May 13, 2020

2020

May 13, 2020/ Gwen Morrison

Continuing the blog post series prompted by COVID-19….

Here are the unique activities for yesterday:

Morning light. When I first walked into my office shortly after 6, I stood at the window and noticed the light in the treetops – a part of the view I don’t see from my computer table. Through the veil of the sycamore that is just beginning to leaf out, the trees on the horizon are a wall of green most of the time but the morning light made them look very yellow, highlighting the layers of the forest

Indigo buntings. Just before 10 AM, I looked down from my office window and saw a downy woodpecker on the feeder. I stood up to take a picture of it and noticed a male indigo bunting on the railing! It jumped down to the floor of the deck and I quickly went downstairs to get a better angle to photograph the bird. And then there were two of them (both males). They seemed to be enjoying the seed on the deck but didn’t go up to the feeder. It’s a first time for us seeing this bird in our backyard.

Links to my previous “filling a day of social distance” posts here.

And now for the early morning birds of May 7th…

I downloaded the videos from our bird feeder cam for last week and discovered that there was quite a sequence last Thursday morning.

At 6:02 there were 2 male rose-breasted grosbeaks at the feeder.

At 6:21 there was a female downy woodpecker. A few minutes later at 6:22 the woodpecker was still there, and a fox ran through the yard below.

At 6:24 a male red-winged blackbird was singing from the deck railing.

A female red-bellied woodpecker showed up at 6:47.

At 6:52 there were three birds: a male house finch, a male cardinal, and a female cardinal.

At 7:14 a Carolina wren was on the feeder and a squirrel was on the railing.

A male red-bellied woodpecker got a peanut at 7:21.

The birds were fabulous, but the big surprise was the fox. We’d seen a post on our neighborhood Facebook page of a fox with young about a block away in our neighborhood…but this was the first fox I’d seen in our backyard this year.

March 31, 2020

Zooming – March 2020

March 31, 2020/ Gwen Morrison

17 pictures taken in March…full of spring blossoms and bird activity. All but four are from around my house and neighborhood…after the ‘stay at home as much as possible’ guidance was issued. The four are from Brookside Gardens…very early in the month before we cut back on doing anything other than groceries away from the house. Included in the slideshow:

Moon
Maple samaras
Reeds in water
Blue jay
Bird-of-paradise (flowers)
Azaleas
Miniature iris
Squirrel
Red-bellied woodpeckers
Cowbird
House sparrow
Plum blossoms
House finch
Goldfinch
Carolina wren
Deer

Enjoy the slideshow!

March 29, 2020

Filling a Day of Social Distance – 3/28/2020

March 29, 2020/ Gwen Morrison

Continuing the blog post series prompted by COVID-19….

Here are the unique activities for yesterday:

Watching Winchester Mystery House Virtual Tour. I saw the blurb about the tour in one of my news feeds…and followed the link to view it (a little over 40 minutes). I remembered having an afternoon free during a business trip to San Jose – probably over 10 years ago - and touring the house. It was memorable and this virtual tour showed it very well…a good reinforcement to the memory.

Turning electronics off during thunderstorms. There was a line of thunderstorms that came through while I was watching the Winchester House Tour….I switched to watching on my laptop screen (on battery) rather than my big monitor. The lightning and rumblings passed quickly; the rest of the day was just rainy.

**Stir-frying with ground turkey**. Using a seasoning packet I found in the pantry – a few months past the ‘use by date.’ This was my first experience using ground turkey; I’d put it on the list since it would be easy for the shopper to get what I wanted. We liked it – but I think I’ll go back to chicken breasts for next time. Maybe I’ll used ground turkey for chili though.

Taking end of day photos. It was a raining most of the day – not a good day for pictures…so I opted to experiment with the ‘night scene’ setting on my camera for the ‘through the window’ picture in the early evening.

Reviewing the birdfeeder camera videos. Saturday evening might become my regular time to review the videos from the birdfeeder cam for the week. It worked well for this past week. Here are the highlights:

On Sunday – a Carolina Wren was in the first video of the day at 7:38 AM…a female Cardinal was in the last. A frustrated squirrel was first at the feeder on Monday about 8 AM.

On Tuesday, a female Red-Bellied Woodpecker was first at 7:47 AM. On Wednesday, a pair of House Finches were at the feeder at 8:27 AM and there was a grand finale with a pair of House Finches and a female Cardinal at 5:40 PM.

