We were out of power for 2 days before the storm moved your way. I hope you NE ladies are staying warm. Claire, can you see the waves from your house? Spring is going to be so sweet this year.

Thanks, Pat. We ended up with perhaps 15 inches, though it's a bit difficult to tell since it was light and fluffy as it fell, and then so windy that it blew around quite a bit. Happily we didn't end up losing power; my utility does a good job of keeping the lines clear.

This morning in the maple tree in the side yard there is a pair of crows. One is preening unconcernedly while the other is yelling in burst of 4 caws. Usually when one yells, others do as well, and usually I can find the threat, but I don't see anything out and about this morning.

Two days without power, Pat? That stinks. I can see the waves from my house and they're always impressive during a nor'easter, particularly at high tide when it looks like they're lapping at the bottom of the coastal bank (they're not, it's just the angle of view).

NHBabs: I once saw a couple of crows in a tree overlooking the bay, and I swear one of them was sounding an imitation of a foghorn while looking out over the water. The other crow just perched there looking patient.

Claire

The morning after the storm, we spotted a fox traveling at the edge of our yard along the river and then into the neighbor's yard. He looked so scrawny! It's been a tough month for hunters in the neighborhood. Many of our neighbors feed the birds, so perhaps the "breakfast population" at the feeders caught his attention. I watched him jump up in the air and down into the snow but couldn't see if he caught anything.

I didn't "like" all the photos but they all deserve gold stars. Thanks for sharing. I can't seem to identify a hawk that is frequently on a bare limb at the end of the woods in back of our house. A few days ago I thought we had a different hawk, much larger, on the front side of the house. It perched on the compost bin for awhile and then on the roof of my high tunnel. My binoculars just aren't strong enough. I think there's a third largish bird that flies thru the woods. Black back, white underside but all I catch is a glimpse and I'm always amazed to see a bird flying through woods.

The last two suet cakes are out. Our unusual visitors at the feeders are a small flock of red-winged black birds. The deer have come out of the woods and now there's enough bare ground for them to find grazing in the far field.

Last night a bluebird found a little worm in the bare ground next to the south foundation. Our kitchen table is pushed up against windows so we can watch all the goings on with binoculars and bird guide handy.

moliep, I have only seen a fox do that jump maybe once. It's just amazing.

defrost, I can't find my picture of the pileated woodpecker in flight, but I think that may be the B&W bird you are seeing. Underwing, they look like a piano keyboard. Click link to see if it matches what you've seen.

Pileated woodpecker in flight

Jane

Jane, thanks for the suggestion and link. It could be since we've had pileated woodpeckers in that particular section of woods. I haven't been outside much but generally can identify their loud pecking. This bird seemed to have a lot of white underneath but I'm not going to rule out the pileated quite yet.

Only other guess at the moment is Broadwing hawk, he has lots of white underneath.Broadwing hawk in flight

Thanks, that's a nice site. I think the hawk that perches out back is a red shouldered hawk. I thought there were several dark and white bands on its tail. It's a very golden brown colored head and back. I'll have to keep watch to see about the shoulder patches.

Probably not a broadwing hawk. They fly south in September and haven't arrived back yet. We have a pair every summer that nests in the woods, and we see and hear calling over the fields where they are catching thermals.

I'd vote for either the pileated woodpecker which has the distinctive flapping pattern of all woodpeckers or one of the accipiters, either the Cooper's hawk or the sharp-shinned hawk. Their wing are short and broad with a long tail so they are good at maneuvering between trees.

Thanks, NHBabs. I think I have two unidentified hawks plus the bird that flies through the woods that might be the pileated woodpecker. I'm looking forward to sitting outdoors weather but this year we should try sitting in a different part of the yard.

Every time the Pileated peckers show up, they are way out back at the end of my lens' range, 420mm. This morning I saw the flying piano keyboard wings and ran for the camera. Glad the pair is still together. We are lucky in that all 5 woodpecker species found in Connecticut, come to our yard. They are amazing birds. Our poor maple tree. :(

Hey, at least they show up! I've never seen one here. Nice pics.

Claire

What I do see, although usually only a quick glimpse, is at least one red squirrel. I always toss a few handfuls of peanuts in the shell in this spot for the squirrels and blue jays. A gray squirrel will often wait there for me to toss the peanuts, but the red squirrel(s) make a series of quick dashes and then race off to hide the peanut packages somewhere.

I do often see the red squirrels chasing the much bigger gray squirrels through the treetops. I wonder if the gray squirrels are robbing the red squirrels' stashes. The other day I was out with the buckets of bird seed and a red squirrel raced across the path in front of me and then back. I wasn't sure if it was reminding me to put out peanuts or was threatening me (OK, giant, drop the peanuts and back off and you won't be harmed).

