Shooting and Birding - Not at the Same Time!

My son, Paul and my husband love to go shooting.  However, Paul lives in Florida and only comes home two or three times a year...usually only two.  Herb works goofy full time hours at Lowe's, so its always hard to find the time to go shooting, especially during the Christmas holidays.  I've only been shooting once...well now, twice.  

I honestly don't know if I could shoot anyone, but under attack, I'm sure I would do my best and I'm pretty good for only practicing two times.  Shooting animals?  NEVER!  Paul would love to go hunting up here.  He needs to move back here to do that.  Down in Florida he's hunted for hogs.  Not much fun and no success as of yet.

It's fun listening to Herb and Paul discussing which stance, one hand or two hands is best.  I use two arthritic hands.  It doesn't take many rounds for my arthritis to kick in and hands are hurting! I must admit, I enjoy shooting a little bit more every time I go.  It is such an adrenaline rush and so liberating.  Paul is always asking if we've gone shooting lately.  I decided I want to go again sooner than the next time he comes back home....hopefully within the next 6 weeks.  I need more practice!  This is Paul and Herb showing off their skills.

Feeling the rush and the liberation!

Me and my bullet riddled target behind me.

I've been counting my birds as usual.  This past weekend was very frigid and snowy so I had lots of birds visit my feeders.  This scamp of a hawk came by both days.  Unfortunately, the pictures are a bit fuzzy.  The hawk was high up in the tree and I had to practically stand on my head to get a decent shot...and the batteries in my camera were low.  Thankfully, my old photo program has a straightening tool for pictures, or you'd be looking at him sideways!  I don't think he caught any of "my" little feathered friends.

A Visit to Raptor Inc.

I've always wanted to drive out to Milford, Ohio to visit Raptor Inc during one of their Open Houses.  It has never worked out that Herb was off work in order for us to attend.  As it turned out, this particular Sunday was our family reunion picnic that we have been attending for well over 60 years.  However, at the last minute we found out it had to be cancelled because no one reserved a shelter at the park!  We were all really disappointed, but then I remembered the Open House at Raptor Inc!!!

We only saw about 15 birds who are permanent residents due to circumstances that would not allow them to return to the wild..  However, they have many others that are being rehabilitated and were kept away from the public so they could heal and remain in a peaceful environment.

Here are a few pictures of wings and a pretty example of an owl.

Herb took a lot of pictures with a camera, I only took a few with my phone thinking the camera would get better pictures.   I was wrong...wish I had taken more pictures with the phone.


A beautiful peregrine falcon.

A sweet little barn owl.  Barn owls are my favorite!  I can't remember if he was missing a wing or just had major issues with it.

A turkey vulture.  A face only a mother could love!  I believe this "pretty" lady became too attached to someone who tried to keep her as a pet.  So much so that she couldn't be returned to the wild.

Some awesome looking owls!  Magnificent creatures!

A leucistic hawk who obviously would not fare well in the wild.  Pretty bird though.

What a cutie...screech owl.

My new Raptor Inc. t shirt.  Love the design!

Of Hikes, Hawks and Port-a-lets! What?!

I've been busy getting out for my 2 mile daily hikes.  Last week, was 6 days in a row.  I took a break on Sunday because I was tired and it was raining.  I do hike when it rains, I just hike paved trails and take an umbrella, but Sunday I thought I deserved a break.

This week, so far, I've hiked two days in a row.  Getting out really makes me feel good!

I'm almost finished "counting birds" for the season for Cornell Lab of Ornithology.   Next Sunday and Monday will be my last two days of counting until November 2017.  Since I didn't walk this past Sunday, I spent a lot of extra time watching the birds.  I counted up to 22 different species.  For the first time I saw a Chipping Sparrow...two in fact.  Unfortunately, I didn't get any pictures.

I saw this big guy swoop through though.  He landed on a tree at the back of our property.  I wish I could have gotten clearer pictures, but are happy with these.

Our street (which is about a mile long) has been under road construction for at least 3 months.  They are replacing sewers, new curbs and eventually repaving.  The street looks like a war zone with pot holes, cones, metal plates, heavy duty machinery.  Many driveways have been torn up...I think ours will be one very soon.

We are trying to figure out how soon they will hit our driveway and we won't be able to get in or out.  I'm sure they will give us a little warning...let's hope so any way.  Our son is coming up from Florida on April 11th and he wants to drive his large SUV (we call it "The Tank") back to Florida.  So, today we moved The Tank over to our other vacant property in Mt Healthy, just in case we're trapped when he arrives.  Hopefully, it will be safe over there until he comes.