On Thursday, the Carolina Wren came while it was very foggy at 7:06 AM. There were a lot of birds at 5:49 PM: female Red-Bellied Woodpecker with a Titmouse and a Carolina Wren. Then a chickadee just after the woodpecker flew away with a peanut.

On Friday, a Titmouse was the first visitor at 6:55 AM. And the Cowbirds arrived – males first…then females…then male again. The last bird of the day was at 6:45 PM…a male Cowbird.

On Saturday, the Carolina Wren was the early bird at 7:31 AM. There was a grand finale at 6:48 PM with House Finches and Chipping Sparrow. Most of the time the house finches come as a male/female pair.

Previous “filling a day of social distance” posts: 3/15, 3/16, 3/17, 3/18, 3/19, 3/20, 3/21, 3/22, 3/23, 3/24, 3/25, 3/26, 3/27

March 27, 2020

Through my Office Window – March 2020 – Part II

March 27, 2020/ Gwen Morrison

Continuing the “Through the Window” photos for this month….

The red maple has bloomed and is now full of maturing seeds; from afar it’s gone from red to rust. The birds and squirrels will enjoy the bounty soon…and we’ll have small maple trees to mow this summer.

2020 03 IMG_8502 (5).jpg — The tulip poplar is leafing out. Both trees are visible from my office window and will be a big part of the green wall during the summer.

I started emptying the last of the seed from the bird feeder before I refill it….not wanting the seed to get very old before it is eaten. A squirrel is usually the first to find the small pile on the deck bench.

House finches are frequent birds at the feeder, in the trees, and on every part of the house visible from my window.

The Northern Cardinal is almost too heavy for the feeder. The female may be a little lighter because I see her there more than the male. The male likes to clean up the seeds under the feeder.

2020 03 IMG_8502 (7).jpg — The Mourning Doves are also frequent visitors under the feeder. They enjoy the bird bath as well.

A Brown-Headed Cowbird and House Sparrow were at the feeder at the same time. I’m glad we don’t have cowbirds around frequently since they would eat up the contents of the feeder very quickly.

I hear the Carolina Wren more frequently than I see it. But I enjoy the way they contort their bodies at the feeder…keep their tail up!

Sightings of American Robins increase in the spring. They are never at the feeder…only occasionally at the bath. They like the trees and the yard.

I finally saw and photographed an Eastern Phoebe this month. They probably are around but stay further into the forest. This one was sitting in our sycamore…almost out of the range of my camera from my office window.

February 28, 2020

Through my Office Window – February 2020

February 28, 2020/ Gwen Morrison

I wasn’t at home for the first part of the month, so the opportunities to see birds through the window were more time limited than usual.

The Downy Woodpecker seemed to be coming to the feeder more frequently. It was always a female. Usually I see them in the trees more than at the feeder, so I wondered if the insects were not as available (maybe because of the cold).

The House Finches seemed more numerous at the feeder than last month. The males were ‘courting’ – providing a seed to their favorite female. They would occasionally accept another bird at the feeder – like a Carolina Chickadee. They were the birds most impacted by the visit of the bluebirds that we saw on the birdfeeder camera; it was only a short time but I’m sure they were relieved when the bluebirds did not stick around.

Both the male and female Red-bellied Woodpeckers are active at the feeder periodically – not every day. They had to contort themselves to get the seed they wanted or if the seed was low. The Carolina Wren learned to get a snack from the opposite side of the feeder when the woodpecker was there.

These little birds were frequent visitors to the feeder – often the first ones there in the morning.

There was a Northern Mockingbird that sat on the deck bench on a wet morning. I don’t see them frequently around our yard and wondered if it was injured.

The White-Breasted Nuthatch was around – coming like a bullet to the feeder, getting a snack and leaving again…never sticking around for long.

The Northern Cardinals were around periodically but not as frequently as in January. I wonder if they are not building their nest in the usual place near our house…they’re coming from further afield.

I always am aware when the Blue Jays come (for water) since they are so noisy. I still enjoy seeing them.

The Dark-eye Juncos are still around. They are here in about the same numbers as previous years…our little flock.

And the Mourning Doves were around to clean up any spilled seed from the other birds that were digging through the seed in the feeder to find just the one they want…throwing the seeds they didn’t want onto the deck.

January 31, 2020

Zooming – January 2020

January 31, 2020/ Gwen Morrison

The beginning of the new year….sunrises, birds, snow. It was a busier-than-usual January – but not for photography. I still had plenty of zoomed pictures to choose from. Most of them were taken at home but there are a few from Conowingo (the eagles and crane) and one from Belmont (the sparrow). It was a good start to the year.

