All in a day

I never know what I will see on my morning walks with Malcolm our dog. Who is turning out to be an amazing birdwatcher with me. Loons,tree swallows,northern flickers,robins,merlin pair,wild turkey in a tree and goldfinches in my yard. Life is good!!

Baltimore oriole

Another beautiful bird is the baltimore orioles that come every year. I really do live in a great place.

Red Headed Woodpecker April 29th onward

Since the year 2000 I have been blessed with a pair of red headed woodpeckers. Missing a couple years between then and now they have successfully raised a family every year that they were here. It is always exciting when they arrive back in the spring. Anywhere from April 28th the earliest to May 9th the latest. I have had anywhere from  1 bird to 6 at a time. Until the pair settle in and choose their mate ,it can be a lot of noise and action when we get a few. An amazing show of chasing and calling.I had 2 arrive here on April 29th this year. The chasing and calling begun immediatly. I had a wake up call every morning at 6:30 AM when the male would drum on our chimney. And through out the day he would do the same on and off until only a few days ago. The calling has been minimal and the chasing seems to have stopped. He comes quietly and swoops over the house to our favorite and their woodpecker tree. An old dead tree. Full of woodpecker holes. Every year the red headed and the red bellied go there and carve or excavate a hole or 2. Yesterday and good friend Ann came up from the city and came over for a bit. Hoping to see the red headed. He showed up as I suspected he would. He had been here all day. But this time he brought his mate and a friend. Or not!! The calling and chasing began. Did not last long. And all was quiet again. So she got a good although distant show. The red headed woodpecker is on the species at risk (sar) list. I am not sure if they have been updated. But as of 2007 they were threatened on that list. I believe they still are. Lack of habitat a huge cause. People clear cutting forests for developments and taking down trees at their leasure. These birds and others survival depends on dead trees for nesting . For food. We have a stump here and 22 years later the pileateds are still getting food from it. Although they seem to be doing okay. We need to look after ours and their habitat. They are a beautiful bird with which I have become intreeged with. I am lucky they come every year. But every year more trees are taken down. What I dont get is that they are taken down during nesting season. Something should be done about stopping this. Why do they have to take trees down now. They have winter spring and fall. So many nesting birds have lost their nest and precious eggs inside. They have enough to contend with as it is. As for this red headed woodpecker family. I look forward to when the young come to visit me again this year as I do every year. This year we have a merlin pair nesting very near. It is a worry. But I can only hope that this pair stays out of the merlins way. It is what it is. Mother nature is in control. For now. I will enjoy their beauty and enjoy every moment they come to visit us. ANd will look forward to the young ones tagging along. I also look forward to our new family of Merlins. But hope they dont come to visit for lunch!!!!! Sorry guys this backyard is out of bounds. (right!!)

Frogs,a sign of good healthy wetlands.

Frogs n toads are a great warning system to our healthy or not so healthy wetlands/environments. If they are there you can rest asure it is a healthy ecosystem. Of coarse the green fancy tree frog is not a native frog of ours, but I beleive is from Africa. However he makes a beautiful photo. Leopard,green,wood,spring peepers and toads are native here and pretty amazing little creatures. As are all the rest of our reptile and amphibian friends. Next time you pass a wetland or even a wet/vernal pool in the woods. Stop and look. You never know what you might see or hear. In one of these photos is a green frog surrounded by American toads eggs. Lots of things to see if you take the time.
The leaf with the wood frog underneith it is taken by my son Jeff Howard.He tried to take a photo of the wood frog on the leaf but it always moved under the leaf. (camera shy frog). However this is a very cool photo.

African tree frog

 Assorted frogs

African tree frog

 Wood frog under leaf by Jeff Howard

 Green frog

 Tiny spring peeper

Green frog amongst toads eggs

 American toad

 Leopard frog

 Bull frog

 Green frogs

 Green frog

Green frog

Spring in my backyard

This spring has been pretty amazing in my backyard. I have a pair of merlins nesting and a pair of red headed who are here every year came back together and have been mating ever since. I get a wake up call every morning around 6:30 from the red headed woodpecker drumming on our chimney. Northern flickers are dancing and carrying on and chickadees have picked a bird box on my sons shed to raise their family. Evening grosbeak A single female joined me for a couple days and a brown thrasher seranaded me for a whole day singing his heart out. It is pretty amazing and I dont need to or want to go far. Although the merlins will weed out our bird population. Life goes on and a beautiful new family will come into our world.