Downy Woodpecker

We had a woodpecker visit our bird feeder and seed bowl recently. I took pictures then used them to make the identification.

It turns out that Downy and Hairy Woodpeckers look very similar. I looked at many pictures but finally found a side by side comparison that pointed toward the identification of the bird as a Downy Woodpecker:

• It was smaller than a robin
• The beak was short
• There was quite a bit a white in the wing

It must have been a male to because it had a nice red patch on the back of its head.

I was very glad to see the bird after I found the woodpecker feathers a few weeks ago.

Through the Kitchen Window - Mourning Dove

It seems like every time I stand at the kitchen sink in the morning - I see birds! I’ve learned to keep my camera handy and make sure the window says clean enough to photograph through.

The mourning doves are generally silent so I sometimes don’t notice them right away.

This one seemed to be surveying the yard below. Maybe it got a drink from the bird bath just before I saw it.

Then it calmly walked along the railing…and flew away.

Through the Kitchen Window

We have a goldfinch that frequents our deck - getting a drink at the bird bath and

Enjoying the Black Eyed Susan and Zinnia seeds forming on the plants growing in pots. I have enjoyed watching the bird - at least I think it is the same one - for the past few days. Rather than going outside to photography him I’ve been attempting to capture his activity through the kitchen window.

The seeds must be very tasty!

A Story Derived from Feathers

As I neared the boat ramp near Centennial Lake I noticed a relatively large feather on the sidewalk.

I noticed other feathers caught in the grooves of the ramp

And in the grass.

Then I noticed there were a lot more feathers near the parking area.

The breeze was already separating them so I must have just barely missed the action.

What do you think happened?

The feathers are all dark and quite large. There were enough of them on the ground that it was obvious that they belonged to a bird that did not survive. The bird that attacked must have been large as well….and carried the prey away from the area.

Mt. Pleasant Farm - May 2015

I’ve been at the Howard County Conservancy’s Mt. Pleasant Farm quite a lot this month; it is the peak of the spring field trip season for elementary schools. In the quiet before the buses arrive I capture a bit of the scene:

The flower pot people dressed for summer,

The plantings in bloom on the way to the Honors Garden, and

The wood frogs in the small pool just inside the Honors Garden.

One morning I arrived early enough to walk around one of the short loops and saw a rabbit…that was long gone by the time the children arrived…

And tree swallows at the nesting boxes. Surprisingly - one morning a pair of tree swallows was so intent on building their nest that my hiking group of second graders watched them carrying sticks into the box and chasing away other tree swallows!

May 2015 turned out to be an excellent month for field trips to Mt. Pleasant Farm!

US National Arboretum - Azaleas

Another area I enjoyed at the US National Arboretum this past weekend was the azalea collections. The vistas of the gardens - pleasant shade with pathways and shallow stairs - invite exploration.

Because we had been to the Brighton Dam Azalea so recently - I’ll feature the other things in this garden first in this post: looking down at wildflowers,

Following the noisy rustling through leaves (Eastern Towhee),

Looking up at shelf fungus growing an a dead tree,

Looking straight from some stairs at galls on an oak tree, and

A pine shaded by a large magnolia ….golden cones, sparse needles, lacey bark.

Of course there were plenty of azaleas to photograph as well!