Claire

Moments ago, straight out of the camera. Look at the goldfinch's color! That's a big change over the past 2 weeks when the birdbath wore an ice ring.

That's a male with his spiffy new breeding plumage, all ready for the breeding season! Nothing like that here yet.

Claire

More proof that spring is on the way!

The turkeys think spring is here, at least the toms do (seen through winter-blurry windows). A few hens were eating nearby and didn't seem very impressed.

Claire

Such a sophisticated suit of feathers! I think they're fascinating.

The turkeys here cause loads of problems. They have been flying into cars, displaying and mating in the road, pecking vehicles trying to cautiously drive around them, they chase/peck/attack the crossing guard at one of the elementary schools and one eventually was hit by a car a month back. He had his own Instagram page and patrolled a stretch of road between 2 schools that is very heavily traveled. It is a bit of a nuisance when your kids can't play on the school playground or cross the road because turkeys try to attack them. I realize they are just doing the best they can while we occupy their home :)

When your only suit is soaked, life is tough. But, the diner is open.

Even in cold, wet darkness, these fellows are just plain cute.

Oh, the Juncos had a meeting this morning. I think they were discussing their departure date.

Big bird day today. This Cooper's looks like he's truly meditating on preening. It seemed to be an effort from start to a fast finish.

Okay. Inhale and think it through.

Turn slowly and spread it out.

Grasp tail feather #1.

Pull and stretch like Mom showed me.

Ouch! I hate it when they snap back.

Inhale, stretch. Good enough.

Great pics! Maybe the hawk has been reading too much about mindfulness....

Claire

Gorgeous pictures!

Birds wondering if it's really April...

Male cardinal finds this suet feeder more user-friendly with the wheel as a perch

His significant other with the punk crest

Same girl just chillin' with the junco

Song sparrow under the nyjer feeder

Robin in yesterday's storm

Same robin expressing opinion of said storm

The Blues

Susan

Wonderful pictures, Susan, as always! The birds are right - snow in April is despicable.

Claire

Super shots, Susan! Birds are so expressive. Great groups you have there. Hope the green grass comes through for you soon.

Thank you! So much melting today (temp 52) that a lot of ground is showing already...after 2 days of clearing the cars and driveway, of course.

A red-shouldered hawk (I think) visited the yard today. I noticed that the small birds were watchful but not terrified, but there weren't any squirrels or chipmunks in sight. This is the opposite of the situation when a Cooper's hawk is around and the small birds are gone or frozen in place, while the squirrels and chipmunks frolic.

The hawk was perched in the shrubs so I had a hard time getting a photo that wasn't focused on branches.

It was a really beautiful bird.

Claire

They are beautiful, Claire, - good job among the branches. There is a pair of red-tailed hawks building a nest nearby. I saw one flying with a large twig in its beak.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ In other critters ~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Our cat gave up on her 'favorite' food after I bought a case of it. Every night for the past few months I have put a dish of the rejected cat food out near the recycle bin in the garage. Each morning the dish is whistle clean. I figured it was Olivia O'Possum, but wasn't positive until last night. She comes and goes through the cat hole, just as the cat does....and the mice, and the rabbits, the foxes, birds, skunks and any other nocturnal passerby. I know some of you don't like possums, but they are North America's only marsupial and if ANY wild animal is going to come near you, make it a possum. No rabies, no aggressive attitude. Will hiss if really scared, but does not like confrontation. She also has a blanket in the garage to help keep her warm.

Jane :)

If I had a garage (but I don't), I wouldn't mind having a healthy well-fed possum somewhere in the corner. And given my tendency to clutter there would be plenty of corner space for a possum. Nice job capturing the image, Jane.

Claire

Jane, I read that possums consume a huge amount of ticks. That's enough to make me like them! Saw crows in a maple tree today. They appeared to be breaking off twigs and peeling some bark, so I'm guessing for a nest.

Claire, beautiful hawk. I think it does look like the red-shouldered ones I've seen here, but it's hard when they refuse to show their front side and fan their tails! Darn.

Susan

Thank you, thank you, Susan, for the comment about possums eating ticks! I'm feeding one also. Had a huge tick in my hip last Fall and I don't think I'm over it yet. The idea, I mean.

