to a pole to make sure the wind didn't blow it off. Anyway, last year they successfully raised three groups of babies in it!

This morning I'm happy to report that the pair is already exploring new nesting places. I've seen them go into the house the chickadees where in, which I'm a little nervous about since I still have no clue what happened to that nest. I'm hoping that will come back to their old box but they might not like the five feet difference. Either way, I'm just happy that they both survived the attack of the masked bandits and are still together!

Finally happy again

This spring I decided that I was tired of the 'normal' finch feeder style and the fact that seeds always stayed in the bottom and they were not the easiest to clean. So off to the Duncraft.com website I went in search of a new finch feeder. Of course I took the "what's on sale" route and ended up with the BirdsChoice Nyjer Forever Feeder - http://www.duncraft.com/index/page/product/product_id/781/category_id/22/category_chain/19,22/product_name/BirdsChoice+Nyjer+Forever+Feeder'

When the package came, the feeder was really easy to put together and I was very pleased with the quality, however my family of gold finches were not as thrilled as I was. They were not having anything to do with it and I had almost given up hope. I actually looked at the old tube style again but resisted buying one quite yet. Well, low and behold one little finch starting using the new feeder and soon the family was together again. The feeder is finally beginning to look more and more like the picture in the Duncraft advertising. I've posted both for prove. Mine is the one with the red barn in the background.

So I guess we'll be keeping the new feeder and I can recommend it but give your feathered friends some time to adjust.

Sad and happy update

I returned today from a four day trip and was excited to check on my baby chickadees and see if the bluebird eggs had hatched. I was home about 10 minutes before I took my dog out and happily checked the houses. First up was the bluebird house and upon taking a cell phone pic through the hole I could tell then had hatched. One other clue was that mama bluebird was not happy with me messing with her home. She didn't mind when they were eggs but now she minds.

Next up was to snap a picture of the chickadees to see their progress. I knocked on the side of the house to make sure mom and dad were out and then slid my cell phone in the crack to snap a quick pic. To my shocking surprise, the box was empty. Not just no babies but no nest. I lifted the door and my fears were confirmed, EMPTY! I take a quick look around and see the nest on the other side of the fence in a ball. I have no clue what happened, but this was no snake or raccoon - this was done by a human and I will find out why!

Despite it all, I'm excited to watch the bluebirds grow and hopefully we'll have a few more batches of eggs this season.

Hummers are here!

While I figured the hummingbirds had arrived as I watched the feeder level go down, I can officially say they are here as I just had my first sighting of 2011. I also wanted to share a neat website that tracks hummingbird migration. I just got done submitting my first sighting!

http://www.birdfeeders.com/advice/bird-watching/hummingbird-migration

We've got babies

You might think these are part of my bluebird family but this is actually my backyard neighbors, the chickadees!

You can try to count the number of babies in the picture because I can't figure it out other than there is still one to go!

I had seen the chickadees going back and forth to one of the birdhouse in my backyard but I wasn't sure they had really claimed ownership since the house wrens usually take up residence there and they were around it screaming. Today I decided to check the house and was shocked that there were babies already.

I don't think I've ever seen a chickadee nest and I have to say I'm quite impressed with their use of moss and other soft nesting material. If the house wrens were in there it would be all sticks and not quite as comfortable.

I'll keep updates on these babies too especially since the way this house is build it's really easy to get cell phone pictures without opening the door.

Colored Eggs

While the Easter eggs have been boiled, dyed, cracked and eaten, my bluebird eggs are still a brewin'. I check them on a daily basis on the hopes of catching a glimpse of them hatching but not yet. As you can see in the photo, there are officially six eggs.

By the way, I still plan to do some product reviews but considering I live in the region that is getting rain everyday and under constant flood warnings I haven't been able to do a fair review so watch for these whenever the big green, yellow and red blob on the radar decides to leave mid-America!

Surprise experiment

I already know that I want to keep up to date with the bluebirds babies on my deck like last year but the birdhouse door doesn't allow for the best photography with my camera. So I decided this morning to do an experiment with my cell phone camera.