Enjoy the slide show for January 2020!

January 23, 2020

Through my Office Window – January 2020

January 23, 2020/ Gwen Morrison

It’s easy to photograph birds through my office window – when I am in the office and not totally focused on something else. I’ve positioned my computer and raised the bird feeder slightly so I can see activity in my peripheral vision while I am working at the computer. I just grab my camera, stand up, make a few steps, and take pictures!

The Dark-eyed Juncos are around all the time although I rarely photograph them. We have our own little neighborhood flock. They are fast moving…like they are nervous all the time.

We have a pair of Northern Cardinals that are around every day. Their color and sounds stand out.

The raucous groups of Blue Jays come to our trees and sometimes to our bird bath. I go to the window based on the sounds. One day this month there was a big thump on the roof above my office. Three blue jays (silent) flew off to the sycamore as I made it to the window and a single blue jay feather drifted down. Was there a fight? Did there used to be four blue jays and a hawk got one?

The Carolina Wren is at the feeder and the bath almost every day. Sometimes I am drawn to by their song and it takes some looking to find the bird. We have at least two around. We’ve had several instances where they’ve found their way into our screened deck….and we open the door for a while to help them escape.

The Red-bellied Woodpeckers come to the feeder almost every day. We have at least one pair….although the female comes more than the male (Could there be more than one female?...Maybe). The dig around for the larger seeds they like at the feeder.

Mourning Doves are frequent visitors as well. They are too big for the feeder, but they do clean up the seed underneath and they drink from the birdbath.

The House Finches have returned after a hiatus of a few years.

I like the White-breasted Nuthatch for its orientation and postures. It is head down on the feeder more than upright!

The Downy Woodpecker comes to our feeder less frequently although I see them in the trees. Maybe that’s a positive indicator that they are finding enough food they favor in our forest.

There are birds that don’t come to our feeder but are probably frequent visitors to our yard since we are at the edge of a forest. Common Grackles pass through frequently. They look like small black birds at first glance but with a little zooming the different coloring is distinctive…and the yellow eye.

There are also flocks of Red-winged Blackbirds that come through. They very rarely come to the feeder. They must be finding plenty of food elsewhere.

We have the Reolink camera monitoring our birdfeeder all the time these days; that gives us a great opportunity to catch more bird interaction. I’m saving that for an upcoming blog post!

December 26, 2019

Through my Office Window – December 2019

December 26, 2019/ Gwen Morrison

We are seeing more birds come to our deck for the bird bath now that the weather is cold enough that other water sources are frozen most mornings. Having a heated bird bath is a big draw.. The jays are too big for the feeder….but they come for the water and feel secure enough to sit a bit. Otherwise they are further away in the trees.

The titmouse is at the feeder and the water…but nervous enough in both locations to require a quick response to capture an image.

The Carolina Wren likes the deck railing as a stage for song…but it also likes the seeds in the feeder.

The Cardinals frequent the new feeder. Our previous one was a little smaller and they tended to only get seed that fell to the ground from it.

The finches and juncos can sometimes share the feeder….sometimes it is a contentious situation.

The doves are too big for any feeder that is squirrel-proof, but they like the survey the yard from our deck railing, get a drink of water, and clean up any scattered feed.

The starlings could probably get seed from our feeder but, so far, they haven’t found it. They tend to stay in the treetops in the forest.

The nuthatch seems to not be around as much right now. Maybe it’s found another nearby feeder.

My favorite birds right down are the woodpeckers. The downy is around and occasionally comes to the feeder.

The red-bellied is s frequently visitor…both male and female enjoy the bounty of the feeder. They are big enough that when they come, they are the only bird at the feeder.

December 14, 2019

Gleanings of the Week Ending December 14, 2019

December 14, 2019/ Gwen Morrison

The items below were ‘the cream’ of the articles and websites I found this past week. Click on the light green text to look at the article.

The Two Genomes in Every Eukaryotic Cell | The Scientist Magazine® and Infographic: How the Mitochondrial and Nuclear Genomes Interact | The Scientist Magazine® - A lot has been discovered about mitochondrial DNA (and genetics) since I was in college in the 1970s!

Yellowstone's Wolves: Infusing Wildness into The Landscape – The story of wolves in Yellowstone over the past 25 years – the positive impact on the ecosystem as a whole

Sunlight-Tracking Polymer, Inspired by Sunflowers, Could Maximize Solar Power | Smart News | Smithsonian – Another way that solar panels can gain efficiency.

