MikeandRong

It's been over 40 days now with no food being put out, and now with the frozen ground and snow cover the Skunks are well into their hibernation period. The family of Great Horned Owls are still around and hooting every night at dusk, and the mated pair of Red-Tailed Hawks are still in their nest 2 doors down. With all the leaves having fallen, it's easy to see all of them perching and flying around now. Usually this Male Red-Tailed Hawk follows his Female mate everywhere she goes, just like the Male Cardinal follows his Female mate. But today he was on the hunt and I saw him staring at the bush line at the back of the yard. While I was not able to see if he caught a mouse or shrew, I managed to get a good couple of photos of him in action. He's not real big, about a 3 foot wing span, while his mate is very big with a span of a solid 4 feet + (the females are always larger).

I've been to the real Harbin Ice Show and it's really cold, minus 25 F. Had to keep the camera batteries next to my chest as they would only work for about 5 minutes before going bad. It is quite the sight to see, espically at night with all the colored lights lighting up the different structures. Walking up the different ice stairs of some of the buildings was challenging too. The one place that was not as crowded as any other attraction I went to in China.

After on and off again rain for the past 10 days it has stayed just around freezing overnight, with ice forming but then melting in the daytime. Huge flocks of Sandhill Cranes were migrating overhead today and that is a sure sign of the cold weather on the way. It snowed a bit again yesterday, yet there are still some green leaves on the trees and bushes. These Sandhills were flying up so high that if you looked at the direction of the calling they were doing, they would already be past being overhead. These flocks of Sandhills were in groups of 50-100+ birds at a time, and this lasted for hours upon hours all day long today as there was a strong North wind that they were using to fly South for the winter. Last year they arrived on December 8th, and the year before was November 13th, so I guess this is going to be and average year as far as cold weather goes.

Those are some great freeze action shots that they showed. That looks like quite the camera and very capable too. Mine has more features on it than I am capable of understanding or even using thus far. I think somewhere down the road I'll enroll in a photography class down at the community college. It's one thing to read the directions that came with the camera or watch a YouTube video about some technique and quite another to take a real teaching class with hands on experience together with a teacher and other students too. I feel that would open me up to much more experienced people it's a vast array of knowledge and tips.

What a sight, will it be free or a toll bridge? Their engineering is amazing.

Never ceases to amaze me how easily our government (local through federal) will turn a blind eye to a situation all the while supplementing, empowering, and handing out that which they did not earn (our tax dollars) to begin with, they (government) simply withhold it (our tax dollars) before it even reaches our hands. But Lord have Mercey if someone (anyone) should individually directly impact them (a decision making official) by cutting in line at a store checkout, or perhaps dart in and take a parking spot when they were waiting with a turn signal on. They would instantly call out that you weren't being fair and should have waited your turn. How about somebody trying to bend the rules at election time, I can hear the crying from here!!! It is always easier to spend someone's else money (ours) or impact another (your stepdaughter) with your actions when nobody has the guts (the voters) to hold them (the elected officials) accountable for the feel good decisions that they (government) enact. I feel for you TB and you can take it to the bank that I always make my vote count.

The black thistle seed does not fall out on the ground when the Goldfinches feed on it, so I let that stay up until it gets too wet from the weather, as only Sparrows seem to eat at it then. Having six Goldfinches on this little feeder at the same time was neat to see as only during the cold weather months do they seem to group up and feed together without fighting. After two days of raking up seeds and the Sparrow and Juncos eating the smaller remains this yearling Red-winged Blackbird showed up to scavenge any leftovers. I have not had any more nighttime visitors but I'll give it a couple more weeks just to be sure. The two Blue Jay brothers and this yearling Red-bellied Woodpecker easily spot us now when we're out in the backyard and fly down and wait for us to toss a peanut their way. I don't mind doing that kind of feeding as they carry it away to eat and they don't leave a mess behind for the night crew.

It was only a matter of time that my arch enemy made her appearance to eat up the spilled seed. She looks like a big pregnant female as she was about 12 pounds and not afraid of me at all. She's trying to pack on as much weight as possible before taking her winter nap and having her babies. This will force me to pull the food once again until the colder weather forces her underground till spring thaw. My wife tells me that there are no Skunks in China and she had no idea how bad they could smell when they spray or get hit by a car.

