100s of fuzzy caterpillars. I think spring may be a cool one.
Around here, that’d be a pileated woodpecker.
Yesterday, while on a drive down a country lane, we saw a hawk take off from the ground with a sizeable snake in its talons. He was spooked by our approach in the car, and wanted to take his prey into the safety of the trees by the side of the road. While he perched there with the still-living snake dangling down, another hawk circled around him, screeching. I assume that was his mate, demanding its share, but I’m not sure. But he was too spooked to deal further with the situation and took off, leaving the snake draped across a branch. It fell to the road, and we saw it was alive but too wounded to slither away. We left so that the hawks could return and get on with killing the poor thing. I looked at it as we passed and I think it was a huge gopher snake.
It gets worse. Today in Park Guell in Barcelona (Hola!*) we watched four or five monk parrots in a furious brawl in a tree canopy. Very colourful. Very weird.
Later, we queued for the ticketed area beside a line of palm trees. Every tree had a parrot nest in it; and the residents amused us by nipping in and out.
j
* - I should point out, that’s not a Spanish Hola, it’s a Catalan Hola. Very much so.
My husband informed me that there is a nest on the downspout right next to our back door. Which is right smack next to a floodlight. We don’t leave it on at night, but we do turn it on when we go in and out of that door to go to the garage when it is dark. Must be a quite a shock for the birdies in that nest!
Not sure yet what bird made the decision to build the nest there but we’ll probably find out soon.
Monk parakeets (aka Quaker parrots) usually get along, as they are communal nesters. They are cool birds, though illegal to own in a few states due to concerns that they may be an invasive species should escape occur.
Betcha it’s a wren. They like building their nests near human homes, often in weird spots, since our naked-monkey presence keeps away many other predators.
Yup (above post from March 6). We’ve got one already; why not two - they’re only about 20 feet away from each other!
We saw quite the dust-up - it’s hard to believe that it could have been anything else. They were flying right into each other between the branches.
I agree with everything else btw. They are as cute as hell, but there’s no question that they are disturbingly invasive. Interestingly, you see them hanging around with pigeons - another pest that I wouldn’t miss if 95% of them were disappeared.
j
The parent eagle on the nest has been quite active today. I wonder if an egg is giving tremors of movement and activity.
Our Gray whale was back today. Huzzah! And, perhaps coincidentally, more sea lions than I’ve ever seen here. Also saw a river otter. A good day on the water.
No doubt! You have some excellent Nature where you are!
Saw this beautiful rat snake yesterday, climbing straight up a tree like it ain’t no thang.
He was way up there too, at least ten feet from the ground.
Hah! Great capture. I was herpetology-obsessed as a young man and used to have one of those as a pet. As my old physiology professor once said ruefully, referring to both me and her own husband, “once a snake chaser, always a snake chaser.”
It always makes my day to see one.
Same here. We have rat snakes all over. They keep the barn rodents in check.
The eagle egg is still incubating, but we are finally having some spring weather and the parents are getting tired or just sitting on the egg. Should hatch any day now.
The falcon camera is finally up and running as a pair of the birds have been hanging out in the area. Egg laying normally take place in early April but for now the box is empty and the camera lens is dirty. Apparently, there is a new female this year. This box has had 56 successful hatchings over the years. Fingers crossed it will happen this year, too.
We got rain instead of snow this week, and there was even a bit of thunder going on. A proper spring storm. But there’s still a lot of snow in the yard, even though much has melted, we have a ways to go. It’s been a proper La Niña winter. So glad it has reached the end.
It was really warm here today so we ate dinner on the porch. My husband saw mama wren pop in and out of her nest in the pot on the deck shelves. There should be little 'uns by about now, too, but haven’t heard any peeping yet.
It was warm here today too. A whopping 44F. Lot’s of snow melt going on, and no winter jacket. Yay!
What do you see of the whale? I’ve only ever seen the flume of one passing, maaaaybe a hint of the top of the animal, usually not. Then it dives and you see nothing for up to 10s of minutes. Just me?