Springfield Plateau: Yellowjacket Nest – A yellowjacket tale from Springfield MO. I was surprised that ice was the treatment for a sting. I’ve always used baking soda with ice as the backup plan if there isn’t any baking soda available.

Why biodegradables won’t solve the plastic crisis - BBC Future – There are only pieces of a solution at this point….nothing comprehensive. It seems like the best strategy for at home is to reduce all single use plastic as much as possible. There are some easy things like reusable shopping and produce bags, but it becomes hard quickly. So many groceries and toiletries only come in plastic containers.

Remote Sensing Data Advances Soil Health Science – Cover crops and no-till practices were an advantage in record-breaking rainfalls of spring 2019.

How the House Finch Conquered Your Feeder…and A Continent – A little history of House Finches – originally from the southwest and Mexico…now in found widely across North America.

How the Aztecs could improve modern urban farming: Chinampas: An old technique might provide new solutions to sustainable urban agriculture -- ScienceDaily – The article made the multiple harvests per season seem feasible in tropical wetlands…not so much in the temperate zone where the artificial islands would go through a real winter although maybe it would just mean the use of cover crops during that time period.

Top 25 Wild Bird Photographs of the Week: December – Bird photography to enjoy!

Listening to Nature: The Emerging Field of Bioacoustics - Yale E360 – An up and coming technology for remote sensing of birds, insects, frogs and other animals.

November 22, 2019

Through my Office Window – November 2019

November 22, 2019/ Gwen Morrison

There has been a lot of bird traffic visible through my office window in November. The Blue Jays are frequent visitors – at the icy bird bath (we’ll put the heated bird bath out soon), in the trees, on the gutter, and in the yard.

Both male and female Northern Cardinals enjoyed the seeds on the deck and from the new feeder.

The Downy Woodpecker pair comes to the feeder and finds seeds between the deck railings and insects(?) in the knots of the deck boards.

The House Finches have returned

As have the Dark-eyed Juncos. It took the juncos a few days to discover the feeder. They were finding enough seeds on the ground underneath it before that.

The Mourning Doves are always around.

The Northern Flickers (yellow shafted) rarely come to the deck but they are around – probably more frequently than I see them. The pictures are not as good because the birds are farther away from my window – usually on a neighbor’s roof or in the red maple. One picture shows the yellow shafts very clearly.

The White-breasted Nuthatch is fun to watch – sorting through the seeds until it gets a sunflower seed. The bird has a unique shape and behavior!

The Tufted Titmice move around a lot but are frequent visitors to the feeder. They always look like their eyes are too big their head.

There are other birds that come to the feeder as well. The chickadees come frequently but are so fast that it’s hard to get a picture of them.

The squirrels stay in the trees most of the time. They come to the deck for water – but are frustrated by our feeder that has turned out to be as ‘squirrel proof’ as advertised.

October 24, 2019

Birding through my office window – Oct. 2019

October 24, 2019/ Gwen Morrison

It’s been a busy October with activities away from home on more than half the days, but I’ve spent enough time in my office to see and photograph some birds. I’ve already posted about the red-bellied woodpecker. Here were the other ‘regulars’ around our deck: Carolina Chickadees

Mourning doves

Carolina wrens

White-breasted Nuthatch

There were other regulars around, but I didn’t get a picture of one this month: blue jays, titmice, chipping sparrows, downy woodpecker…to name a few.

House Finches used to be regulars at our feeder, but I haven’t seen any recently…and then there was a small group that came through. I hope the House Finches are recovering.

Now that more of the leaves are falling from the trees, the birds that stick around for the winter will be more visible. I wonder when the Dark-eyed Juncos will show up. They usually are around by mid to late November. Anticipation….

November 25, 2018

Festival of the Cranes – part 6

November 25, 2018/ Gwen Morrison

After the Point and Shoot Photography field session, I headed to the Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge's Desert Arboretum. The entrance was hidden by the large tents put up for the festival expo and a classroom, but I managed to find it. There was already a larger group than I expected for the tour. The garden has been developed over many years by botanists and horticulturalists from seeds. I didn’t take many pictures during the tour since there were so many people --- waiting until the area was quiet again afterward. Most of the plants were cacti and agave; I took two pictures that were other types….the legume type plant for the color of the flowers and the other for the fibrous tendrils.

Now to the cactus. There were several kinds of prickly pear – many that still had fruits. The horticulturist talked about the various kinds of spines and that some were so fast growing that they had to be pruned. I noticed one that had been pruned and that spines had grown on the cut surface – probably to keep animals from borrowing into the soft flesh of the rest of the plant.

