March is such a strange month. Or maybe it's just this March that's exceptionally strange! Over the past few weeks, I've seen the signs of spring accumulating -- the change is happening, really! -- but at the same time winter has refused to let go. The mixture of cold weather and persistent snow with shifting wildlife populations and growing greenery is tantalizing and a little frustrating. I'm ready for spring to really get going! But I can wait... it won't be much longer now.
Way back on February 20, I first noticed tiny crocuses pushing up through the barely-thawed ground in our yard -- my first green growing things of the year!
(At least, I think they're crocuses.... They weren't blooming yet when the snow returned, and they've been buried under a snow bank ever since.)
On February 24, I happened to be outside checking the electric meter, when I heard a strange noise overhead. I looked up and saw lines of Snow Geese flying north, right over our house. And not just, like, some Snow Geese. But flocks and flocks of Snow Geese, honestly as far as I could make out both to the north and south, a stream of interlocking lines across the sky. It took several minutes for the entire procession to go by -- calling the whole way -- and as best as I could figure out, there were at least 5,000 birds in the air. It was one of the most fantastic migrations I've yet seen, and all the more wonderful because our home was right in its path. If thousands of birds heading north toward their arctic breeding grounds isn't a sign of spring, I don't know what is! I was able to get at least a few pictures of the event; the Snow Geese were high up, but they were still recognizable with their white bodies and black-tipped wings:
Some of the patterns they made in the air were fairly complex:
Here's the widest view I could get with my camera; it's just a small portion of the whole, but even this is way more birds than I'm used to seeing in the sky at once:
And here's a somewhat shaky video, to give a sense of the geese's wonderful, constantly shifting patterns, and the sound of it all:
Well, that's something I never expected to see from my yard! Wow!
The beginning of March brought a big snow storm and huge wind gusts that ended up causing damage to our house. (Not a fun time!) Since then, we've been staying at a hotel while waiting for the necessary repairs to happen... and who knows what amazing things I'm missing while spending so much time away from the yard. (I'm ready to go back! Can I move back in yet??) On March 14, we were at the house (cleaning up) during a thick snowfall, and a large flock of migrating blackbirds descended on the yard, the first blackbirds we've seen this year. Red-winged Blackbirds on the feeder, with a Northern Cardinal and Blue Jay looking on -- despite all the snow, this is definitely not a normal winter sight:
Most of the dozen or so Red-winged Blackbirds in this flock were sleek black males, but this male (a young bird?) had lovely brown-edged feathers on his back and wings:
And there was at least one female Red-winged Blackbird in the mix (my understanding is that it's more typical for the females to show up after the males). This female didn't look especially happy to be out in the driving snow:
She was a very lovely bird:
The most numerous birds in this big flock of black birds were Common Grackles. Again, this is a pretty strange sight for our feeder:
All those big dark birds made for a different kind of storm along with the snow:
Common Grackles are quite striking birds, maybe even more so with these snow-covered surroundings:
The blackbirds made strange dark ornaments on our hickory tree:
And in flight, they made a stark contrast with the gray/white hills:
Also, now I've had the surreal experience of shoveling snow while listening to Red-winged Blackbirds calling. Winter mixes with spring. But spring will prevail. I'm hoping for many more spring sights, and soon!
Yes!! With several days of amazing, sunny, above-freezing weather (even highs around 50 recently, and today: rain), I think we've finally broken out of winter's ice-shell here in northeastern Ohio. This might even be the most dramatic thaw I've ever experienced. We've gone directly from two feet of packed snow and ice to muddy ground and running water in about a week. The stream behind our house is raging and brown. Most of the fields around here are basically pools. It's an incredible and sudden change, and I love it!
Two days ago and again yesterday afternoon, I took time to just wander around our yard and soak in the sun (and try not to soak my shoes too much in the process). It's amazing seeing American Tree Sparrows foraging on the bare ground:
What is that, grass?? Wow!
All of a sudden, a whole new cast of characters has shown up. Four big Turkey Vultures -- a species basically absent from northern Ohio in the winter -- passed low over our house this morning. And I was happy to see an Eastern Bluebird visiting our yard yesterday afternoon:
While I was wandering around during the past two afternoons, birds were almost constantly moving overhead. Killdeer -- another very recent arrival -- barreled past while calling loudly:
Several Mallards were moving around as well:
Flocks of blackbirds -- mostly Common Grackles and Red-winged Blackbirds, as far as I could tell -- peppered the sky:
There are so many creatures shifting and moving right now, and this is only the beginning! (I'm eagerly awaiting the return of the Eastern Phoebes, who should be here any day now. And not long after that, there will be frogs, and wildflowers, and all sorts of green and singing things....) Hooray for spring, all the more welcome after what feels like the longest winter ever!
