Bogieblog

Trees and Birds

Last Tuesday I went out to check on the bird feeder and saw this in the back yard

That limb was 14.5' long. There hadn't been any wind, nor was there a snow load, so I assumed the dead tree is just starting to break down. When I went to remove the limb, I saw that it hadn't actually landed on the chair, but had landed but down first at some point (probably during the heavy snow the previous week), then fallen over after the snow had melted the previous evening. The hole is 9" deep and the but end of the limb had dirt and mulch on it.

Guessing this is the tree it came from

Later that same day, I heard the call of a big woodpecker as it was flying overhead. To my delight, a Pileated landed in trees just to the right of the one that had had lost its limb. The first 2 pictures are at a slight zoom, and then cropped to bring the bird "closer". The 3rd picture is at a high zoom

As if that wasn't good enough, after I quit taking pictures I saw another one coming over the trees, and it landed behind the first. That distance was a real stretch, and this is the best picture I could get

And to end things, here is Spot being cute. She had originally burrowed completely under the pillows, but by the time I grabbed my phone, she had moved out some.

Hawkish

I almost ran over a hawk on the way home from the grocery store this afternoon. He/she was sitting in the middle of my lane and not moving. I stopped and put my flashers on, motioning the traffic behind me to go around. I finally got out of the truck and got within a couple of feet before he moved and painfully made his way into a tree. The wings looked okay, I thought maybe a leg was injured and he had a bunch of loose feathers hanging along his belly. I went home and put away the cold stuff and went to see if he was still there or just stunned (it was literally around the corner from my house so I walked).

 

Yep, so called the local PD, who transferred me to fish & game. I no more than got off the phone with their dispatch and the hawk drifted off the tree and landed at the edge of a side road with a thump.

I sat on the other side of the (thankfully quiet) street and watched the hawk sitting there on the ground for over an hour. He then got up and flew away, barely skimming over the top of a house. Called F&G and told them to cancel the officer. We have few wardens and I'm sure whomever was on duty was on a more important mission than checking on an injured bird. Hopefully it lives to hunt mice, chipies and other rodents another day

Iris Blooms and More

I have been excited to see several of the iris that I planted last year next to the driveway bloom. Sorry the red/burgandy iris picture is so blurry. That is the one that sent out the first bud that I featured a couple of weeks ago.

The rhododendron is blooming nicely too. Well, one side is. The far plant in the picture is very brown on the side you can't see. I was browning last spring and I cut out the affected limbs, but now the damage is extensive. I don't know if it is the birds nesting in there (catbirds), wasp or ant nest damage (I don't know for a fact there are insect nests in there, but there are a lot of different bees and wasps sipping off the flowers. There is a bumblebee in the close up picture and I saw at least 3 different types of wasps at the same time - there were so many the whole plant was buzzing.

The variegated weigala I planted last year is putting out a few blooms which is impressive since I dug it up from the holding garden last year and figured it would be a couple of years before blooms appeared.

Today I went to Agway and got some plants for the back porch. Three very nice smelling petunias and a snap dragon for hummingbirds. Although I don't keep a feeder out, I have seen at least one hummer flying around the yard lately.

The two ninebarks I planted last year beside the driveway are putting out buds so they should flower soon. However, their foliage is pretty enough that once they fill in they will be beautiful. I'll try to remember to get pics of the foliage for a future post.

Hope your days are bright, sunny and beautiful as it has been here lately!

Spring May Make an Appearance Soon

Pictures of the snow remaining Wednesday evening (I had just gotten home and took the pictures before putting the car in the garage)

 

Today, much of the yard is snow free (no pictures since it is all brown). However, all berms from roof dumpage are still there as are the berms from road plows and snow blowing. I transferred the snow blower from the garage to the shed. However, I also transferred the mower to the garage so I can get quick access to the blower if needed since we may get snow toward the end of the coming week. While I was shuffling stuff, I swept out the garage and swept all the sand off the driveway.

Later I wandered the yard picking up windblown trash. Way in back, by the fence, I did find these harbingers of spring

 

The holly still has some berries on it

Then, the mail arrived shortly after 5 pm and as I was at the mailbox I saw two red birds. I figured they were cardinals but then they both perched on a branch of the plum tree just behind the mailbox. Lo and behold, two Scarlet Tanagers! I haven't seen any, that I recall, since several years before moving here (2010 or so maybe?). I was enthralled watching them for the minute or so they fluttered around in the area, then they headed off for who knows where.

I was hoping to take this coming Friday off to go get the bike from storage, but as is my luck they are predicting a mix on Friday and snow on Saturday. So that plan just won't work so I'll have to wait for another Friday.

Have a Happy Easter!

