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Animals roaming free

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Got a bunch of not great photos of some rare things for me and two lifers.


Bad photo of a Prairie Warbler.


Not a bad photo of a yellow rumpted warbler


This chickadee continued to investigate this hole in the limb. Highly curious.


Four tree swallows in a tree.


Great Blue Heron flying off


Here is the first lifer. Not a bird but at Red Eared Slider. I was taking photos of all the turtle piles I could see actually hoping to find a spotted turtle as I have only seen one once. But this was better. They are not really supposed to be here but some pockets of them are reproducing in Eastern Mass, probably pets that were let go.


A very large snapping turtle sunning along with some painted turtles


Here is my second lifer today. Bad photo but a ruby-crowned kinglet. It would not sit still for a nano-second.


Finally a palm warbler. I only have two or three photos of them.
 
Wildlife Sightings - part 2

A few years ago I started a thread in honor of Earth Day where people can share their wildlife sightings. It didn't get much traffic here but I thought perhaps some posters would like to participate in a continuation of that thread. You can post your own pictures or just write about what you saw. If you use an image from the web, please indicate that it isn't yours. I use the abbreviation nmp for "not my picture".

So, in honor of Earth Day 2015, here goes:

I was walking the dogs at about 10:30 Monday night when a coyote darted across the road ahead of us and then ran down a muddy ATV trail. I went back yesterday and got a few pictures of it's tracks. This is the best one:

 
Ah Ha!

So that's where you and crazyfingers went. Thanks bradw.

Mods, merge please.
 
Not a lot from the last couple days.

I've been watching this Red-Bellied Woodpecker at the edge of my yard. He has pretty much finished making the nest hole but has not attracted a female yet.

He sits here and squawks all day.


He goes up top and squawks.


Every now and then he goes in to dig more out. See the chips flying.


I hope he gets his girl.

Today at the swan pond a crow has a shiny object.


And finally, this was at the swan pond. It surfaced a couple times for perhaps two seconds while moving across the shore by the reeds where the red-wing blackbirds hang out. It didn't appear again while I was there, about 30 minutes. It looked small, perhaps overall just over 2 feet in length in this photo. I wish I had been faster so as to have gotten it's whole head in.

Not sure if it's a beaver, an otter or a muskrat but leaning towards muskrat.
 
Today I saw a flock of swans migrating north. There were about 30 of them in a classic V formation, with a Canada goose in the next to last position on the left side. I didn't know geese and swans would form skeins together, but apparently they do.
 
seyorni said:
It probably has species dysphoria. We must not judge. It was born that way.
Click to expand...

I was thinking maybe s/he got tired of waiting for the rest of the flock to get their act together and took off with one that was better organized. :D
 
And it's Odd that I have yet to see ANY chipmunks thus spring. By now they would have been under the feeder for a few weeks now but none at all. Odd.

Despite getting a new camera Friday, all of my keepers this weekend are with my old camera. Something is wrong with the new one and it has to be returned. While it should be much better than my old camera, the focus is faulty and the old camera is out-performing the new one on every photo I took.

Anyway, a painted turtle sunning at the state park.


A water snake also sunning.


Palm warbler.


Chipping sparrow


Singing tree swallow


First eastern Towhee of the season.


At least one turtle has returned to the "frog Pond" after it dried up last summer. It must have come of from the small pond that never dried up being spring fed.


Northern Cardinal being nice.
 
I've had 2 bumblebees in 3 days exploring the inside my house. I don't know if they are flying in unnoticed as we come and go in the good weather or getting in some other way. This one was caught in a water glass and evicted. My tentative identification is Yellowhead bumblebee (Bombus flavifrons) based on the long shaggy hairs on it's body, the yellow hairs on it's head, and the smoky color of it's wings.

 
Some from the last few days. Still using my regular camera. The new one is faulty and will be returning for an exchange.

A wild turkey checking out where my feeder is.


A frog has returned to the frog pond. This is only about an inch long.


Painted turtles also are returning


House sparrows being birds


Mute Swan on the best


A puffy tree swallow sitting


Belted Kingfisher was at the frog pond


Goldfinch in my tree
 
Great egret

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Boring robin with colorful background

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Made it out to the old soccer field today.

Only my third time seeing a yellow warbler.


Bad photo of my first bluebird of the season


The Mute Swans are definitely nesting at the pond at the soccer field. So I'll have two swan families to watch.


Prairie Warbler


The Savannah Sparrows are at the same spot I saw them the first time.


Fuzzy photo. But back at the swan pond this one flew across the pond I guess just to go flying. The other was still on the nest.


Snapping Turtle snoozing


There were tons of these toads in the reeds where the red wing blackbirds hang out.



A great blue heron was way across the pond
 
The photo of the yuk duck is not new. He hangs out with the Mallards at the Swan Pond. But of all the times I have seen him there and when the Mallards go flying off, he has never flown but has just paddled away. I've assumed that he's an escaped pet duck with clipped wings. But I saw him fly today. It was a surprise.



So for the last few days.

The male red-bellied woodpecker still hasn't found a mate. I hope one comes soon.


More frogs have returned to the frog pond. This is a big guy.


A goldfinch munching on nice tree flowers and pollen.


Painted turtles back at the frog pond


More savannah sparrows and this time at the frog pond field


First gray catbird of the season.
 
crazyfingers said:
Click to expand...

I posted the photo above last fall as the frog pond dried out and became a nearly lifeless puddle with dead pollywogs.


But with all the snow melt, it's nearly to the top now and it has been interesting to see life returning. It's hard to tell depth in the photo above but the water level is now most certainly over my head at it's deepest point.


The frog are back including at least two large bullfrogs. The painted turtles are back. Today Northern Water Snakes arrived. I have been watching them the last few days. Today all of a sudden there were at least 5 individuals.

The pond almost seemed like a snake highway with two crossing the pond.






This one was going up a tree in the water was at least 3 feet long. Likely close to 4 feet.


Back at the house, the first chipmunk sighting of the spring. They are very late.
 
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