Halloween was a clear and very bright warm day, temperature swings at this time of year can vary 40 degrees from one day to the next. These Goldfinches have lost all their summer yellow color now and are a much more pale tan. In a couple more months they will change from tan to almost white, then as spring approaches they will once again change to their bright yellow breeding colors. With most of the leaves having dropped from the Locast trees the sun really shines strong and seems to either dull out the birds colors or brighten them up. This House Sparrow that was landing appeared pale yellow on his belly and made me look twice to see what he really was, while the Male Cardinal appeared an almost drab red instead of his usual bright red colors that makes him so easy to see. Later on in the early afternoon with the sun at a little lower angle, everyone was back to their normal appearing colors.

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As I was refilling the feeders for next morning all my regulars were eagerly watching and ready to grab a quick bite to eat before dark. They are all so used to me I can stand 5 feet from them just watching them go about their business. This brother and sister Downy Woodpecker have stayed together since they first started flying this summer. I still don't know where their nest was, but they are in the yard all day long eating and playing around. This Male Housefinch is still around and really losing all of his red colors until next spring. He will leave soon for a more warmer Southern climate. The Black-capped Chickadees are around all year long and looking very plump and ready for winter. I always like hearing them call as it reminds me of the up north woods in wintertime.

Lots of Dark-eyed Juncos have arrived from up North and that means cold weather is coming very soon. They are a real good indicator of what's happening just a few hundred miles North of here. The males are just coal black on top and Snow White on the bottom, while the females are all different hues of a lighter purple, black, and brown.

After the Bluebirds left it was really quiet, no Hawks were around that I saw or heard and just this little Female Downy Woodpecker walking around the base of the tree. At first I thought she may be injured because I don't see them so low to the grass. But she was ok after watching her a couple of minutes as she was playing with a small round seed and just picking it up and placing it in a crack in the bark, just to roll out and she would pick it up again and try in a new spot.

Later just after lunchtime I got a sudden big surprise and luckily these guys were real tame and gave me time to walk back inside and grab the camera and were just curiously watching me as they posed. I hope this brings some happiness to a good friend of mine who I am sure will take a look here. These are Eastern Bluebirds which I have never seen before in person. They stayed about 15 minutes just flying around and looking at me, then when rested they took off, never bothering to eat or drink.

I'm way behind posting due to the rapidly changing season, much to do and not enough hours. The day before Halloween was a beautiful fall day and many new birds were migrating through the area. This Merlins Falcon flew in and just perched with never looking my way, just looking over into the neighbors yard where he had just chased away a flock of feeding birds. Then he left as quickly as he had arrived.

Even after 18 years here the wife is still guilty of that and to let her push the grocery cart is an invitation to a fight or a law suit. How true, that cracked me up.

Saturday was overcast, cold and windy. I thought the House Finch's had already left the area, but this photo clearly shows some of them are still here. The red Male is not as bright as the summer color phase is, but is still quite visible. Lots of Goldfinches are still around, and all of them are changing to their winter colors now. The 2nd photo of the Goldfinch in the tree I believe is the same one eyed female that was here this summer. Even with one eye missing, she is doing well and looks in good shape too. This Adult Male Dark-eyed Junco provided a good picture opportunity for me, as they usually are hidden in the thick bushes or on the ground eating.

Just before dinner time I went out and filled up the feeders with fresh food, as they ate up quite a bit today and were still coming in to feed even with me right there next to them. I had to put some sticks into the hole the squirrels chewed in the big feeder and now the birds can also use it as a perch too. This Adult Male Cardinal is the first to arrive in the morning, just before dawn, and he is the last one to grab a black oil sunflower seed well after dusk. Again I have a Male Eastern Towhee in the yard. This guy I thought was getting ready to hop down to the feeder, but he didn't, he just eyeballed the food that fell all day long under the feeder, looking for any insects or seeds that were there for the taking. In the 4th photo of him you can clearly see how long his talons are that he uses to scratch up insects off the ground. Last for today we have 2 yearling females, a Cardinal and a Downy Woodpecker, both feeding at the same time.

Today is also the day that all the Dark-eyed Juncos showed up in big flocks. A lot of them will stay here all winter, as long as they can find food on the ground, as they won't or never have eaten off the hanging feeders. The Adult males are a dark coal black from head to back with a snow white feathered underbelly. The females come in a variety of color phases of dark black to purple hues to creamy brown. Winter is just around the corner when these guys show up, and spring is here when they leave and fly north again.