NH Audubon Winter Bird Count 2018

Last weekend was the winter bird count for the NH Audubon Society. I saw a wide variety of birds, but not many of each:

• Juncos: 7
• Cardinals: 3 (1 male, 1 female and 1 juvenil)
• Titmouse: 2
• Crows: 2
• Blue Jays: 3
• Downey Woodpecker: 1 (female)
• Hairy woodpecker: 1 (male)
• Doves (city not mourning): 5
• Goldfinch: 3
• Chickadees: 2
• Sparrow (tentatively identified as white crowned): 2
• Gray squirrels: 5

Still have to send in my report but should get that taken care of today.

Murder at the Bogie House

I got home yesterday from doing the dump run and picking up a few groceries and the side yard was being over run. By the time I got the truck backed into the driveway and got my camera out, these were the only culprits left. Sorry for the crappy pic, but it is from my phone and at max zoom :~|

I have no idea what they were searching for since I didn't have a garden this year, nor have any of the wild berries produced the crab apple tree is on the other side of the house, and the bird feeders are on the other side of the house as well. Since that section is sandy and has several ant mounds, they could have been going after that, but that seems odd to me.

So, a murder of crows came a calling for no apparent reason.

Stuck in a Hard Place

I've had some plants out on the back porch getting watered by Mother Nature in a rare rain today. Although still sprinkling, I was looking at the sky judging if it was going to drop more precipitation or not. I heard something drilling on the bird feeder and turned to see who was so brave to be there with me just 2 feet away.

I didn't see anything, but heard the noise again, so looked on the back side. Nope, nothing there. Then I looked in the lower port hole:

I thought it was chippy I was seeing (Rita has been watching him most of the day as he shovels seed into his mouth and carries them off for future feasting). I watched for a minute and only saw breathing motions, so decided maybe he was stuck. I poked it with my finger (barely as the cage is several inches away from the tube), and it turned a git. And I saw this.

Her wing was twisted a bit, so I turned the feeder over on its side and she repositioned a bit, but not enough.

I put on a garden glove, and poked at her neck a couple of times, and she was finally able to free herself and fly off. Glad that worked, it would have been quite the chore to take the feeder apart.

Squirrels and a Bird

To keep the squirrels off the bird feeders, I have been getting big blocks of seed and placing them close to the tree line out back. This has produced interesting behaviour by the critters. Namely, that the gray squirrels, who normally don't tolerate reds being close (and vice-versa), are peacably eating side by side.

And, a bird chose to alight on the fence as I was taking pics of the squirrels.

And, a manipulated pic of said bird

Small Projects

I've had a couple of small projects that I wanted to get done, but had more pressing things to do. I finally found time to do them last weekend while I was feeling lazy.

The first project was to move one of the fence gates. Whe the EX put up the fence, one gate was placed at the corner of the house that is directly next to the lowest end of the ramp. At the time that made sense as it was protected by the eave of the house, so the gate entrance wouldn't get muddy. However, since having the standing seam roof put on last fall, I found the placement just didn't work anymore. The problem is from the roof dumping the snow, which is normally a good thing. The dumped snow compacts to a very hard mound and I was having trouble trying to keep a path from the yard to the gate open. The snow blower was not effective, so I had to chop and shovel.

Well, the obvious solution was to place the gate at the section directly across from the ramp. This improves the situation two ways; the gate is outside the area where the snow dumps, and it makes it more convenient to snow blow from the propane tank into the pen and up to the ramp. Of course the project took way longer than it should have because I went thru every socket I had to try to loosen the nuts on the bolts, then finally had to go buy a deep socket to reach - but at least the job got done. The first picture is the section placed where the gate used to be and the 2nd picture is of the gate's new location.

 Another project that came to fruition was staining the landscape timbers to the front gardens. I had to wait for the pressure treatment to dry out enough for staining, and it was finally time. I think the stain helps distinguish the garden are from the house nicely. Also seems to help the plants look more "green" for some reason (all to the good of course).

 And then the town almost completed a project; on the 28th I rode home from work and was delighted that they had laid some asphalt! I think they still have one more layer to go, but this is a vast improvement over the previous pavement and the dirt after it was torn up. When I rode in on the 27th, it was mud as apparently they had either oiled or watered the dirt (it hadn't rained) and that was a bit scary feeling the bike slither around. Anyway, I am quite happy with what is there now - and there is no big sinkhole directly in front of my driveway!

Still Snowing at the End of March

Although it is slowly warming up, and the birds are flying up from further south, we are still getting snow. The storms aren't big, mostly dustings - and we got about an inch yesterday, after heavy rains on Thursday (the garage did get some water, but not nearly what I got last year, and not entering the basement, so I am good.

Pictures taken yesterday and today of the snow pack remaining.

In my area, a big flock of redwing blackbirds arrived about 2 weeks ago and they have hung around. I can hear/see them in the trees in the trees in back, and to the side of my house. Pictures of other birds at the feeder a couple of weeks ago (3-7-15).

It is supposed to get in the 40's this coming week, but even then Easter egg hunts next week may be in the snow.