I tapped on the side of the box a few different times to make sure the parents were out exploring so I wouldn't scare them and sounded the all clear. I put the cell phone camera up to the hole hit the focus button and then the 'take' button. After waiting the few seconds to see the results I was shocked that the dad was still sitting on the nest! So glad he didn't freak out and fly into the phone, that wouldn't have been pretty. You can see him in the bottom of the picture looking up like "what's happenin' here!"

After he left I played around with getting the right angle and it's not going to work perfectly but I think I'll do it this way this year and not mess with opening the door like last year. Maybe next year I figure out a permanent camera system of something. If you have any suggestions on that let me know. I might be able to do it this year in between babies.

Anyway, with the best one you can tell there seems to be 5 eggs for the spring batch! Could be another one in there but I think 5 is it.

Not So Happy Turkey Day

Today I saw two rare things on my drive back to work at lunch. The one road to work is known to have large flocks of turkeys during almost any time of day and on almost every single day, but no matter how many times I've seen them I still say "TURKEYS". However, today was a little different, I got to say "TURKEY" but then thought 'that's strange - only one turkey!'

The person riding with me thought the same thing and we had a little conversation about how you never see a single turkey. It was about that time that I noticed something strange going on in the traffic ahead, it was a cloud of feathers. I could have reached out the window and collected several. It was a sad sight which brought us to the second conversation of 'you don't see that very often either' but at least we knew why the only was alone.

I think in all my years of passing hundreds of turkeys on this road, I've never seen one hit and it's always rare to see a single butterball usually it's twenty to thirty together. So hopefully that lone turkey will soon find a new friend in the natural turkey farm I have the privilege to drive past almost everyday!

Spring is in the air....time to blog again

After taking a break from this blog for no real reason it's time to bring it back and I hope to give more to it this year with not only bird pictures and happenings but with product reviews.

So here we go! My bluebirds are back! Building in the same 'throw away' house from last year that I was just too scared to move for the fear they wouldn't build a nest this year. It's sort of like that old saying ' don't fix what's not broke' and since they successfully raised three sets of young last year I'm not planning on fixing anything. Well, I think I'll replace the bungie cord soon but that's it. The pair showed up last weekend and today were busy building the nest so shouldn't be long till I have updates on them so look for that soon.

The other thing this year is that I've changed part of my yard by removing part of a deck which opened up a whole new area for my love of birds. Duncraft loves this fact because I went a little nuts shopping on their site and I'll show you some of these recent purchases in upcoming blogs.

The picture here is of the super Squirrel Stopper System which by the way was not purchased to stop squirrels which I only have a few of and don't mind at all so mine should be called the "Raccoon Stopper System" or at least that's the hope. While I love raccoons I can't have them on my deck with a dog that see them as something to play with. Anyway, first impression of the 'system' is that I love all the hooks and most of the construction but for some reason it's wobbly at the base but we'll see how it works out. Also, in that picture you can see a few new feeders I'm trying out and will let you know about.

So I hope you will find this blog a little entertaining and informative and if you do I encourage you to share it to get the audience up to make it worth doing. I would also love feedback so comment away.

Return of the hummers

For whatever reason the annual arrival of the hummingbirds was really late this year. I've had hummingbirds every year and in fact this year invested in a few new things for the little guys but they simply never showed up, well till now. Better late than never I guess.

I have a new feeder for them but they seemed to prefer the ole stand up. Doesn't matter to me I'm just happy to be able to watch them feeding and chasing each other around the yard. I'm going to enjoy every day they have left here and hope they return a little earlier next year.

Vacationing in Maine

So I've returned after spending a few weeks in Maine which is one of my favorite places to visit. To my surprise for whatever reason there was not as much bird sightings as trips in the past except for the osprey. There seemed to be more osprey then any trip in the past especially in the Freeport and Boothbay areas. We did manage to spot one bald eagle during the trip but not on any of the hikes or trails, it was actually while sitting at a gas station, but hey it was a bald eagle and no matter where you see one it's always a good thing.