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Animals roaming free

 
 
 
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Last of 2014 wildlife. Hope for better tomorrow.

I was driving down a state road and saw this in the trees. I took this maddeningly out of focus photo of a red-tail out the car window.



Briefly stopped at the swan pond.

Frozen over but interestingly the critters were unconcerned. I guess they have bird sense that it's supposed to get up to the high 40's (F) this weekend.







The larger town lake was not frozen over and there is not normally anything much happening there but today a belted kingfisher in a tree over the town beach.



It flew to the opposite side of the beach. Sun is still a problem.



 
I went to another new place today called World's End. Strange name for a peninsula in Boston Harbor but had some good luck.

A pile of Buffleheads in a small saltwater bay protected from the wind.


On the other side of the inlet on the open bay a pile of Canada Geese fighting the wind and waves. I can only guess they were enjoying it because they could easily have walked onto the land or flown to the protected side.



A red-bellied woodpecker


There were lots of American Black Ducks about.




Black Duck and Bufflehead on the protected side.


This is a life list first for me. Greater Scaups.


One Common Eider seen.


Canada Geese flocking.


Coming around the other way.


Probably a juvenile Herring Gull but possibly a ring bill gull.


Back at the swan pond as the sun gets low, the ring bill gulls are still standing around on the ice.
 
A few days ago the wooden pole that extends above by squirrel-proof bird feeder and holds the anti squirrel cone, above which hang the suet feeders cracked where the screw holds on the cross-bar on which the suet feeders hang at the top of the pole. Grrr.





Today being Saturday I finally got out to fix it which means taking the whole thing down. But temporary repairs included cutting two inches off the top of the pole and then securing a clamp to keep the cracked pole from splitting further and then screwing the cross bars back on.

At least one nuthatch was pleased. Actually the first bird to show up to see what was happening was a chickadee but I was too busy still tying the thing up steady to try to photograph




A few days ago I saw two mute swans flying close together in a southeasterly direction. Perhaps they were headed to the ocean. Their pond is nearly frozen over except for a small hole where the stream feeds in. Perhaps the swans have left but the army of Mallards are still there.



They were hoping I had some food but I didn't and they soon got bored.
 
I wasn't able to actually go anywhere today. I made it out into the yard a few times. The day was supposed to be sunny but I didn't see any sun.

But, the house sparrows of course were out.



They hang out in these bushes by the side of my garage.


While I was just standing there looking at the bushes and looking for a better shot of a boring sparrow I saw something fly into the bushes from the left-hand side and then all of a sudden I swear over 100 sparrows flew out of the bushes. I was sure it was a hawk but would it be a sharp-shinned hawk or a coppers hawk. Both will fly into the bushes. After a few minutes this few out and perched in the trees just in back of the bush photo above.

A sharp shinned hawk. Very nice.

It came around a few more times in the next 45 minutes but I didn't get any other good shots. They are beautiful when the fly low.





The rest of the day was nothing remarkable.

Nuthatches, Carolina Wren, Chickadees, Junkos. I got a few unremarkable shots.



 
Further asking of the experts, it appears that what I though was a Sharp-shinned hawk in the post above is actually a Cooper's Hawk.

However this morning this bird showed up and the bird below is a sharp-shinned hawk. Man they are hard to tell apart.





 
Some photos from the last few days.

My yard

Cardinal


White breasted Nuthatch


House Sparrow


At the swan pond the swans are gone but the mallards are still here.


There is a small patch of water where the stream comes in


Back in my yard

Chickadee


Titmouse


Downy Woodpecker


Red bellied woodpecker
 
I stopped by the swan pond on my way home from an errand today and after a few milder days the two mute swans are back home. They were gone for a few days when it was really cold I'm guessing because there was very little unfrozen water by the feeder stream.

Anyway, they are back and there was a 3rd swan.

This is a juvenile. I didn't know it until I looked it up but juveniles have the tan on them.



While I was photographing it spread it's wings.


I looked up and I saw why. One of the adult swans was starting to chase it away.


It chased it right up to the shore.


The juvenile went back out onto the ice and the adult came after it again.


And chased it to shore again




It chased it up the feeder stream and though I waited around for a bit, the juvenile didn't show itself again.
 
My cat used to do that all the time, but I think she decimated the mouse population in her territory.
 
Well the blizzard dodged NYC but Boston and the vicinity got hit. I got 24 inches.