I am finally getting some new migratory birds stopping by and they are looking for something to eat or drink. They only stay around a couple of hours at most, then off they go for a more warmer south. Late morning to early afternoon is when I start to see different or new species. This Male Eastern Towhee showed up all alone. I have never seen one here before today, so this was a real treat to see, and getting the chance to photograph him was a bonus. He was pretty tame acting while looking for insects on the ground. He has really long claws which he uses to scratch at the leafs and grass and he back scratches the ground like a chicken would do while looking for food.

All the Mourning Doves that I'm seeing now are this years young. All of them are smaller than the adults and have a more darker brown over their backs and are lacking the iridescent coloring on their neck and head feathers that their parents have. The Adult Male Cardinals are also looking nice again, having regrown their red head crown feathers.

I'm a week behind posting so these are all from last Wednesday and show a 9 minute span of the late morning feeding cycle. All the birds now are showing off their winter colors after finishing the summer molting phase. The Woodpeckers and Blue Jays are hiding much more of the food they take than they are eating these days, so in and out they come all day long, instead of their summer resting periods between feeding.

After the Hawk went away all the different species of birds came out of hiding and went back to work eating and fattening up for the coming winter. All I did was stand with my back against the near tree and enjoyed the nearly non stop feeding activity. Below is a short 7 minute span of some of the different birds that kept right on coming in and not paying much attention to me as long as I did not move my arms too quickly while snapping photos of the feeding frenzy going on in front of me. Here is a White-breasted Nuthatch who will grab a seed and immediately go and hide it in some nearby crack or crevice in the tree bark of the nearby trees. This is a nice and plump Female Downy Woodpecker eating some of the black oil sunflower seeds instead of her usual peanutbutter suet block. This Male Red-bellied Woodpecker seems to enjoy the exact same peanuts from this feeder that are in his usual one, maybe it's because he can get them out whole instead of just pieces. Either way, he flies off after capturing his chosen flavor and hides them in the different tree bark cracks, and pounds them into place even deeper than any of the other birds do for safe keeping for later once the snow starts to fly. Here is another Female Downy Woodpecker eating from the peanutbutter suet block. This she eats and does not attempt to stash any of it away for later. Here is a very colorful Bluejay that takes the biggest peanut he can find and instead of eating it, he carefully chooses a pine tree branch and wedges it between the needles as his hiding spot. Usually any high wind or wandering squirrels take those peanuts away, but the Bluejays just keep choosing the same spots over and over even though they become empty so quickly. Here is a nicely colored Female Cardinal who will very daintily pick out and crack open one of the black oil sunflower seeds and eat just 2 or 3 before flying away, only to come back a short time later to do it all over again. This yearling Male Red-bellied Woodpecker would rather just quickly grab a peanut and go hide it than bother chasing away the House Sparrow that appears totally unconcerned with his nearby presence.

Here we have a Sharp-shinned Hawk. I have seen them here before, but I wouldn't call them common. This one was flying back and forth across the yard and not bothered by me taking his photo at all. Maybe he is a migratory one because there were only squirrels in the yard and they paid him no attention as they are too big for him to eat, but he kept hanging around acting like he was hopeful a Dove would come in to eat and he would have a afternoon snack (none did and he eventually left).

Once again it poured rain all weekend setting some October record for the most in 36 hours, my gauge showed just over 8". The temperature also dropped from a balmy 78 down to 36 by Monday morning. No sign of Skunks for 4 weeks now so I put out the bird food once again, figuring there should be some northerly migrators coming through now days. Some Mourning Doves showed up almost right away and this Coopers Hawk came next and was watching them, but I guess because he also saw me he did nothing but look at me and then fly away. This Female Downy Woodpecker hit the peanutbutter suet block right away, as it sure seems to be the favorite of this particular female. This Male Downy Woodpecker is the brother of the above Female pictured. They have stayed together since they were old enough to fly. His red head feathers are finally starting to look more like an adult now, as they have all changed from the copper/brown that he once had all summer long, to the bright red you can see now. Last we have 3 different Red-bellied Woodpeckers, the first 2 photos are both male while the third photo is of a female. You can see the light reddish/orangish feathers on their chest and belly, and that is why they are named "Red-bellied". Even though they are grabbing the larger sized peanuts they aren't eating them, instead they are flying just a short distance away and hammering them into the cracks in the bark of different tree branches to eat later when food is scarce. Even the local Canada Geese have started to fly once again. Once their babies hatch they go into a full molting and stay in and next to water until the new feathers grow back in, which just about coincides with the baby geese growing their flight feathers and being able to fly just after The Labor Day holiday.