We've been getting some really big flocks of Common Grackles here recently (I'm talking more than a thousand birds at a time), and the flock that visited today might have been one of the biggest yet. I was away (silly work!) and missed it, but Paul was on top of things and he took this video of so many grackles streaming through the woods behind our house:
I'm glad the house didn't get swept away in that flood of birds! (Thanks to Paul for making the video and letting me share it! For more stuff from him, check out his blog about weird things at yard sales, Yardsaling to Adventure! It's awesome and hilarious and I'm not just saying that because I'm married to the author.)
It's the first day of fall already! How did that happen? Here I am still getting to know the summer birds in our yard, and fall migration is now well underway, so it's hard to know who's been here all summer and who's just passing through. Eastern Bluebirds light up fence posts:
Black-capped Chickadees are all over the place (and adorable as always):
Just like at our old place in Connecticut, the Tufted Titmice were the first birds to discover the window feeders we put up:
And now the titmice and chickadees come in for seeds all day. We're up to three feeders and these guys empty them every few days! Titmice are so brave and adventuresome, I'm glad they're around to figure out that we're leaving food in these weird plastic things:
Other birds are finding food around the house as well. I loved seeing this tiny Ruby-throated Hummingbird drinking from some hosta blossoms right near a window:
And the American Goldfinches keep coming in to feast on seeds from the purple coneflowers at the front of the house:
Acrobatics are sometimes required to get these seeds, but finches are good at that sort of thing:
Mmm, seeds:
This Northern Flicker was stretching and showing off its super fancy costume the other day; those yellow shafts on its wing feathers really are amazing:
And I never noticed the Mickey Mouse silhouettes on this bird's tail before:
It's always worth admiring Flickers from below:
We have a whole host of woodpeckers besides Northern Flickers in our yard as well. Downy and Red-bellied Woodpeckers are regulars, and I was very excited to hear heavy, deliberate hammering the other day and look up to see a Pileated Woodpecker hard at work on a tree next to the house. Living in the woods is amazing!
A small flock of Swainson's Thrushes has been hanging around recently, giving me the chance to admire these lovely birds with their freckled breasts and beige spectacles:
These small thrushes (smaller than a robin, anyway) have been cleaning the berries off of a dogwood tree near the house:
Yes, I'm just watching you, bird; keep eating:
I was able to admire a Swainson's Thrush up close under very unfortunate circumstances recently, when we found a dead individual under one of our windows facing the woods. It was such a beautiful creature, so small and perfect (the feathers on its belly practically glowed, they were so white), and so horribly sad. We've put static-cling decals on the windows, to try to help the birds see the glass. No more window strikes please!
With all the bird activity around here, there are many more happy sightings than sad ones. The warblers have been moving through in their kaleidoscope of muted fall costumes, but they haven't been very cooperative for my camera. Here's a bright American Redstart tail, does that count?
Huge flocks of Common Grackles -- hundreds of birds at a time -- have been sweeping over the trees around our yard in recent days:
So many grackles!
Now that fall's officially here, I'm excited to see what other creatures will show up in the weeks to come. Ohio is quite the adventure so far!
Spring migration is well underway, and for a few minutes this afternoon, our yard was host to a large mixed group of blackbirds as it passed through our neighborhood -- mostly Common Grackles and European Starlings, with a few Red-winged Blackbirds thrown in. Big blackbird flocks like this are pretty common occurrences in winter and early spring, but these birds don't come by our yard very often, so it was a cool sight to see. With easily over 100 birds flying around, I had a hard time getting pictures that could show the extreme hectic-ness of these birds' brief visit, but I managed to get a portion of the action, at least.
This tree seems to have sprouted big, dark leaves:
And the birds put on quite a show flocking from tree to ground and back:
How gorgeous is that Common Grackle on the right-hand side of the above picture? I still can't get over those colors, which seem so plain and black from a distance.
In fact, the starlings looked quite handsome up close as well -- a study in iridescence, both species together:
(Also, those Red Maple buds look close to bursting! Come on, flowers!)
Pretty soon, the flock was flying away again, off to inhabit someone else's yard for a while (note the Red-winged Blackbirds in the upper-right corner of this picture):
I think it's interesting that European Starlings fit into groups with native species of birds like this. Also, I'm ready for the trees to leaf out now, if only so the views from our back windows won't look quite so industrial. :P
This morning's visit to Southford Falls State Park brought some lovely sights. Orange Hawkweed (Hieracium aurantiacum, an introduced species) was sending its glorious firework-blooms up into the air, attracting many small insects:
Could there be a more perfect platform for this American Copper butterfly (Lycaena phlaeas)?
I can't think of one!
Overhead, three Red-shouldered Hawks were calling and wheeling through the air. One of the hawks had secondary flight feathers that were strangely much shorter than its primaries -- is this the result of a normal molting pattern, or something else?
A nearby Common Grackle wasn't very happy about the hawks' presence, and proceeded to chase one of the larger birds (this one has more normal wing feathers):
I do have to admire the nerve of smaller birds when they take on big predator like that -- and this grackle was even getting the job done on its own. The situation doesn't look very fun for the hawk, though!
Let's have some more of these lovely sunny days, please! :)