It was a busy day at the feeder. all these taken in a span of less than 10 minutes out the window at the feeder.

Downy Woodpecker


Lots of Dark Eyed Junkos


The house sparrows crowding the feeder


Carolina Wren


Male Northern Cardinal


Tufted titmouse


Female cardinal


Blue jay


A wren and downy sharing the suet.


cardinal again
 
A few out the window photos and about the feeder from the last couple days.

Northern Cardinal


I think this is a fox sparrow. Need to check still


Two goldfinches


Downy and a house sparrow on the suet


White throated sparrow


Mourning Dove in the storm.


Song sparrow


Nuthatch


Pigs


Dark Eyed Junko
 
Snowing again. We could break 4 feet in 2 weeks. Sucks a lot.

Just out the window at the feeder photos.

Red-bellied Woodpecker at the Suet.


Ill-tempered pigs


All of a sudden a European Starling has shown up.


Dark Eyed Junko


White Throated Sparrow


Hairy Woodpecker


Two Downy Woodpeckers


I don't know if I've ever seen a Cardinal at the Suet


A Starling at the suet is new to me too.
 
I'm in Tokyo, Japan this week for business but have my good camera with me.

Interesting day today. It was a work day, Friday.

In the morning outside the hotel there was this bird. I looks like a kind of starling.



At mid-day I had some time between meeting so we visited s small park with a pond. That was a bonanza.

Here is the park


But the first photo took was a guess what? A house sparrow. I guess house sparrows infest Japan too.

EDIT. I have learned it is not a house sparrow but a eurasian tree sparrow.



Then a boring pigeon.


But anyway, I headed over to the other side to get better direction of the sun to see the ducks and such.

But the first really interesting think that caught my eye was that I saw this fly in and land on the island.



Then a cormorant flew in.



And then next this flew in.



These were all over the place too. They also look like a kind of starling but their behavior was much like an American robin.


There were tons of ducks. I haven't sorted out what they are and how many different kinds there were yet.

There were also turtles sunning on the rocks. They looked a bit larger than our painted turtles. I'll probably post then and some more ducks later.

Tomorrow is Saturday and it's supposed to be sunny. I still am not sure where exactly I will go.
 
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Finishing off with some photos from yesterday. Still in Tokyo. Ducks. Ducks and Turtles.

I have no idea what kinds of ducks these are yet.




Eyeballing me


These turtles looked slightly larger than adult painted turtles




More duck


More duck


More duck


This morning I went to a place called Institute for Nature Study. They have a wooded park. cost 310 yen to go in.

Another Brown-eared Bulbul


No idea what this is. Looks a bit like a chickadee


This appears to be a dove of some kind


These white-cheeked starlings are all over the place.


This also resembles a chickadee but lacks the rust colored underside like the other bird that resembles a chickadee


More Bulbul


A great Egret was fishing




Another Dove


I think that this is actually some kind of woodpecker based on a sigh I saw and will post at the end.


No idea what this is


No idea what this is


This also looks a bit like a chickadee and might be the same as the one above that looks a lot like a chickadee


Japanese white-eye. I know this one from last years trip to Tokyo.


No idea what this is


Here's the sigh I mentioned. Not too helpful in Japanese. But the set on the left, the top center, appears to look like the bird that, based on this photo, I think might be a woodpecker. I did see a bird later with the spots that was pecking wood.


After leaving the park I got something to eat and then went down to the canals closer to the bay.

More ducks


A hawk of some kind


A flying cormorant, probably the great cormorant.


Another kind of duck


A crow. Tokyo is full of crows. There are probably more crows than pigeons.
 
Your duck just before your Institute for Nature Study note is a male Pochard (Aythya ferina) in full plumage, occur from Britain to Mongolia, this one perhaps wintering in Tokio. The brown headed nes look like Pochard females except that their beaks seem one colour only (?young are like that?)
The pair of ducks after the Japanese writing are a male and female Teal (Anas crecca crecca)
The one after the turtles is a female Pintail (Anas acuta)
The one with a yellow tip to the beak is a puzzle :)
 
The greenish chickadee look-alike with the white cheek is a Great Tit (Parus major). I don't think the one above is the same bird - big bill, no white cheek.,grey back.
The finch before the Japanese signs is a Hawfinch, I think, rare in Europe, didn't know they live in Asia. (Coccothraustes coccothraustes) Edit - yes they live in Asia.
 
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