Woodpecker fighting a snake

If you want to see something INCREDIBLE head over to my buddy Christopher's Picus blog for a video of a snake fighting a woodpecker.  I just realized that I just swopped the two around as my title says the woodpecker was fighting the snake.  Well you have a look and tell me who you think was the instigator and who was the winner.

Happy Holloween!

Long eared owls killed by seeds

Ok, so maybe the seeds aren't actively killing the Long eared owls (LEOs) as my post title might suggest but they are dying as a result of seeds. I came across a very interesting article in the Bird Watcher’s Digest that details some strange dangers that birds face including slugs attacking warblers, hurricanes impacting chimney swift populations, and high altitude collisions with planes. In the case of the Long eared owls, research by Airam Rodríguez, Felipe Siverio, Rubén Barone, Beneharo Rodríguez and Juan J. Negro shows that LEOs and Barn Owls are prone to getting stuck in adhesive vegetation. The same specialized feathers (barbules) on the upper side of the flight feathers that give owls feathers a velvety look also make them prime candidates for getting caught in sticky seed producing plants such as burr bristle grass. Their research in the Canary Islands showed that nearly 5% of Leos and 2% of Barn owls that were admitted to local rehab centers in Tenerife had been entangled in bristle grass. Amazingly nearly 20% of those owls died from the incident.

If you don't get Bird Watcher's Digest I would highly recommend it.  Each month there are several interesting articles in there by birding legends such as Bill Thompson, Julie Zickefoose and more.

Wordless Wed - Hermit thrush

Busy brown creeper

Had little Brown Creeper running around in my pine trees.  I spent a good hour working on gettting a decent shot but failed pretty miserable....   However, the photos do give you a sense of the busy nature of this incredible little bird.

Garden list up to 81!

With the addition of two new Warblers - Palm and Prothonotary my garden list has moved to 81.  No photos of the Prothonotary but I did manage some snaps of the Palm and with the help of all my blogging buddies I got a positive ID.  My initial thoughts were Palm but I've also seen a few Warblers that look like Prairies.  With the feedback from everyone I will have some more looks and see if I can get some more snaps of some of the confusing individuals.

PS:  I saw two Prothonotary Warblers in the garden high up in the pines and they were stunning!

Warbler ID - Help needed

Warblers and gulls are definitely ID weak spots for me.  I saw this little dude in my garden a couple of days and I think I know what it is, but I want your input - please.  He pretty much split his time catching bugs in the mid section of trees as well as pretty close to the ground.  Tail pumping was a regular feature of the bird's behavior.  The weather was lousy and I couldn't get very close to the little guy so your ID guess may be pretty hard to make.

Tonight's gonna be a good night

I hope tonight's a good night and that you have an even better weekend! This song always gets me in a good mood even after a LONG week - hope it does the same for you...

Show me the ruby crown!

Found this little Ruby Crowned Kinglet zooming around the yard and I managed to capture his crown which I've never managed before. If you ever see a tiny birding acting like its on speed you have a pretty good shot at a Kinglet.

Other Kinglet posts here.

Imperial moth caterpillar

I My wife found this massive incredible caterpillar while camping a few weekends ago.  I had no idea what he was, so I didn't touch him.  The incident with the Saddleback caterpillar is still VERY fresh in my mind.  Based on my research the imperial moth caterpillar looks vicious but it is pretty harmless.

Funny Friday - video

Have a great weekend and keep laughing!

Lest we forget!

Summer Snowy Owl in NJ?

The rare summer Saw whet owl in New Jersey has now officially been topped by a 'resident' summer Snowy owl!  Yip, this Snowy owl decided to spend the Summer on one of our New Jersey beaches, rather than heading for the colder climates up north.

Here's a link to the full story.
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Adding a calendar to Blogger

Do you know where I can find a Calendar widget for Blogger that allows me to add events easily?  I have searched the net with no luck.

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Screech owl calling

We had a fire call at 2 am this morning. As I was ambling to the car I heard the whinny of a Screech owl across the road. The fog of sleep lifted as I listened to the mysterious sounds of this little magical owl. It's nice to know that the owls are still in the area. Hopefully I'll get a roosting Screech owl again this Fall.

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