I saw this barred owl this morning. It was just after sunrise in low light. This photo was lightened a bit. Happy Owloween!
Happy Owloween!
Category: animals
Eagle Catching a Fish
These pictures are part of a sequence. The eagle was perched in a tree. Then, it flew down to the water below the tree. Next, it immediately came up with a fish. Finally, it flew off to a tree further away where presumably it’s mate was.
This all happened far away. I used a zoom lens and cropped these photos.
Unfortunately, something was blocking my view between the eagle and I, where it scooped the fish out of the water. I was lucky enough to see this much. Have a great weekend!
Dogs of Buckham Fair
Buckham Fair is an event in Dorset, England that raises money for local charities. Before COVID it may have happened every other year. This was the first fair after COVID. It includes fair rides, food and trade stalls, dog events and horse shows.
Dog show events inside the rings included: Agility, Hoopers, Sniff Along, Temptation Alley, and Fun Run. They also had Pedigree Judging and Best Rescue / Re-homed Dog. Fun judged events included Fluffiest/Scruffiest, Pawsome Party Trick, Odd Couple, Best 6 Legs (dog and owner) Dog Most Like Neil Morrissey, and Judge’s Choice. This post shows some of the dogs that participated in the obstacle course. I don’t know whether this fell under agility or fun run.
This is year’s event raised money for Dorset County Hospital Charity. As of September 25th the total amount raised was 141, 500 pounds. The money is going towards a new Emergency Department and Critical Care Unit currently under construction at Dorset County Hospital. It was a fun event that raised money for a good cause.
Bufflehead Duck 2026
Buffleheads are my favourite duck. I love their personality. While I find most ducks to be shy, with the exception of mallards, sometimes buffleheads will swim close to you if you stay still for a while. I have seen them walk on shore within about 15 feet of me.
Barn Owl
The background is changed to obscure the location. In New York, Massachusetts, and Pennsylvania Barn Owls are on the Species of Special Concern List. In Connecticut and Vermont they are on the Endangered List.
In England, Barn Owls are doing better population wise. in the mid 1990s there were around 4,000 breeding pairs. Today they estimate between 8,000-12,000 breeding pairs.
Welcome Back Shorties!
Short Eared Owls are winter visitors to New York. They spend the warmer months up in Canada and Alaska, but end up coming down south for the colder months. We have usually seen them between November and the beginning of March.
I did not expect to get any good images of the owl the day I was there. However, we had a brief window of light between the clouds and a cooperative owl who flew near me during that time period. Don’t you love it when they do that?
Later, when it was just too dark, it flew quite close to me, but alas the images were just too grainy.
Here’s hoping I can see them close up in good light. Have a Terrific Tuesday!
Peregrine Falcon on the Palisades
The Palisades is a long stretch of steep cliffs on the west side of the Hudson River that runs from lower NY into New Jersey. At their highest point they are about 540 feet in height and their length is about 20 miles. Peregrine Falcons like to nest on buildings, cliffs, and under tall bridges. The Palisades is a good spot to view Peregrines.
Peregrine Falcons are the fastest birds in the world. They can fly faster than 200 miles per hour. I caught this one before sunset. It never moved from the tree while I was there.
This falcon was perched on a tree cliffside but was facing the land on top and not the river. A pair of squirrels was chasing each other nearby, but the falcon did not seem interested in them. They are known to capture a variety of birds, but will steal fish and rodents from other birds. They also eat bats. I am trying to significantly reduce the size of my picture files to conserve space on the blog, but the images when I do that are not as sharp as the original. Have a wonderful Wednesday!
Raccoon on November 15
If this is still the same raccoon I have seen on a few other occassions at this treehole, it is getting bigger. It is either more skilled at finding food or has learned well the art of raiding garbage cans and dumpsters.
Do Raccoons Hibernate?
I did not think they did. When Idid a google search a lot of pest control sites popper up. However I did find information from NorthernWoodlands.org. According to their site “Although they don’t hibernate, raccoons do hole up in dens during the bitterest days of winter and are able to sleep for long stretches of time – up to a month – without heading out into the elements….Raccoons, though typically solitary creatures, will sometimes den in groups during very cold weather.” This period of less activity is entering a state of torpor, which helps them to conserve their energy. NorthernWoodlands also says they will kick other animals out of their den to take it over.
So it would seem this could be the same raccoon. They do eat a lot to build up fat in the autumn to help them survive the winter like other animals do.
This tree hole appears not to go further inside the tree, and I only see this raccoon here occasionally. I still think this is its occasional sleeping spot that gets sunlight at least half the day. Enjoy your Sunday and have a marvellous Monday!
Mandarin Ducks November
At this location I was able to spot a pair of Mandarin Ducks. The male is brightly coloured and the female’s colours are more gray, brown and white.
FEmales
The female can lay from 9-12 eggs. The ducks reach maturity at a year old. Despite laying 9-12 eggs they say there are only about 65,000 Mandarin ducks in the wild.
Males
Male Mandarin ducks go blend in after breeding season. The males molt or shed the bright feathers, taking on the colouring more like females for a few months. Males gain back their winter plumage in the US in October or November from what I understand.
Mandarin ducks are not hunted for food because they taste bad according to Sea World. Here in the US some people and zoos have Mandarin Ducks and they escape and join other wild ducks. Have a Splendid Sunday!
Male Wood Duck in Autumn
I have seen wood ducks at a few places, but only from a distance. They seem very skittish. Sometimes it may be because the location gets a lot of traffic in terms of people, but they seem more on guard. This location had less people and when I was by myself I had the most luck.
Wood ducks will hang out in wetlands, marshes, streams, ponds and lakes. I have seen them in wetlands, streams, and ponds. People put up nesting boxes and they will use them. They will also nest in trees. They are native to most of the eastern part of the US year round.
Wood ducks will eat seeds, fruit, insects, acorns, flies, beetles, caterpillars, and a variety of plants. They feed by making short, shallow dives called dabbling.
I was at this location for about 3 and a half hours trying to view this duck between branches, grasses and other obstructions. Sometimes it is worth the effort. Have a Happy Monday!
