There, just behind the main branch running diagonally from bottom left to top right, in the center of the photo, is a Cooper’s Hawk. The bird’s back is towards us. The hawk’s tail is hanging down from behind the branch, its upper body and head above it among the leaves. I’ve been seeing Cooper’s Hawks a least once per day for the past two weeks, sometimes two or three times a day. The hawk in the photo, an immature bird, wasRead more
Month: July 2012
Bluebird Update July 3, 2012
I conducted my weekly bluebird nest box inspection on Tuesday July 3, with the expectation of finding 6 empty boxes. I was surprised to see a new nest in the Train Tunnel nest box. It had one egg! This will be the third brood for this box. Although one brood had failed, it shows the tenacity of these bluebirds. So, we now have five empty nest boxes, the Take Off box, Sail Boat Pond, Amphimeadow, Picnic Dome, and Butterfly HouseRead more
Coping with the heat?
If you’re wondering how the wildlife is coping with this 100+ weather, here’s how our GBH is behaving. I’ve seen Great Blue Herons in this pose before, but I always thought it was a way of gaining heat, not cooling oneself off. I think, however, it also serves to help straighten curled feathers, but still a strange behavior in this heat. The bird was facing the sun so it seems the wings would to act as a parabolic reflector. If that strange posture wasn’tRead more