Without notice, the wild turkeys stopped visiting, long before there was snow on the ground. The weather had turned cold at the time, but we see turkeys elsewhere when we are out and about, so we don’t know why the girls stopped coming by.
The last time we saw them was when a second large group arrived behind them, so we had a total of 30 turkeys strutting about. Maybe they joined forces and went off to larger pastures.
We just hope they are well and safe. And that they may return.
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We often seem to see out-of-season birds. Last week it was a young Red-winged blackbird.
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It stayed for a few hours and we have not seen it since.
After joining a Vermont Birders site on Facebook, I saw a post from someone who had been seeing a hummingbird, which is really out of season!
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The bird was seen in Stoddard, New Hampshire. They depend on the availability nectar, but the photographer has a heated hummingbird feeder, so hopefully it will survive the winter.
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After months of absence, the Red-breasted woodpecker returned at the beginning of December. We don’t see it often, but sometimes hear it drilling with its impressive beak.
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In celebration of its return, Grant hung up another suet feeder, to the delight of the Downy woodpecker which is one of our more frequent diners.
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The little birds have to look out for another of our frequent flyers.
Lately, the Cooper’s hawk has been turning up daily.
The above I believe to be a female.
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Just a few hours later another Cooper’s hawk turned up – with snow.
This one, I think is a juvenile, judging from its pale breast.
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This bird has been here before. It is identifiable by the blemish on its belly which I noticed before, wondering if it had some sort of injury.
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If it did, it can’t have been very serious. The bird appeared quite healthy.
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And it is extremely good-looking, don’t you think?
Hawks don’t hang around when they know you are looking at them and they have fine-tuned senses, but this bird perched in the waiting room tree and I was able to focus the telephoto from a discreet distance inside the kitchen.
Still, it seemed to fix me with its eyes!
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We spend a good deal of time watching birds (and furry creatures) from the kitchen window and sometimes go running to the rescue if we see one that appears in trouble. But more often than not the “injured” bird flies off, as this one did.
It’s a little difficult to care for an injured bird or chipmunk in a house full of cats, but it is not impossible and we have had more successes than failures, I’m glad to say.
We rescue insects too and when I go to take a shower, I have to remember to check for the Daddy long-legs that resides in my bathroom. It sometimes gets onto the shower wall and if I don’t notice, it gets very wet. A couple of times I extended a piece of paper tissue to escort it to a dry surface, but it rushed off, apparently unbothered.
I’ve become quite fond of my Daddy long-legs.
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Thank you, Carolyn, for the uplifting post devoted to your beautiful visitors, happy and grateful for having plenty of food and water in winter’s hard times. All of the birds are wonderful to watch, and the entertainment is a great repayment for your care.
Joanna
I often complain that the birds are eating us out of house and home, but they really do give us excellent value with their shenanigans!
Maybe Grant should ask: ‘When did we last see wild turkeys?’ … we know what happens when he asks questions like these 😉. You are lucky that so many different birds come to visit you – even in the cold winter months.