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I heard the lovely, wacky song of the mockingbird singing me awake yesterday...
Whenever I hear a mockingbird, I am in such awe of their repertoire. They seem to go on and on and on, with very little repetition.
When I was working, there was one near the office building I worked in. It was so nice, as I walked in from the parking lot. And he/she was there every year, just around this time of year, singing his/her heart out. (thanks for the memory)
With all the birds we have in our yard, we have never had a resident mockingbird. (my understanding is that they are territorial) Our loss.
The goosanders have left the city park; the grey, Canada and Egyptian geese have arrived; we've had around 500 cranes fly over last week; the robin's (European, not the American one) are displaying (and those little birds are crazy); and we regularly have a pair of siskin in the garden, and our friend with her 500 mm lens on her camera keeps missing them.
Had a large coyote down at the pond last night. He hung around for about 20 minutes. I'm pretty certain he killed a red fox that I see on a regular basis a few nights ago around midnight.
During my outdoor chores this morning I paused to listen to the many birdsongs greeting the rising sun. So different from the silent mornings of just a few weeks ago.
Also part of nature were the sounds last night of something murdering something else (probably a rabbit.) I couldn't see what was happening - don't know who the attacker was. I don't think it was a coyote, as I usually can hear the sound of them running, and I've never seen foxes here. Maybe a badger?? The dog and I went out and yelled and barked at them and the screeching and snarling stopped.
The goosanders have left the city park; the grey, Canada and Egyptian geese have arrived; we've had around 500 cranes fly over last week; the robin's (European, not the American one) are displaying (and those little birds are crazy); and we regularly have a pair of siskin in the garden, and our friend with her 500 mm lens on her camera keeps missing them.
The local snowshoe hares have been dancing in my front yard which is still under about 6" of snow. Had hardly any snow all winter (you Easterners hogged it all ), but finally several inches graced us with it's presence over the past week. My dog happened to be out in the yard and went after one. Interesting to see the hares scoot easily across the crust and the dog bury herself completely in a drift. OK, OK, I get the whole body weight to foot spread thing. When she emerged into the air again she looked surprised and delighted. Nothing better than deep snow to wear out the cattledog. The hares thumbed their noses at her and went back to their craziness. Fun!
Last edited by Parnassia; 03-13-2018 at 02:00 PM..
Just at dusk, I stepped out the door and spotted a hawk just as it attacked a squirrel up in a tree. The squirrel ran down the tree, screeching, and dove under the car, where it continued hollering until we pulled away in the other car.
The hawk had flown into another tree as the squirrel escaped. It was too quick (and too near dark) for me to ID it, but it appeared reddish underneath and far bigger than a crow. When we got back, the squirrel was still complaining, but up on a fence this time. With that much lungpower left, it was probably okay. Running under the car was a pretty smart move.
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), but finally several inches graced us with it's presence over the past week. My dog happened to be out in the yard and went after one. Interesting to see the hares scoot easily across the crust and the dog bury herself completely in a drift. OK, OK, I get the whole body weight to foot spread thing. When she emerged into the air again she looked surprised and delighted. Nothing better than deep snow to wear out the cattledog. The hares thumbed their noses at her and went back to their craziness. Fun!