Sandhill Cranes Gather Their Kind Before the Snow Flies, Catfish Hunt Pigeons, More Adventures of Pyewackit and Squirrel/Cardiac Plus Is it a Sharpie or a Cooper's Hawk

 I heard the readily recognizable sounds of Sandhill Cranes from inside the living room. 

Yes, from inside the house. They are the loudest bird in the Americas and can be heard from two miles away.

  I headed outside and stared  north in the direction of the sound and stared some more.  Not a crane in sight.  I went back inside.

 Then some minutes  later I heard Cranes again this time from the north west.  

 There they were!   Over 50 of them heading SW!  And it was LOUD!

 And then out of the west came 30 or so more.  Also trumpeting.

 Closer.

The cranes then regrouped.  They sort of mingled together almost as if they were seeing individuals they might know and were greeting, then some formed a line and headed out.  While the others mingled momentarily.

A slightly closer view of the proceedings. 

They're all going about organizing themselves and no one ran into anyone else while I was watching.

Then they began to turn into the distance.

After observation they  appeared to be circling, calling, and drifting to collect all the cranes within hearing distance in order to collect all their brethren they could and be on their way before the bad weather closed in.

The photographs don't really do the moment justice.  Try double clicking on the photos to see larger images.

NEXT UP...

 Yes, ladies and gentleman, we are back to the age old question-  Is it a Sharp-shinned Hawk or a Cooper's Hawk?  

This time, check out the captures from a video from a friend of Sally of Kentucky.

What's your take?

 Yes, it is difficult to tell size.  One of the many inconclusive ways to tell these  two species apart.  But from the comparison of the hawk with the leaves on the bushes, it appears smallish to me.  Plus the legs look twig like.

 But then in this frame ,the legs look a little less twig like.

 Wasn't it our raptor man from Ohio, John Blakeman, who said that Sharpies always look kind of bug-eyed and hyper-thyroid?

But Sally of Kentucky, thought the legs seemed thicker like a Cooper's Hawk and I have to admit that the tail in the center photo does look decidedly curved on the end as she suggested.  A rounded tail being a clincher for IDing Cooper's Hawks.

Any thoughts? 

 Photo courtesy of http://news.yahoo.com

A find from Robin of Illinois!  Longtime readers will remember my discovery of city rats hunting pigeons in NYC but this one is even more astounding....European Catfish coming out of the water to nab pigeons.  Click the link below.
 http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/sideshow/catfish-learning-hunt-pigeons-land-video-231659764.html

Here we have the kitten, Squirrel? Cardiac, playing with a stick jammed in the joint of a canvas camp chair.  See the claws looking a little dangerous?

Check out the instantaneous transformation to Feline from Hell as he spat at visitor Tig the Basenji.  And it truly was instantaneous.  Check out those laid back ears.

A study in cat expressions in the aftermath of a dog.  

One gets the impression that kittens don't hold any one thought for any amount of time. Or really think in a conscious way at all frequently, as they are often totally in the moment.   

Pye on the other hand is definitely holding a grudge.

Donegal Browne

Guess Who Came to Dinner? Mrs Feeder Duck Makes Her Appearance.

 When I first saw the Mrs. though the window, and ran to get my camera, she was far back in the yard with web feet rooted while  Night Duck strode forward toward the duck water pan and it's adjacent pile of bird seed with a glance back now and again to see if she was getting the idea.


By the time I got back with the camera, Mrs Night Duck had closed the distance and appeared to be heading for the drake.

 Not so.  She marched over to the feeder and started shoveling it in.  This told me that though she was a bit shy at seeing me at the door she likely has been here before and knows where the fresh supply of bird seed is everyday.

Night Duck isn't looking all that happy that Mrs. Mallard is between he and I as opposed to he being between us.  I decide I'll head towards the garden and stand behind the Milkweed, which will place him in the middle again.  Not that they won't know I'm there but somehow they seem to feel better when there is some kind of barrier.

I round the corner of the garden and stop dead.  Who should be grazing behind the mulch pile but one of the baby bunnies.  I think we're up to nine now. This may even be Strawberry Bunny (And you wonder why the garden is fenced.) who has a tale all his own rather like Peter Rabbit.  One day we'll get around to the Tale of Strawberry Bunny.

But the issue at this point is that if I hold to my plan, I have to get past little bunny.  And likely little bunny will take off like a shot hippity hopping toward the spruce trees and in the meantime spread the panic to the ducks, who'll take to their wings, and that rather defeats the whole comfort plan.


I turn around and retrace my steps.  Except this time I stand further back from the flower bed.

Drake doesn't notice at first but Hen does.  As does the Mourning Dove and the squirrel who likely wonder why I'm acting so uncharacteristically furtive.

 Night Duck then cares very much.

 As does the Mrs.

 Squirrel could care less and Mrs Night Duck takes the cue.

 Part of the trick here, is not to cause the Mourning Dove or the squirrel to flush, which tends to cause everybody to flee.  In this case of course the Dove and the squirrel are regular visitors who are used to me so likely Mrs. Mallard is taking their behavior as a partial clue to my possible identity as a non-predator.

