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Animals roaming free

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I often see moose, deer, beaver, owls, bats, turtles, loons, swans, geese, tons of various other birds, and every once in a while a bear. Not terribly exciting here really.
 
Not the best shot but it just goes to show never step outside the house without the camera. I was just going outside to get the morning newspaper and as I stepped out of the basement door to the driveway this (I believe a harp shinned hawk) swooped in chasing a smaller bird in flight. It missed the bird and landed in the tree in front of me for only a moment as I got off this shot. Then it left.

4 seconds of excitement.

This is why I have the camera set to zoom out and go to 1.5x teleconverter immediately on start-up. I might of missed this otherwise.


 
Well I'm rather beside myself at this moment. I was out walking my sister in law's dog who is visiting. 10:30pm. All of a sudden the dog bolted across my front yard. It saw something!!

I had my LED Spot headlamp and Fuck ME! An Opossum. I got the dog inside and got my camera and went back out. Between the LED spotlight and the camera flash, I am thrilled. I have never seen one before in my life and didn't even know if they were here.



 
I didn't get out much this weekend.

About 30 minutes at the swan pond, the swans are there.



Buffleheads are back at the pond. They always keep their distance from shore and are so small. But only with the perspective of some mallard butts is it clear how truly small Buffleheads are.



The ring bill gulls appear to be on this strip of mud all day long every day of the week.



Buffleheads and gulls


The ruddy ducks are back


Back at the house a male downy woodpecker at the feeder.


A red-bellied woodpecker checking out a hole in a tree.


Moments later a chickadee checked out the same hole. It makes me wonder if someone has a stash of food in that hole.
 
It never really stopped snowing today but the skies got a little brighter for a while so I went to the swan pond.

The ring-bill gulls are still hanging out on their mud bar.





The mallards will hang around so long as the feeder stream doesn't freeze.



Resident swans still here.


One Ruddy Duck is still here.


Back home a downy on the suet.
 
I had a little time out this morning. Took the kid to school and stopped at a small pond on the way home. There is not usually much going on at this mond but today there were several hooded mergansers.

Female


Male


I also stopped at the swan pond.

Ruddy duck still there


A pair or ruddy ducks anchored to a mud mound sleeping.


A ring-bill gull decides to keep away from the swan.


Same with another gull.


There are lots of Canada Geese and Mallards


Back home a nuthatch looking at me.


It decides to do some grooming.
 
Earlier today I got a nice Christmas surprise when I went outside to restock the feeder with sunflower seeds. A Pine Grosbeak was moving around in my bird cherry tree. It came pretty close to see what I was putting into the feeder but then went back to eating the little dried fruit still hanging on the branches.

nmp
 
A real poser. This it's best side!

15856447477_809fa92a84_b.jpg
 
Arctish said "Earlier today I got a nice Christmas surprise when I went outside to restock the feeder with sunflower seeds. A Pine Grosbeak was moving around in my bird cherry tree. It came pretty close to see what I was putting into the feeder but then went back to eating the little dried fruit still hanging on the branches."



Very nice photo!
 
bradw said:
Arctish said "Earlier today I got a nice Christmas surprise when I went outside to restock the feeder with sunflower seeds. A Pine Grosbeak was moving around in my bird cherry tree. It came pretty close to see what I was putting into the feeder but then went back to eating the little dried fruit still hanging on the branches."



Very nice photo!
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I wish it was mine :/

That little nmp next to it means: not my photo. The picture I got with my cell phone showed a little pinkish blob in a frame full of brown leaves and snow.

Oh well, I tried.
 
A few photos from the last several days.

Xmas afternoon the skies finally cleared. Went to the swan pond. My daughter was feeding the mallards. Notice the swan coming over.



The swan is motoring.


Yesterday: Fun with zoom at the state park. This is zoomed out.

Zooming in there is a sign at the end of the road. Same location.


Otherwise NOTHING of interest at the state park.


Today I went to a place I have never been before. A place called Squantum Point Park. It's a spit of peninsula on the lower end of Boston Harbor.


Surf Scoters


A common Eider


Bufflehead


Cardinal in the bushes


There was a Harbor seal




A red tail hawk


Finally back at the swan pond, a ring bill gull.
 
angelo said:
4321lynx said:
What bird is this? I guess that not many of us who walk the right way up can tell.:)
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No idea. It may be a native bird to Australia, but somehow doubt it.
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Why the doubt? Australia has a lot of unique birdlife not found elsewhere on the planet, and the Peewee, aka Mudlark or Magpie Lark, is one such bird.

They are very territorial, and will fight other Peewees with astonishing persistence and violence; but are not particularly intelligent, and will also spend hours attacking their own reflection in a window or wing-mirror. The males will often deliberately put themselves in mortal danger - such as by taunting cats and dogs - as part of the courtship ritual.

If they drank beer, we would probably have had one as our Prime Minister by now.
 
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