Category: wildlife

Owl Door Dash

I started hearing mayhem amongst the birds in the woods. Crows, a blue jay, some other bird with an annoying call were complaining loudly. I went towards the sound and thought maybe the owl or a hawk caught a bird. The following pictures were taken right before sunset in the woods.

I saw what I believe is the female owl sitting patiently looking up in the trees in the direction of the sound. It turns out the male owl had caught an animal. The birds slowly one by one flew away complaining. After things had quieted down I saw what looked like the other owl fly to a tree and make a short who sound.

The father owl then flew to a neighbouring tree. The mother owl flew over to the tree he had gone to first. The father had left an animal for the mom to eat. How nice of him! I could not tell what it was at first.

I love the heart shapes in her lower feathers by her tail.

The mother owl was nice enough to take the animal and fly off to a neighbouring tree branch where I could get a better view. It appears to be a chipmunk. We are seeing more chipmunks and squirrels now, but not nearly as much as in past years it seems. Many people in this area are commenting the same.

The mother owl spent a lot of time trying to swallow this, give up, then appear to try to rip it or bite pieces, then repeat.

When she was done she flew to another nearby tree and perched for a while. I always feel lucky to see this pair. They have not been together much this year so far. I hope I did not gross you out too much. Enjoy the end of your week!

After the Rain

What may be a good time to find owls? It appears after a rainstorm at night. It seemed to rain much of the night here. They may have needed time during the day to hunt.

I found this one first. You cannot use the usually bluejays being ticked or chipmunks making noise to find them this year. There are a lack of those around as well as squirrels, which are all part of their diet. More hawks around I think is greatly culling the animal population.

This one’s mate was at a neighbouring tree not too far away. The mate is more stealth. If I cannot find him right away I give up and let him show himself to me on his terms.

This one was taken into the late afternoon sunlight.

After resting for a while, they started following each other around. One landed on a branch. When they other one tried to land on the same branch , the branch broke off and fell to the ground sending the owls in quick flight. The one owl was not putting up with having the other on the next branch it landed on. It forced them off.

Later afternoon sunlight. Some dark clouds were coming , so I left.

So they ended up on the same tree. but different areas of it. I think they were wondering if they would see a sunset or another rainstorm. It ended up being another rainstorm.

Nest Sitting

What do you have to view on your daily commute? Luckily for me there is an eagle nest right next to a major commuting road that goes south to New York City.

When the leaves are off the trees, you get quite a view. These pictures were taken from the side of the highway. Now you are always seeing one parent on or quite close to the nest. A sure sign of eaglets within it.

Since the view is from below the nest, you do not get to see the eaglets until they grow bigger. The tree is looking pretty dead right now on the top, so the nest is more exposed.

Is there something you notice on your daily commute? Do you have something to look forward to seeing? Enjoy your commute and enjoy your weekend.

Another Day Another Tree

Since the leaves are just starting to come in, this owl is still choosing to hang out on pine trees. Another day another pine tree.

This time some birds were aware the owl was there. Some were protesting, but they still kept a safe distance. The owl positioned itself next to a stream hoping for some wildlife to stop by and get a drink.

Leaves of trees between where I stood and the tree the owl was on are filling in. It is going to be tougher to find the owl soon. Here’s hoping I find this one’s tree hole.

Have a great week and I hope you have great weather!

Forest Drama- Hawk

I have heard this weird squawk of a hawk the past few weeks in the woods. I have only seen the hawk on its own. Honestly the squawk is not exactly like the sounds I am hearing on different websites for a Cooper’s Hawk. I hear barred owls make sounds I do not hear on websites either though.

The hawk above is the original one I hear making the odd sound. In different light it appears to fit a Copper’s Hawk. It has orangish eyes and a blueish grey feathers on the back.

This one was with the original hawk on the same branch/ tree. This one was silent. I could not tell for sure, but it looked like it had prey by its feet. Something is coming out of its mouth on the left side.