But by the time I'd made it back to the front door, gone in, and am looking out the glass door in the back, everyone is gone.

Best laid plans and all that...

Then a day later, SURPRISE!!  I look out and there they both are hunkered down under the feeder giving me a look...

They then go back to the business of eating which entails putting their bills to the ground near their bodies and sliding their bills forward "shoveling" whatever into their mouths.  Bits fall out here and there.  

The "bits" are the non-eatables. No they aren't sloppy eaters.  They're very selective eaters.

 It turns out that Mallards have a dozen or so receptors in their mouths which start "selecting" what is eatable and what is not. What is not is chucked out,  as the mouthful travels from the front to the back of the mouth.

Who knew?  

Without having fingers to do the selecting, while having eyes in the sides of your head which makes seeing what your bill is shoveling in not all that stellar,  it makes perfect sense.

Evolution is a wonder.

Donegal Browne

Valkyrie, the Queen of Tompkins Square Park, Squirrel Copulation, and the Jones Beach Saw-whet

Photograph by Francois Portmann, www.fotoportmann.com/
A treasure trove of this week's wonderful moments in Tompkins Square Park from professional photographer Francois Portmann.
And here comes Valkyrie gliding through the park--looking for something. Something to kill perhaps?

Photo by Francois Portmann
In this case, the something that she's killing is a stick. Valkyrie is young enough that she has the urge for "play". Play in young animals as in humans is activity that helps them learn control of their bodies and practicing the skills that are important in life.

Photo by Francois Portmann

Scoping the territory.

Photo by Francois Portmann

My, my, a pair of squirrels copulating. Spring must be just around the corner.

Photo by Francois Portmann

Valkyrie sees something and flies towards it with focus.

Photo by Francois Portmann
SNAP! And the rat never knew what hit him.


Photo by Francois Portmann

And off she goes to find a nice quiet spot for dinner.

Photo by Francois Portmann

Now what?

Photo by Francois Portmann

BAM! Time to kill another stick.

Photo by Francois Portmann
A passer-by gets the "look".

Note Valkyrie's feet. She grips one side of the bar with one foot and the other side with the opposite foot. That way she can't be blown off in a stiff wind, and she can push off in either direction.


Photo by Francois Portmann

Another stealth glide..

Photo by Francois Portmann

It isn't easy landing on points.

Photo by Francois Portmann



Photo by Francois Portmann

A Red-bellied Woodpecker keeps an eye peeled at the treetops.

Photo by Francois Portmann
Valkyrie the Drum Major throws her "baton" into the air.



Photo by Francois Portmann
THERE!

Photo by Francois Portmann
This squirrel has made a large mistake; Being seen by a hungry hawk while on the ground.

Photo by Francois Portmann
Mine.

Photo by Francois Portmann
And now to prepare and eat her catch.

Photograph by Richard Fleisher

Rich Fleisher, a professor at Fordham, a birder, and often a watcher of the Fordham Red-tails, Hawkeye and Rose, takes a winter trip to the beach and shares a treat with us.

Hi,

Went to Jones Beach two weeks ago and was lucky enough to see both a Snowy Owl and a Saw-Whet Owl. The Snowy Owl was too far to get a good photo but here is one of the Saw-Whet.

Best,

Rich

http://www.fordham.edu/politicalsci/profs/fleisher/richfleisher.html

D.B.

Rubber Rooms for Squirrels and The Villager Red-tail "Surprise"

From Jackie of the Tulsa Hawk Forum
Hi, Donna--
While I was looking for bird info, I came across a site by a man who makes squirrel houses out of recycled rubber. I don't know how well they function, and I'm not promoting this product--just thought it was a novel idea. Here is the site, plus attached photos.

http://www.squirrelhouses.com/inatree.html


And a testimonial note from a user in your neighborhood, who apparently is a squirrel rehabber:
"Sept. 8, 2007
The tire houses got all the way to the East End of Long Island very quickly. They are getting a huge thumbs up from our rehabilitated bumper crop of autumn baby squirrels. I put a tire house in a cage today so they could get used to it. Within twelve hours, all five had moved from their very nice white pine squirrel house and into the tire. So I just ordered two more. How ingenious! We are using them for soft release habitats and are very optimistic. Thanks for your hard work and excellent service.
Penny Moser,
Sag Harbor, NY"

Jackie (Bville on the Tulsa Hawk Forum)

Now isn't this fascinating! Why would a squirrel prefer a rubber house to a wooden one? After all, originally they nested in cavities in trees, so why would they prefer rubber to a wooden squirrel house?

Do they have a grand affection for squishy quarters? Do they love the smell of hot rubber come a warm afternoon? Or is it that the curves are more similar to a natural cavity than our usual squared off built wildlife houses?

Francois Portmann discovered that we'd been published, that's his photo of Valkyrie sitting on top of one of rehabber Carol Vinzant's squirrel houses, without knowing it. He said, "Weird".

Besides we are talking about squirrel houses today, anyway.

I couldn't seem to get the above page to enlarge and stay enlarged when placing it on the blog. Therefore for those who want to scrutinize closely, copy the page, paste into an area with zoom, and go to town.

D.B.