Here is the view from our house of the construction.  Love the port-a-let on the corner.  Yikes!!  It's getting closer!

Hiking for Health, Fun and Wildlife!

I've been really pushing myself to get out as often as I can to walk with Finn.  I'm seriously starting to watch what I eat, and how much.  I've also given up wine!!!  Arg!!  I'm trying to watch my sodium and fat content.  Last week, I wanted to donate blood at church and they wouldn't allow me to donate...my blood pressure was too high.  I used to take meds for blood pressure years ago, but then I lost about 49 pounds and everything went back to normal.  Well, I've put most of that weight back on...stupid me.  I have a checkup appointment next month, so I'm seeing what I can do in the meantime to get that blood pressure and weight down.  I feel like I've lost some weight in just a short week, but I have lots to go yet.

One night while driving home from church, we decided to take the scenic route through Winton Woods.  It was dusk, so I was on the lookout for deer.  There is a little side road that is rarely traveled so we drove through there, and were not disappointed.

Can you see these two cuties?  If not, look for their black noses.

 We turned around at the dead end, and coming back out, one of the deer came out to say "Hi".  Since it was dusk, the pictures are a little dark.

Today, Finn and I got out for another hike.  The following picture, is of a high water gauge down by Winton Lake.  I must have passed this hundreds of times, but this is the first I've noticed it.  Looks like it's been here for a while.  The measurements go up pretty high.  The lake is muddy and a bit high.

When we finished our hike, I decided to drive back on that same little side road that we drove on the night before.  This time I spotted this big guy...I'm pretty sure it's a red tailed hawk.  I only had the camera on my phone and he was pretty high up in the tree, so the focus isn't that great.  By the markings on his chest, I'm sure its a red tailed hawk.

I think this picture is kind of cool...even though it's far away.  See the hawk sitting out on the limb?

Here is a cropped picture.  A little fuzzy.  I guess he wasn't hungry.  He doesn't seem interested in the bird sitting close by.

Another picture of the same hawk.

Who's Watching Whom?!

As I sat "counting" birds for The FeederWatch Program this past Sunday and Monday, I had to laugh at the observances I made at who was actually watching whom.

Of course, there I sat with my binoculars, camera, clipboard with tally sheet, pen and coffee behind closed patio doors. About 10 feet away were my feeders hanging from the tree and other pole systems.

Lovely, little every day birds I watched and counted.  Cardinals and House Sparrow.

All of a sudden I spotted this gray fluffy intruder!  Not one of my cats!  Mine stay indoors at all times.  Such a pretty cat...who had obviously been watching all of my birds at the feeders too.  I'm not sure what she was rolling around in.  The other day Finn was rolling around in that same area and I looked to see what might have been there, but saw nothing.

I didn't want the cat to get any of the birds, so I sent out my buddy, Finn.  As soon as he went flying out the door, the cat ran.  However, he did check out the area where it sat.

Finn giving the icy stare...DON'T COME BACK!

A little later, this beautiful Cooper's Hawk landed about 3 feet from where I watching behind patio doors.  I was so excited...I was afraid I wouldn't be able to hold the camera steady!  I'm sure this is the closest I'll ever get to such a magnificent bird!  I'm having enlargements made of these pictures so I can enjoy them every day!  He didn't catch any little birds either.

So, I guess I'm not the only one out there watching.....

You Gotta Love Nature!

It's been a busy couple of weeks and unfortunately, I didn't have time to blog. 

First of all, I must mention that sadly we had to let our sweet Sedona cross Rainbow Bridge.  She fought the good fight, but after several different attempts to get her well from pancreatitis, we knew we were fighting a losing battle.  She crossed over on October 26th.  She was only 8 years old, but the vet told us we did the right thing...so I am at peace with our decision, and I know she is too.  So, I've added a picture and a little bio of Sedona to my second page on this blog called, "Fur Kids, Present, Past and Future".  The tab to that page is at the top of this entry.

I've been mostly busy cleaning the house and preparing for Thanksgiving.  Now that that is behind me, I can take a bit of a breather before I have to get busy for Christmas.

The Christmas decorations are all up, and I think I have all of my gifts ready...they still just need to be wrapped.

