One Camera Destroyed, But Still Trying!

I'm not complaining or anything, but things have been even tougher since I destroyed an expensive camera and an equally expensive lens during Bird-a-thon.  Actually,  Mother Nature was wholly responsible for the carnage - I was 100% innocent. 

I'm devastated, discouraged, dismayed, and despondent about my sandblasted Nikon D7000 and my beloved Tamron 200-500 lens.  It was the freakiest thing you could imagine, really.  Tom and I were sitting together on the beach at Sandy Neck in Sandwich when a terrific blast of wind sent a ton of sand right in my face.  I had sand that felt like glass in my eyes, sand in my nose, mouth, ears, hair and every inch of skin - exposed or not.  Far worse was how much sand got deep into every crevice of the lens and camera, and even blasted a nice windswept pattern on the front lens itself. 

Tom just happened to be facing in the other diresction, and he didn't even notice the sandstorm until he noticed the tears as my eyes tried to expel the little razor blades behind both eyelids.  I'm always the lucky one in the family!

I'm pretty sure the camera is no longer under warranty, and I am afraid to find out that the lens won't be covered because I didn't register it in time or something.  I mean, I think I did, but knowing me . . .

All of these were taken with the Nikon D300 and Tom's Tamron 200-500.  His stuff is still in flawless condition, while I am royally screwed.  Go figure!

Break for Backyard Beauties

I still have dozens of stories and photos of our trip out west, but I had to take a break to show off some of our local cuties.  This Downy Woodpecker caught in the act of taking flight, for example, is simply irresistible!

And what could be cuter than this sideways Red-bellied Woodpecker enjoyed his suet breakfast?

The House Finches are back with a vengeance, I've noticed.  This little guy is a colorful charmer.

I could stop snapping photos of all his curious facial expressions.

This is one eccentric looking Great Blue Heron.  He was one of about five that I saw around the Sudbury River yesterday. 

Red, White, and Black Birds?

His ruby red eye glittering in the sun, the Red-bellied Woodpecker is forced to put up the annoyance of a sparrow sharing his suet. The masses of newly fledged birds is overwhelming the food supply lately. The suet is supposed to be for the woodpeckers, but nowadays its every bird for himself.


This male Red-bellied Woodpecker has already fought off a series of sparrows when he hears another whir of approaching wings.


I know I shouldn't assign human emotions to non-human species, but the male woodpecker appears to look indignant at the audacity of the intruder.


Sharing a meal with a sparrow must be somewhat humiliating for such a noble species. It is pointless to waste energy fighting off hordes of hungry house sparrows, however!


Even the breathtakingly beautiful Red-bellied Woodpecker (who does have a red belly, BTW) has to put up with some minor annoyances in this life. Sharing suet with a sparrow is just of many little irritations interrupting his day. The ceaseless clicking of a camera shutter is yet another cross he has to bear!

Birdathon Break for Beautiful Backyard Birds

I still have some magnificent Plymouth Becah photod to share, but this stunning set of Red-bellied Woodpecker photos make for a nice break from the shorebirds.


I don't often get a chance to photograph one this close up.


This bird and his mate have been really hungry for suet these past few days. I see them at the feeder three or four times a day. Do you think that means there are babies to feed?


While we are showing off our backyard birds, I can't resist a charming Chickadee shot!


Finally, a shot of a Mourniing Dove in the sunflower seed feeder. It used to be thta the Mourning Doves always ate on the ground, but lately I see them in one of the feeders almost every day.

Woodpeckers at the Sudbury River

Saturday I went to the Tennis club on Edgell Road around 9:00 AM. There was NO ONE THERE! That has never happened before - even at dawn! I snapped a picture of a Downy Woodpecker who seems VERY INTENT on his work based on his facial expression!


How do you like the look on his face? In a human it might be interpreted as anger. Frustration? Annoyance? Or just intensity?


This is a female Downy Woodpecker. Females lack the red patch at the nape.


Males have a red nape patch. Male Hairy Woodpeckers also have the red nape, but they are larger and have bigger bills.


I also saw Red-bellied Woodpeckers on the river bank. I believed this was a female Red-bellied woodpecker, based on the lack of red on the forehead.