The barrel cacti are colorful – fruits and spines. One specimen had yellow spines and fruits. Barrel cactus have been collected by so many people as whole plants rather than just the seeds which has caused some to become almost extinct in the wild…but prevalent in gardens. They evidently grow easy enough from seeds…with patience.

There were several kinds of cholla. My favorite had red fruits.

The agaves have prickles on their edges and a sharp point on the end. There was a century plant that had bloomed two years ago but didn’t produce any seed since there was not another century plant nearby to cross pollinate it. The parent plant died after it bloomed but there is a ‘pup’ coming up under the dried parts of the parent plant…a little clone that will maybe grow up to bloom.

The garden also is popular with birds because of the feeders and the plants. There are white-crowned sparrows,

Finches,

And red-winged blackbirds.

The birds were not around during the tour….but came back as soon as the crowd of people were gone.

As I left the arboretum, I saw the sculpture of the crane nearby. Once the expo tent is gone – it will be easier to spot.

February 23, 2018

Birding through a Window – February 2018

February 23, 2018/ Gwen Morrison

I’ve posted many of my bird pictures for the month already (bluebirds bathing, before (woodpeckers) and after the Great Backyard Bird Count) so this post will have the ‘best of the rest.’ There were birds that just come to the birdbath – like the blue jays (we have a small flock that makes the rounds in our neighborhood most days with a stop at our bird bath…one bird at a time)

And the flickers (sporadically).

Sometimes the little birds visit the bird bath together. I managed to photograph a chickadee, goldfinch, and nuthatch together. It’s interesting to see how chunky the nuthatch is compared to the other two birds.

I saw the nuthatch and chickadee several times during the month…but didn’t get any more worthwhile pictures. The goldfinches comes to the feeder and bird bath more frequently. They are still in their winter plumage…I keep looking for the more brilliant yellow feathers to appear.

At the bird feeder – a house finch and downy woodpecker shared for a few seconds. The woodpecker is a little bigger than the finch…but they both are light enough that their combined weight does not pull down the metal ‘flowers’ to cover the seed holes (the squirrel proofing of the feeder).

The house finches are probably the most frequent visitors to the feeder. We have a resident group that makes rounds in our neighborhood.

The resident cardinal pair prefers seed on the ground but has developed a technique to flutter near the feeder and get seed when there is not enough scattered around underneath.

A mockingbird came to the bird bath recently….which is unusual for us. They are around our neighborhood (I hear them and see them) but we haven’t had one that frequents our deck…maybe this one will stick around.

January 26, 2018

Birding through a Window January 2018 (2)

January 26, 2018/ Gwen Morrison

Continuing from yesterday….

The goldfinches come to our bird bath frequently. They are still drab in their winter plumage. Maybe it is wishful thinking but sometimes think they are looking a little more yellow.

The house finches keep their color even in winter. They seem to like the sycamore and the maple more than the bird bath.

Northern Flickers visit our yard during this time of year. They are hard to see with a back drop of pine needles or fallen leaves….but stand out at the bird bath. The amount of yellow in their wing and tail feathers can be seen sometimes.

The dark-eyed juncos are winter visitors to Maryland…and come in groups to our feeder and bird bather. They explore the gutters too.

The pileated woodpeckers are infrequent visitors to the woods behind our house. If I added a suet feeder maybe they would come….but I’m content to see them in the forest. I got a fleeting glimpse of a red-bellied woodpecker this month as well….but was not fast enough to get a picture.

There is a red-tailed hawk that visits the edge of the forest – watching the open area between the trees and our house. Typically, the small birds leave the vicinity when the hawk is around.

The Titmouse always seems to have bigger eyes than other birds of its size.

October 29, 2017

Zooming – October 2017

October 29, 2017/ Gwen Morrison

Using the zoom on my camera keeps be out of the tall grass (and away from the ticks and other biting insects). I spotted shelf fungus growing on stumps and trunks of trees cut down along the road to Belmont Manor and Historic Park on my way to an event…and stopped on my way out in one of the nearby pull off areas. The largest ones were growing on a large trunk facing the road but there were more in the space where a log was cut. Some of the pieces were removed but others were left to rot in place.

Another example of staying out of the tall grass, but getting the picture I wanted – milkweed seeds bursting from their pods at the Middle Patuxent Environmental Area

And some other fluffy seeds on a plant growing on the slope of our neighborhood’s storm water retention pond.

The zoom is almost always used for bird photography….but even with the zoom they still sometimes notice me and fly away. This house finch was busy getting breakfast from the feeder.