These guys just weren’t having a good day:
They’re members of the flock of six toms that marches through the neighborhood every day, clearing bugs out of the lawn.
We like ’em!
Tag: Wildlife
Other creatures in our world
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Monthly Image: Turtles on a Log
These Eastern Painted Turtles have hauled themselves out for a contemplative basking session nearly every time I ride by the pond at the entrance to the Vassar Farm and Ecological Preserve:
Turtles on a Log – Vassar Farm Pond What do turtles think about while they’re basking?
Those turtles are probably relatives, even if they’re in a different pond farther downstream along the Casperkill.
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Hazards of Being a Mouse
Before washing the bedroom windows, I moved the garden tool rack and a bunch of clutter away… only to find a remarkable amount of litter below the plastic base:
Litter under garden tool rack One of those lumps consisted of tightly packed fluff, much like the mouse nest inside the barbie a few years ago, so this was surely a winter home.
But it seems at least one mouse didn’t make it through the winter:
Dessicated mouse under tool rack Given its dessicated nature, I think the poor critter probably expired during the depths of the winter freeze.
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Moth Camouflage Failure
This looked like a wad of chewing gum stuck on the grocery store wall where I leaned my bike:
Moth – on painted brick wall But it’s actually a moth with subtle decorations:
Moth – detail The poor thing would be much less conspicuous snuggled into a tree, but I suppose it’s doing the best it can with what’s available.
A quick riffle through the RTP Moth Book didn’t reveal any likely candidates, but there are a gazillion little brown moths in there, so I probably missed it.
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Monthly Image: Turkey Vulture Visitation
We often see Turkey Vultures circling high overhead in thermals rising from, in these parts, sun-heated asphalt parking lots and roads, always on the alert for roadkill. A trio paused for a rest in the trees out front and I managed to get one mediocre portrait against an overcast sky:
Turkey Vulture in tree They’re staggeringly ugly up close and awkward on the ground, but graceful in their natural element…
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Monthly Image: Hawk Observation Post
Coopers Hawk on bird box The sparrows started building a nest in our front-yard box, but progress seems intermittent…
A pair of Cooper’s Hawks have been hauling off rodents and shredding songbirds at a steady pace, so we think they’re nesting nearby.
Taken diagonally through two layers of rather dirty 1955-ish window glass with the Sony DSC-H5 and the 1.7× tele-adapter, so it’s not the best of images… but if I were a rodent, I’d be worried!
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Cooper’s Hawk at the Door!
We almost stepped directly into this scene:
Hawk at the Door – first sight A closer look at the carnage, seen diagonally through a pane of 1955-era glass:
Coopers Hawk – on door mat The Cooper’s Hawk remained frozen in place while I got a better view from outside:
Coopers Hawk – with prey It then flew away with the gibbage in its claws, leaving us a doormat covered with feathers.
We’re not sure if the meal was a mockingbird or a Downy Woodpecker, but we’re apparently short one bird…
The Smell of Molten Projects in the Morning 