This is a bad photo, but the lack of a red forehead is much more noticeable here. Definitely a female.

More Backyard Birds

Right behind the house (where the birdfeeders are), you'll see a lot of your more "domesticated" birds. Blue Jays are very frequent visitors, for example. There have been lots of Blue Jays this year - and they seem a lot shyer than I remember them being when I was a kid. They are just as noisy, but more easily spooked by humans.


Here are five of the approximately five hundred sparrows that live in my yard. Can you see all five? They are pretty well camoflauged this time of year.


At the back of the yard is a strip of woods that borders the Hultman aqueduct. It is actually a very steep hill back there; much steeper than it appears here. Walking back there can be dangerous because it is not only steep but VERY slippery when wet!


I was looking for warblers again. They were there, too. They were very, very high up and flitting quickly from tree to tree. There was absolutely no way I could even see one clearly, never mind take a picture. The smallest bird I photographed was a shy little Tufted Titmouse.


He did his level best to hide from the camera, but his big eyes and pointy head couldn't be disguised.


I saw more woodpeckers than anything else, probably because it is easy to track the pecking sounds. It doesn't hurt that they are often on dead or dying trees where they can't hide behind leaves, of course. I think this is a Downy Woodpecker, mostly because I think I see black and white feathers on the edge of the tail.


The major difference between Hairy woodpeckers and Downy woodpeckers is that Hairy woodpeckers are about 3 inches bigger than Downys. Size is difficult to judge without an actual comparison or a known reference point, however, and I had neither. Hairy woodpeckers also have proportionally larger beaks, but this one was so busy pecking that I never saw her face! The only other difference is the barred outer tailfeathers of the Downy woodpecker, which is the very questionable basis for my call on this bird.


There were a few Red-bellied woodpeckers around, too. They were pecking a lot, but they also yelled at me now and then for tresspassing in their woods. Red-bellied woodpeckers are not particularly shy.


I think Red-bellied woodpeckers are very appealling and attractive birds. (Actually, I think they are adorable, but I try to stay away from using such imprecise and emotional words in public. Sorry, Chris!)

Red-bellied Woodpeckers Out Back

This Red-bellied Woodpecker is going to show us his pecking technique.


When you find a big hole like this one, you have to feel all around it with your bill.


Make sure you run your beak all the way around the inner edge so that nothing can stick to the inner lip of the hole.


Then grab hold and PULL! (In addition to grubs and worms, Red-bellied woodpeckers collect nuts and berries, and often hide nuts in tree cavities to eat when food becomes scarce. That is definitely a nut; I don't think grubs are so large!)

Now, doesn't he look the cat that swallowed the canary!

Can I kill a Mockingbird?

What I love most about my new house is all the wildlife right in my own backyard. I especially love all the birds. I've been a birder all my life (although not a very good birder, I admit!), but here in Framingham it was like having my own sanctuary! Flocks of cardinals, titmouse, chickadees, juncos, sparrows and even robins were always around, as were all sorts of woodpeckers (including a red bellied woodpecker and a flicker), plus a family of crows and a pair of blue jays (I love corvids!), and many more. I've seen an amazing collection of birds of prey, too, and even FIVE giant sized wild turkeys right around Thanksgiving time.

Red Bellied Woodpecker:

This is not a great picture of a red tailed hawk because it's taken from behind - but look at that cute face:
These days, however, my feeders are empty more often than not. Instead of having hundreds of birds, I have ONE bird. I'd like to introduce you to my nemesis; the mockingbird:

He is invincible! He chases away every bird from every feeder in the yard! He even zoomed in on the cat, and scared it half to death. I've tried giving him his own feeder, giving him 1/2 the yard to himself . . . but he still prevails.

I didn't even know what kind of bird it was when I first saw him. He was all puffed up from the cold, and looked like this:

I thought it was a shrike, but it wasn't. Just a mockingbird. I never hated a bird before, but I do now. He won't let anyone eat, whether he wants the food or not. And everyone is afraid of him, even larger birds scatter when he swoops in on them.
Next weekend, all the feeders are coming down for a while. It breaks my heart, but I've been told it may be the only way of regaining my beloved backyard sanctuary!