In this light it looks like this second one has a blueish grey area on its back as well. I am guessing these are now a pair. Other hawks flying overhead in the same area were red tailed hawks. It seems like there are other birds of prey in the area this year. It may be why I am hearing less bluejays, etc.

I could hear this hawk constantly on my walk when I got within earshot. I think Mettatsunami was correct. It was looking for a mate. Keep enjoying your weekend!

Stealth Owl

What do owls do before the leaves are on the trees? Hang out in pine trees or stick close to the trunk of other trees. These pictures were taken before sunset near a road. People walking by had no idea it was there.

In this picture I lightened the owl a little bit. It was lighter to begin with.
This one I didn’t. You can see how it blends in somewhat.

The owl tends to hang out on the shady side of the tree. It tries to fake out other animals by pretending to sleep for a minute here and there.

On a side note I don’t know what is going on with the squirrels and the chipmunks. I am just starting to see them. I also have heard less blue jays than usual. I am seeing more hawks around, so I am wondering if they picked off a lot of small animals over the winter. Is anyone else noticing the same thing?

Once in a while stop and look up. You never know what is above you. Have a great weekend!

Hawk

Name the hawk. Is it a red shouldered? A cooper’s hawk? The light situation was bad. Ad on top of it I just started using the Merlin Bird Identification App. and Merlin could not identify its call. I also could not get a picture of its back. It was facing me next to a hiking trail with its back to a busy road, so the recording I tried to make was not good quality with cars passing by.

This guy must not have been in hunting mode. He is giving himself away with his call.
Looks like he is going to fall over here.

It sounds kind of like this call from All About Birds, A Red Shouldered.

https://macaulaylibrary.org/asset/92488081

So, what’s your verdict? I am leaning towards red-shouldered because its call is closer than the ones I hear of the Copper’s Hawk. Regardless, is it a juvenile? Obviously, I am not a bird expert.

Northern Flicker

One does not have to walk far into the woods here to tell we have many woodpeckers. There are holes in a lot of trees. Many times they are just searching for bugs under the bark to eat. Sometimes it is to build a home. This woodpecker I saw near the Hudson River on one of my walks this week. A pair were flying tree to tree together and had a unique call. This woodpecker is the northern flicker.

Northern Flicker Woodpecker

You can listen to the call I heard here:

https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Northern_Flicker/overview#

I am hoping this year to find some babies peaking out of a hole. I am sure they are born already. I have seen some adults bringing back food to tree holes, but no heads peaking out. I think by the time they do that the leaves are fully on the trees blocking our view. One can only hope I will some day get lucky. Have a great weekend! Go slow enjoy your holiday!

Eaglets

It’s hard to tell how many eaglets there are in the nest when you look at the back of your camera. I visited this nest two times today. I thought I only saw one head. A couple of times I captured two. However, I was told there are actually three eaglets in this nest. The first may have been born I heard before the end of March. The others may have been the same week or maybe even the last one this week.

Two of the three are visible. Watching the other parent do a fly-by.
Screaming or calling to spouse doing a fly-by. Bring more food, we have three mouths to feed.
You can see one head to the right of the parent.

I am guessing the youngest one is the one I am not seeing. Someone was lucky enough to get all three in a picture. It was a cloudy day, but this is the best time I feel to get eagle pictures as there will be less shadows given where the nest is. Even on cloudy days there are things to see.

New Tree?

This tree had two visible holes, but the larger hole I did not think was large enough to host an owl that was egg sitting. After seeing an adult owl perched in the tree I realised it could. I also figured out there was another hole I could not view.

Not sure if this is a nest tree or the barred owl was just chilling. No wildlife seemed to spot this owl here so it seemed to be a good perching spot. I haven’t seen two owls together yet. I have not heard them calling to each other. It has been rather quiet this year in the woods. I am open to the belief this owl and its mate may be hanging out more on private property.

Despite that it was a cloudy morning, I was happy to spot this owl. The tell tale signs of the nearby wildlife being upset were not there. Looking at tree holes and knobs of branches helped today. Walk slow and appreciate nature.