Creature Feature...I'm not referring to the old
TV show, although this "evil space-rabbit" makes it look that way. That show was really cool, every Saturday night in the 70's I got to see the old classic horror films, like
"The Pit and the Pendulum",
"The Blob", and all the old
Lon Chaney Jr. and
Bela Lugosi movies. I think just about every state in the union had a version of this show, and ours in Indiana was hosted by
Elvira after awhile. You can even watch a
new version on the internet now. But I digress....
...can you see who's hiding in this foliage? Just under the fern is a
ruffed grouse, trying to blend in. Good job!
This little
mourning dove was sitting on the deck railing so still, I thought she may have been injured or something...
....but as I stepped outside she was acting more wary and normal, so I left her alone.
My friends, do you know what this is? This bird is a
yellow-bellied sapsucker , and a very exciting visitor for me! I've never even
seen one of these, so I got to add it to my "list". (Lots of bird-watchers keep lifetime lists of their bird sightings.) I was pleased as punch to see him enjoying the grape jelly I'd put out for the Baltimore orioles, so I'll leave this feeder up all summer for sure! (I usually take it down about now, once the orioles have moved on.) I've even seen the female
rose-breasted grosbeak enjoying the jelly, so from now on, this feeder will be up all summer.
Here's somebody I don't see that often,
the American toad. Kind of odd, becauseI used to see a lot of them in Indiana, but not up here. I have plenty of frogs, but fewer toads. This guy was as big as my hand, too. (Maybe he ate the others! :)
Mr.
hummingbird, on his favorite perch. (I think he likes the vantage point, it allows him to efficiently police the feeder so he can run off interlopers. They're so territorial!)
And last but not least, this crowd was milling around as I drove to work this morning....
...these are
sandhill cranes, and although I see them regularly, I don't usually see a group this large past early spring. Maybe they're beginning their weekend party early....wish I could!
Submitted to
Friday Ark.
...can you see who's hiding in this foliage? Just under the fern is a ruffed grouse, trying to blend in. Good job!
This little mourning dove was sitting on the deck railing so still, I thought she may have been injured or something...
....but as I stepped outside she was acting more wary and normal, so I left her alone.
My friends, do you know what this is? This bird is a yellow-bellied sapsucker , and a very exciting visitor for me! I've never even seen one of these, so I got to add it to my "list". (Lots of bird-watchers keep lifetime lists of their bird sightings.) I was pleased as punch to see him enjoying the grape jelly I'd put out for the Baltimore orioles, so I'll leave this feeder up all summer for sure! (I usually take it down about now, once the orioles have moved on.) I've even seen the female rose-breasted grosbeak enjoying the jelly, so from now on, this feeder will be up all summer.
Here's somebody I don't see that often, the American toad. Kind of odd, becauseI used to see a lot of them in Indiana, but not up here. I have plenty of frogs, but fewer toads. This guy was as big as my hand, too. (Maybe he ate the others! :)
Mr. hummingbird, on his favorite perch. (I think he likes the vantage point, it allows him to efficiently police the feeder so he can run off interlopers. They're so territorial!)
And last but not least, this crowd was milling around as I drove to work this morning....
14 comments:
Rockford had a show called The Phantom of 13 (channel 13). It was some guy with a mustache and sunglasses who came on wearing a hooded cloak and introducing cheesy horror films.
Usually he got pelted with things by the camera man. It was pretty funny.
We have cranes up here as well; although I see the blue heron a lot more.
That show sounds funny...there was another one, I think on cable, where they show really bad old horror films and a couple cartoon characters sit "in the front row" (like a theater) and make funny comments. I don't see the herons as much as I used to, but more cranes than usual. Heh..."turf wars"?
I remember sitting up and watching Elvira when I lived in IN. And I loved Poe movies. Scared me sh*tless. :)
We use to have prairie chickens here, but the great white hunters shot them for sport.
Congrats on the sap sucker!
Umm, that frog looks mighty pissed.
The cranes are awesome! What a sight to behold. You're a lucky girl. :)
Seriously? Elvira was very entertaining, but I enjoyed the movies the most. Funny how such old (and often hokey) movies were so scary. Too bad about the prairie chickens down there, the same kind of thing happened to bobwhite quail in Indiana. (Although feral cats had a lot to do with it, too.) I really enjoy seeing the cranes, and I'd like to take the time to get some good closeups...especially of the chicks. They're so tall and fuzzy, very cute! These birds are pretty wary though, even just stopping the car gets them retreating quickly. I'd probably have to put on some camo and wait...no patience for that!
Hey, thanks for sharing your wildlife! I love the American toad. I hear them sing a lot, but I don't often see them. The sandhill cranes are awesome--don't they have a cool call? I live near a wooded creek and was once shocked to see a blue heron on my shed! They're big! The ruffed grouse is cool, too; I've never seen one IRL. May I ship you two groundhogs?! ;-)
~ Monica
I love the crane calls, especially at dusk...kinda spooky. So far my wash tub water gardens haven't had any herons, but I won't hold my breath-I put in goldfish. I thought they'd all vanished, but they must have been hiding. We'll see...as for the groundhogs: no thanks! I have them PLUS porcupines! :)
Nice photos! We see blue herons all the time but I don't think I've ever seen a crane. Of course we have the bunnies too, a bunch of bunnies.
Thank you! The cranes are really cool, you can hear the wind in their wings as they fly by, and the call is loud and haunting. They seem to hang around farm fields as opposed to water, though. Heh, bunnies are so plentiful, I wonder if there's a single spot in the country without lots of them.
I love those pictures. I just don't know how you get such good bird pictures, mine keep flying off on me. Come over to my blog, I've got an award for you!
Thank you! My pictures are a combination of dumb luck and 12x zoom :) Of course they aren't "magazine quality", but I just like seeing birds and grabbing whatever picture I can get. I bet I erase 6 images for every one that's decent...digital sure beats the heck out of old school processing! Award? Cool, thanks!
Lisa,
I had a few moments and I was catching up and wanted to stop by and thank you for the kind thoughts. I know you're excited about the birds but I'm totally digging that toad pic. He's gross and cool at the same time. Wish I had some like where I live in Chicago.
Thank you very much! I hope things are well with you and your family...I know how life can get. I'm happy to see you back in the blogosphere! :) I was visiting your blog for amaryllis advice just the other day, I want to re-pot mine correctly so it can bloom instead of merely survive. No toads in Chicago? That's too bad, maybe your hog-nosed snakes are chowing down on them.
I love the sound the Snadhill Cranes make! It's one of my favorite bird sounds. I've only seen them on birding trips though - they don't hang out around here.
We are lucky enough to have the Sapsuckers all winter though.
Sapsuckers all winter? You ARE lucky! I'm hoping that since he found me, I may get to see these all winter now too, but I bet if you have them down south, that's where they go regardless. (With our winters, I can hardly blame them! :)
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