View From the Yard...Not the Swamp

 Two Pileated Woodpeckers

 Northern Flicker

 Scratching an itch, but I missed it

American Goldfinch brightens up a damp, dreary day beautifully!

WT Sparrow

All last week, I woke to "Pure Sweet Canada Canada Canada".....

The White Throated Sparrow got me hooked on birds in 9th Grade Biology!  All those years ago, it was his song and his yellow eye markings that I found remarkable.  I never noticed the white throat before!

New Construction

Seems to be some new construction down at the swamp. Early evening Easter Sunday I was checking on the swamp. The two Heron nests at the far end are occupied. You should be able to click on the pictures for a larger view to see the nests with GBH in them. A pair of Canadian Geese won the turf war and the nest on the rock is now occupied.
I'm hopeful for a successful hatch but not optimistic. The past two years have yielded nothing. The biggest surprise down the swamp is a new Heron nest under construction. I did not have a camera with me on Sunday but I watched as two Great Blue Heron stood in a naked tree in the middle of the swamp. I watched as it took 45 minutes to place one stick. So, when I left Sunday, there were maybe two sticks that had been worked into the tree branch. This was the scene Thursday morning.

Peepers! Sunshine ~ Finally ~ and Frisky Business

Several days of rain, birds are back in business. I have not made it down to the swamp to check on the turf wars, but I have been intrigued by a hawk flying back and forth for several days before the rain. This morning I spotted it again, but the color was different - not as much red, more white and brown. It flies from one edge of our property to the other, and back. I grabbed my binoculars and thought I saw something in its talons, but it was just out of clear range. A few moments later, movement caught my eye, so I tried for another look. With my naked eye I could see the red hawk with a large bird in it's talons....or so I thought. With my binoculars, I could see that the brown and white hawk is apparently the female...and the red chested and slightly smaller hawk is the male. I did not have time to attempt a picture of that activity, but the female stayed put for quite a while afterwards. Once again, I apologize for my camera. You can click to make the pictures larger. I cropped them as best I could without losing too much resolution.

And peepers are here! As I got out of the car from Cantata rehearsal, I was met with the sound of peepers! The grass is greening up, the American Goldfinches are brightening up, and the peepers are peeping. Ah,...spring.