Lots of crazy family stuff going on too that has me a bit out of sorts, but I've decided just to move on and let the crazies fend for themselves!  One of these days, they'll see what they have done...hopefully.

Today was a bird counting day for Project FeederWatch.  I've been participating in this program for 6 years, and I get more excited every year to start the season.  The season begins in November and runs through part of April. 

As the years have passed, I can tell that a few new birds are beginning to come more often to my feeders.  Of course, I love to see the hawks come too.  They don't eat from the feeders, but they keep their eyes on the little birds that do.  I certainly, don't want them to catch any of the little birds at my feeders. so I'm happy when they fly off without a kill.  I'm sure they find food elsewhere...which is fine with me!

Here are a few pictures from today of a Cooper's Hawk.  Unfortunately, one is a bit fuzzy.  The other two, it's face is hidden behind some leaves.  Some of the pictures were taken with my phone, some with a camera.  I need to remind myself to change the camera batteries more often.  After lunch I changed the batteries and got much better pictures of a yellow bellied sapsucker.

These two pictures were taken with my phone.

This one, with my camera before I changed batteries.  I'll learn.

 I'm really happy I got some pictures of the yellow bellied sapsucker.  I can prove to myself that I really saw him!

These pictures were taken with my camera, after the batteries were changed.  I love that we can see all of his beautiful colors!

Here is a picture of a yellow bellied sapsucker actually sucking sap!  Haha! I just had to say that, and of course you can see his yellow belly too!

You gotta love nature!!

The Close & Highlights of a Season of "Counting Birds"

The bird counting season has come to a close.  I have counted birds for the Cornell Lab of Ornithology Project Feederwatch Program for six years now.  The season runs from November through April.  Participants pick two days in a row of the week to count birds species that visit their site. We then log onto their website and enter our counts.  We can also enter behavioral data between species.

I have learned a lot over the years.  I'm finally able to distinguish some of their bird songs/calls too.  In the dimness of morning and of evening, it can sometimes be difficult to see the birds clearly, but now I've been able to distinguish many birds just by their flight patterns.

The little chickadees seem to dart up and down as they head for the feeders.  The red bellied woodpecker swoops down from a tree to land on a feeder.  The big ugly common grackles just seem to drop down out of the sky!

It currently costs $18 a year to participate.  Some people may feel they shouldn't have to pay a fee to collect data, but I think of it as a form of entertainment and a learning experience, which it is.  It is certainly worth the $18 to me!!!

Here are a few pictures/videos of this past year:

These are just simple little houses finches and a red winged black bird.  Pretty common birds, but I liked the contrast in colors in this photo.

An Eastern Towhee on a snowy morning.  I rarely see this bird in our backyard.

A short video of a hawk looking for a bite to eat.  

A couple of pictures of a Northern Flicker.  I just love their markings and colors!

 

 

This photo though not very clear, has been verified as a Barn Owl.  Barn Owls are endangered in Ohio, so I was very excited to see this guy.

 

 

This will be the sunset of the counting season and this post.

Good Grief It's Been a Long Time!

Yes, I know I've been away for a long time. 

Sometimes life just gets too busy and you have to decide between all the things you love to do and the things you HAVE to do.  Unfortunately, for me, I have too many things I love to do, and I have to decide what I need to do most for myself at the time.  So, I took a break from blogging.  After today's entry, it may be awhile before I check back in again...you never know.

Today, I decided to post some pictures of some interesting sights I've seen over the last few months.  They may be common to all of you out there, but to me they were exciting and fun to see.

Here are a few shots of several hawks I spotted.  The first two pictures are of two different hawks who appeard in my yard in December.  I've never seen hawks before in our yard.

 

This next picture was taken while I was hiking in nearby Winton Woods...about two miles from where I live.

Two days out of each week I participate in a bird count for Project Feeder Watch associated with Cornell Lab of Ornithology.    This past weekend I was very excited to get this next picture of a Common Grackle with leucism. 

Leucism is relatively unusal in birds.  From 2000-2006, Project Feeder Watch participants reported fewer than 1000 leucistic birds.  Given that participants report about 5.5 million birds each season, the percentage of leucistic birds being reported is very small.

Typically birds with abnormally white feathers do not survive long because they are so much more visible to predators.  Those that do survive may have trouble attracting a mate.  Consequently, the mutated genes that cause leucism are less likely to be passed on to a new generation.  If you are ever fortunate enough to see one of these oddly plumaged birds, consider yourself lucky!