I guess our resident hawk must be a Coopers Hawk. I don't get a good enough view to see the shape of the tail. Our local avid birder writes a nature column for the free town newsletter. She wrote that the juncos are singing so that must be the wonderful song I am hearing. We have a small flock of juncos after seeing only one all winter. No more suet feeding but my husband still fills the sunflower and niger seed. While driving down the road, I interrupted a romantic turkey with two females but we haven't had any turkeys in our yard for a long time. The deer are still looking for food under the snow. Rain today so maybe more snow will disappear. Quite a bit of pooled water in our yard and cellar floor is a little wet (old fieldstone foundation). Red winged blackbirds are still visiting the feeders but I see more birds exploring the garden. Lots of bird activity in the shallow ditches along the road. I should have spent more time on our sunny kitchen porch yesterday when it was so warm out. The bird song was wonderful.

The black-capped chickadee olympics on the chokeberry bush.

Practicing on the target

The parallel branch grab

And the backward, flip dismount

Jane

Jane, you were probably right about the pileated woodpecker because today he worked on a tree instead of just flying through the woods. We have dozens of robins looking for worms.

Hadn't seen a mockingbird since last fall, but one showed up yesterday.

I've never seen a wood duck here, but a pair showed up this morning! So excited to get a picture of the male, at least. We have no water on our land, but there are ponds nearby. I'm almost tempted to put up a nesting box.

Phoebe with a song to sing.

Susan

Oh, Susan! Be tempted! If you have one, put it up. I think moliep has one in her yard or very close by. Wood ducks are striking. Glad you saw him with the camera. :)

I think he's a purple finch, what do you think? Seldom see them here and he's the only one I've seen.

Compared to the house finch. Or, is it a splendid spring suit for a house finch?

Looks like a purple finch to me too, Jane. He doesn't have the prominent streaks on the flanks that the house finch wears. I love the description on the Cornell site:

"The Purple Finch is the bird that Roger Tory Peterson famously described as a “sparrow dipped in raspberry juice.”"

Cardinals are easier than finches.

Claire

Another sign of spring - the ants were swarming yesterday. The swarm was only there for a little while before they moved to wherever they were going. I probably wouldn't have noticed if I hadn't been using the watering buckets. The swarm looked just like a pile of spilled compost.

Claire

Yuck. I thought swarming ants were the same as flying ants. Maybe there are multiple varieties. They used to come to one corner of our garage, but the exterminator discouraged that behavior. Time to buy sugar ant traps - one good warm rain and they pop in.

Look who made the front page of our local paper when looking for more bird food. Not my house. Good looking fellow.

And after hearing the hawks flying low for a number of days carrying branches over our house, I saw her fly into the nest to sit on her babies-to-be. This is as close as I can get 2 yards away without bothering her. That's her tail. Must be the red-shouldered hawk.

Red-tail hawk flying over our house.

Here is a red-shouldered hawk out back scanning for food.

Red-shouldered in our yard grocery shopping.

Also in our yard checking her grocery list-to-be.

A bit of a rest in a maple.

(edited to reflect correct bird ID)

Awesome pictures, Jane. What else would I expect? Hope that bear is not too close!

He's 6 miles away in that picture, Susan. Last summer he was just out back, so we know he has good walking shoes, lol. Unless... there are more of them. oooh :)

I think you have pictures of two different hawks, Jane. A red-tail and a red-shouldered hawk. The flyer has the belly band and the red tail, but the percher in the maple looks like a red-shouldered to me with a black and white striped tail. Great pics of all of them.

Six miles away is a good distance for a bear! I'd much rather have ants than bears.

I think my swarming ants are pavement ants. According to Wikipedia "During early spring, colonies attempt to conquer new areas and often attack nearby enemy colonies."

They mostly stay under the bluestone path and they're much smaller than the ants that come into my house and my compost pile. I saw them again today, in the same spot, and I couldn't resist making a video to show them swarming (or maybe fighting).

Claire

Ah. Something always has to conquer something else. The older I become, the less I know...and that includes hawk identification, lol. Thanks, Claire.

Are others experiencing more grackles than usual ? We seem to,have twenty or more every day since the warm weather started. I am north of Boston .

Maybe some of my grackles have moved north!

I've been seeing less than usual for the last few years here in Plymouth, although still a steady population in the spring. At first they seemed to have mostly moved to the nearby marshy area, but this year I'm seeing about half the usual amount of mixed blackbirds (grackles, red-wings and cowbirds).

I'm seeing 10 to 20 per day where there used to be 20 to 30. There should be more though when the youngsters fledge. And then the flock will be gone.

Claire

yes, more grackles and starlings. I just north of Concord NH. Only a small flock but we see them picking up nesting material and flying into the barn. Have only seen one phoebe so far but maybe it's still early.

The thread is getting long and probably slow to upload for some, so I'll start a new one ASAP. As always, feel free to continue the discussion here, but please post any new items on the new thread.

Claire