[BIRD NOTES] ~ February 25, 2010
Barred Owl and Least Weasel© Barbara Cole
Bird Notes
My wife Kit got some great photos of a Pileated Woodpecker on our bird feeder last Saturday and I put a couple of them up on my blog here http://dorsetcustomfurniture.blogspot.com/ Plus this afternoon, my son and I saw two Barred Owls in the trees outside our shop.
---Dan Mosheim,
Our Barred Owl has been appearing more regularly these past few weeks. Today it swooped down to the ground at 3:30 p.m. to gather a morsel that it gulped down. The other night, Thursday 2/ 18 it was perched on our birdfeeder and was really watching the ground for some time but we did not see it catch anything. I have seen red -backed voles and shrews around the spilled seeds during the day. A Sharp-shinned Hawk was sitting on the tree at our other feeder and then flew to a larger tree nearby. Missed its initial approach so do not know how successful it was in getting a meal.
I was happy to see two Red-Breasted Nuthatches today, there was only one a couple of weeks ago. Today there are a few Dark-eyed Juncos, plus the usual Chickadees, Blue jays, and a pair each of the Downy and Hairy Woodpeckers filling up as the storm comes in. We have had a couple of Purple Finches and a Goldfinch and two Tree Sparrows early in February. The crows and ravens are always flying around and there probably is a raven nesting area on Shearer Hill near the rock quarry.
Our kitchen was a mess of spilled bread from the bread box the other morning and the next night bones were taken from the closed trash closet! Thinking Red Squirrel I put the Catch a Live trap with a large bone in the closet and, lo and behold, we caught a pretty little Least Weasel. If we did not have chickens I would have been happy to have it around to keep the mouse population down but we set it loose up at Hogback where there were plenty of tiny tracks seen on the recent track walk held there. I have attached a couple of pictures of the owl and the weasel.
---Barbara Cole,
Price Chopper Woodpecker
A Pileated Woodpecker was seen flying over the parking area at Price Chopper in
Chipmunk Crossing Notes
Today(1/25) I was out putting seed in some makeshift feeders after finding all of our regular feeders on the ground buried in snow. They had all been taken down by the weight of the 18” of heavy, wet snow. Our resident squirrel seemed disappointed that the seed was so conveniently placed on a short table in the backyard. There was no need to try to outsmart me, just hop up and eat. Our regular birds didn’t seem to mind at all and had a steady shuttle going in and out. W-B Nuthatches, Titmice, Chickadees, Juncos, Mourning Doves, Blue Jays and Downy Woodpeckers.
It was raining and I looked skyward to see if there were any signs of it stopping. Very high up was a lone Raven flying north without a sound. I usually hear them “croaking” before I see them.
Our weekend coastal field trip was cancelled due to the weather. We were disappointed, but the odds of seeing any birds in the predicted wind gusts of 60-70 mph, were nil. So, we’ll go another day when the gods aren’t as angry.
Please keep us abreast of what birds you are seeing, whether at home or on a trip in or out of the
Al Merritt
A friend is someone who reaches for your hand
and touches your heart.
posted by Geoff Burgess: Administrator @ 2:44 PM
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