birds

Trail Cam bird

/ Re-Farmer / 1 Comment

I’ve been trying our trail cam out in different locations, with varying success. Of the trees in the area, some are too large for the elastic cords used to hold it in place, but I had smaller ones, so I tried different fence posts. Finally, I tried other tree that were smaller but were also growing at quite a bit of an angle.

I’ve since moved it back to where it’s been for almost a year, though the files I went through this morning are from being on one of those leaning trees. It had a bole I could use to level the cam out a bit. Unfortunately, I found it was a bit too close to get a full view of both the gate and the outside of the driveway. Plus, one of the fence posts was right in the view. It’s one of the posts that’s rotten at the bottom, so the only thing holding it upright is the barbed wire. The wind would shift it, causing it to trigger the camera.

I did get a very pleasant surprise, though!!

An excellent video of a bird that landed on the post! There’s a second one on the wagon wheel in the background.

The bird was digging into the rotten top of the post.

Where it found something to eat!

I look forward to when we can set the trail cam up at the feeding station by the house. I just love shots like this!!!

The Re-Farmer

Critter of the Day: this one’s easy

/ Re-Farmer / 1 Comment

It may be hard to tell a downy from a hairy woodpecker, but there is no mistaking these guys!

It’s a fairly rare treat for a pileated woodpecker to come visit. Not only do they have a very distinctive red head, but they are much larger than our usual visitors. At one point, I could see him tearing pieces of this tree’s bark off and tossing it down to the ground! I don’t think I’ve ever seen a woodpecker do that before!

Critter(s) of the Day: Denizens of the Beach

/ Re-Farmer / 2 Comments

I was able to visit the beach yesterday morning and was walking along on the sidewalk, when I realized I was seeing a whole lot of birds that weren’t seagulls!

So I headed over for a closer look (my broken toe is healing nicely, so walking on the sand wasn’t too much of an issue).

If you look at the opposite shore, on the left, you can see smoke. It had been heavier, earlier, but was gone by the time I returned to my vehicle, which is good.

This is just one group of the different birds, along with our usual seagulls, that were along the beach.

Digital zoom sucks.

I did some research to find out what these birds were. In appearance, it came down to either Laughing Gulls or Franklin’s Gulls. They have to be Franklin’s Gulls, though. Laughing Gulls have a range in the southeastern and southwestern North American coast, while the Franklin’s Gull is a more northerly, prairie bird.

Beautiful birds. :-)

Critter of the Day: chickadee on a lilac branch

/ Re-Farmer / 1 Comment

Take a closer look at the branch this chickadee is perched on.

This and other more horizontal branches of the lilac tree are worn down like this.

It’s from all the birds pecking the sunflower seeds they hold in their claws, open!

Feathery friend, and progress

/ Re-Farmer / Leave a comment

I had a nice surprise on my morning rounds today. :-)

It was just standing there, watching me! I got some video as I went past. I’m still in the process of uploading it, but the embedded link below should work once that’s done.

Grouse, I’ve noticed, are not the brightest birds. I headed into town later today and, on the way home, saw a bird on the side of the road. As I passed it, I could see it was a grouse. It wasn’t until then that it just turned around. Checking my mirror, I saw it still just standing there on the road, completely unperturbed by a vehicle going past so closely!

After my rounds, I stayed out to start mowing before things got too hot.

I finished some 5 hours later! Heat or no heat, I didn’t want to stop until it was done.

Then it was a trip to the dump, then into town. One of the things I picked up was marking paint.

I got tired of looking for the rocks I have to mow around! Four rocks and the remains of a tree stump in the yard, plus another rock in the “driveway” I mow to the back gate.

The girls, meanwhile, took care of the house. Not just the cleaning and stuff inside (including cleaning kitten eyes), but they are doing the eaves, as well. The last time they tried to do the eaves, they got attacked by horse flies, and today was the first chance to get up there again. As I write this, my younger daughter is up on the roof, cleaning the second floor eaves, too.

My daughters are awesome!

The day is not quite done. I have the last coat of paint on the gate to do (thanks to the girls flipping it for me while I mowed), and I want to get it done tonight. That way, by tomorrow evening, both sides of the gate can finally be moved out of the garage, and we can start parking the van in there again! :-D

Back to work I go!

The Re-Farmer