We put our new birdhouse up a couple of weeks ago and within 20 minutes we had 2 Bluebirds checking it out. We were thrilled! And then they left.
Hmmmmm. Where did they go? Were they coming back? And then a couple of days ago they returned. They have been in and out of the birdhouse so I presume they are making a home? I sure hope so! We already have Bluebirds in one of our houses on the other side of the yard, so this would make 2 Bluebirds and 2 Chickadees! Awesome!
It was such a treat to see this family of Swans at Boat Meadow on Cape Cod Bay the other day. At first I thought they were white buoys that had washed in during the storm, but, as they got closer to shore, I realized they were Swans. I have never seen Swans swimming there before.
Pretty, don’t you think? The juvenile was just following along behind mom and dad. So cute!
The birds were loving the huge feeding frenzy at Nauset Beach, part of the National Seashore. There were birds everywhere, diving into the water, so there must have been fish everywhere in the water. It was really beautiful to watch.
I couldn’t decide which photograph I liked better, What do you think?
We were so surprised to see a hawk sitting by our bird feeders in our backyard. We’ve seen hawks in trees in our yard but never at the feeders. And this hawk looked a little different than the ones we usually see around here.
So, we looked got our binoculars and checked it out and looked it up on our iBird PRO and found out that it was a juvenile Sharp-shinned Hawk. We had never seen one before. Very cool.
“Sharp-shinned Hawks are small, long-tailed hawks with short, rounded wings. They have small heads that in flight do not always project beyond the “wrists” of the wings. The tail tends to be square-tipped and may show a notch at the tip. Sharp-shinned Hawks are agile fliers that speed through dense woods to surprise their prey, typically songbirds. They do not stoop on prey from high overhead. They may also pounce from low perches.”
We had no birds at our feeders for the rest of the afternoon and I didn’t see any feathers in the yard so I think they were all safe. He stayed for quite a while and then flew away.
Have you ever seen a Sharp-shinned Hawk?
