The Smell of Molten Projects in the Morning
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Other creatures in our world
Spotted these Canada Geese over Page Industrial Park on the Dutchess Rail Trail:
They were discussing current events and seemed to be having a fine time.
I was, too!
An image from the HDR-AS30V helmet camera video, with just a touch of contrast adjustment.
The effort those little birds put into their nests never ceases to amaze me:
Last year it was the same story. Of course, if we didn’t clean out the boxes, the birds would do it on their own, so perhaps we help them get started earlier.
Woodpeckers generally perch with their tummies against a tree, so it took me a long time to understand why Red-bellied Woodpeckers have that name:
The bright red nape and head seemed entirely sufficient to me, but another woodpecker claimed that name first…
The turkey flock that normally lives along the Wappingers Creek valley, downslope from the back yard, has emerged for the ritual spring foraging:
And posturing:
And just moseying around:
You can match the trees and identify some duplicated birds, but the flock seems stable around a dozen. They used to deploy skirmish lines upwards of two dozen bird and we’ve recently counted 19; we think foxes have been encouraging better control of wandering chicks.
Turkeys are good folks…
One deer might be cute:
But the rest of the herd makes up for it:
You’ll note the complete lack of understory vegetation; the only remaining plants can withstand continuous deer browsing. Deer have clipped all of the evergreens five feet off the ground, even through they don’t normally eat evergreens…
In fact, there’s no new tree growth in the Hudson Valley, because tree seedlings don’t stand a chance.
They only come out at night:
Two raccoons took turns at the feeder, but I only caught one in the act:
Apparently they enter torpor, rather than hibernate, which means they’re getting hungry right about now.
Taken through two panes of 1955 glass with the Sony DSC-H5, using an LED flashlight for focus assist. Both culprits oozed off the far end of the patio when I opened the door…
A licensed bird rescuer gave a talk before a showing of Pelican Dreams in Rhinebck and presented some of her patients…
A Red Tailed Hawk with a broken left wing, just out of its bandage:
A Barred Owl who, despite having a left eye that no longer dilates, rapidly acquired weapons lock on my camera’s focus assist light:
And a pair of insanely cute Screech Owls, both with eye damage, atop their padded perch:
Most of her patients arrive after collisions with automobiles; it seems carnivorous birds don’t look both ways before pouncing on prey near the roadside.
Contrary to her impassioned claims, however, wind turbines kill essentially zero birds, at least compared to windows, HV power lines, and cats. Some reports with actual numbers that, obviously, won’t convince anybody who already knows what the results should be:
Low light, no flash, long zoom, handheld, good-looking subjects.
The Smell of Molten Projects in the Morning 