Friday, January 31, 2014

Bits and Pieces

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Our Yards
Some friends gave us a glass, Art Deco birdfeeder for Christmas. The birds like it and some of them - like this White-winged Dove - look very striking indeed when they perch on it.



Our one-legged male Northern Cardinal isn't letting his disability limit his activities. He visits our feeders constantly and now often turns up accompanied by a female Cardinal.






Eastern Bluebirds are birds of fields and open woodland. However, several hang out in our subdivision and visit our feeders.



Watching Hawks
Different raptors react very differently to being watched. For example, I find that Red-tailed Hawks and American Kestrels are particularly skittish; they usually fly off as soon as you stop your car anywhere near them. Red-shouldered Hawks, on the other hand, are much more tolerant of human observers. This seems to be the case with Cooper's Hawks also. The one below gave me a quick look when I parked a few feet away and rolled down my window, but then proceeded to ignore me and my camera.






Near CyFair College
The retention ponds at the college have hosted very few wildfowl or gulls in the past couple of winters, and they have never attracted pelicans. However, I don't have to go far to see these kinds of birds. Just across Barker Cypress Road from the college there is a park with a large lake that is usually busy with American Coots, various ducks, American White Pelicans and Ring-billed Gulls.



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