Great detail on the feathers, Jane. The pic also shows the beady look of the skin around the eyes. I never thought of it before but almost all close-ups of various birds seem to show that same beady skin. I wonder if it has a special function (but I'm too lazy to search right now).

Claire

I just got an early Christmas present, a granite birdbath!

It's out in the yard now but I'm wondering if it will need any protection over the winter. I've read that granite structures can be left out without damage - does anyone have any experience with something like this?

It weighs 70 pounds dry so it's not moving very far, but I could cover it with something to keep it from filling up with ice (freeze-thaw, freeze-thaw is the likely scenario here).

Claire

That's a lovely gift! Personally, I'd want to stick a heater in it (pictures below), but if you can't for whatever reason, I would treat it the way I treat my stone Japanese font: turn it over in place and cover it with leaves. Just today, as I was cleaning up the last of yard winter duty before the unwanted Nor'easter, I thought about running an outdoor extension across the lawn to the font - maybe 85' - to enable a drinking source for larger birds. Didn't do it, but I thought about it. Font is already turned over. May still once the snow melts. That's a beauty, Claire, but I believe the freeze/thaw could, over time, crack it. Maybe not, but why take the chance. Lovely present.

Found this fellow: "Bird bath care, Danny Lipford"

Jane

Here is a link that might be useful: Google Images

Thanks, Jane. Turning it over in place is certainly doable and I have no shortage of leaves to cover it. But then I can't look at it until the spring! All I'd see is a lump with a squirrel sitting on top of it.

I don't want to run another extension cord for a second heater - that would interfere with the Christmas lights (I only have one double outlet on that side of the house). The first heated birdbath is very successful and better suited for little birds.

Another cold spell coming tomorrow although the snow is forecast to stay farther north. I'll probably turn the granite birdbath over tomorrow (sigh).

Claire

Claire, if you change your mind and want to heat the granite bath, I just remembered that I have an outdoor power stake that I plugged into the outdoor GFI and it's been out there working well for maybe 6 years. Just an idea if you want use the new gift this winter.
Jane

Here is a link that might be useful: Outdoor power stake

That looks like a very useful device, Jane. I'll keep it in mind but I already turned over the birdbath this morning in anticipation of rain turning to ice in a few days. I put the birdbath on top of some pavers to keep it from frozen mud (read that somewhere). I miss the fish already.

Not a good picture but I've been seeing at least one red-winged blackbird off and on for a few weeks, and today there were two. I think they're juvenile males, short on good sense but able to find breakfast. I imagine they'll head south when they get around to it.

Claire

Usually the RWBs show up here in early spring with the starlings...or is it the crackles?...with other dark colored birds.

There is a running theme outside today: Misery. White cement has landed and today is not a happy bird day.

Mrs. Cardinal shaking it off

One miserable jay

Snow line meets the Junco's white line:

I agree with the birds and could be very happy in a cabana in the Caribbean sipping a margarita. Age has tarnished that hot chocolate by the fire thing - especially because I'm the one who has to get rid of the white cement.
Jane

That poor jay is really miserable looking. No white cement here, just rain with winds picking up.

A mourning dove perched in the winterberry for a long time not seeming to notice the rain. The winterberry leaves are finally dropping.

Claire

Snow here, and not a bird in sight all day. I suspect they will be happy to visit the feeders after the storm clears. Great bird pics both of you, but that is one sorry looking jay!

Gorgeous bird bath Claire. I decided to start low-tech and ordered a rubber feed pan (since I was ordering stuff for DH from Amazon). I think I will want a heated bird bath soon, however. Still mulling over which one.

Happy Thanksgiving,

Susan

The winterberry is beautiful again this year. With the dove, perfect.

This morning, in the birch, Mr. and Mrs. House Finch
Jane

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone too!

Pretty finch pic, Jane.

I had a Thanksgiving turkey breakfast this morning:

And I'm sure there will be leftover turkeys tomorrow.

Claire

And lots of turkey leftovers today.

Susan: When you put water in the rubber feed pan make sure there's at least a few inches free at the top. You'll need that flex of the rubber when you turn the thing over to stomp out the ice. If the pan is full it's much harder to get the ice cube out because the rubber can't move.

I got my first rubber pan from the Bird Watcher's General Store on the Cape. They have heated birdbaths in their online catalog.

Claire

This post was edited by claire on Fri, Nov 28, 14 at 10:22

OMG!! What a dangerous store! But, the Cape in winter is particularly nice...

Claire, are your turkeys aware that several times recently you've used the word 'leftover' and the word 'stuffed' in reference to their presence? Just sayin'...

Well, Jane, I heard one turkey mutter "trust but verify" as it headed over to the compost pile to check for turkey body parts. It didn't find any.

Claire

Claire, that is one entertaining and amusing web site! Lots of good stuff too. Susan

Yesterday, outside my window, emotions ran high. There was a confrontation after I discovered the red plastic top on the bird feeder had been chewed. Squirrel baffle has been adjusted.

Are you accusing me?

And I noticed what seemed like hesitation from the Yellow-shafted Flicker. To me it looked like he was calculating or mustering the courage for the eventual jump onto the suet:

Eyeing

Positioning

Praying

Jane

And, red specks around my mouth mean nothing!

Wonderful pictures as usual, Jane! That squirrel's "How could you even think I did it!" look is priceless.

This morning a small flock of robins appeared and checked out the winterberries to see if they're ripe yet. Apparently not, because they soon left. I expect a scout or two to be checking every day now. The feasting usually starts in late December.

There were two grackles here, too. It looks like a male and female pair, looking very suspicious. Grackles are good at looking suspicious with those yellow eyes.

Claire

That winterberry is enviable, Claire. Every year it appears to be abundant - gorgeous and huge as I recall. One robin showed up during my count this morning to check the aronia berries, but they never go until the end of January or February.

During the count, Fluffy showed up and cleared the whole yard. I think he's an adult Cooper's, but we all know about my hawk ID track record. He flew into the birch, surveyed the feeding area, then flew to the ground to search under the quince and kousa tree. Maybe he was looking for anybody who may have fainted. Beats me, but he left still yearning for lunch. Not a high percentage of hawks make it to adulthood so I read somewhere.

Jane

This post was edited by corunum on Sat, Nov 29, 14 at 14:33

Magnificent hawk shots, Jane! The second one looks like a kaleidoscope stopped in mid-twirl.

I agree that it's an adult Cooper's with the flatter capped head.

Claire

Wow! Another batch of excellent shots from all of you!

Susan, I have the same heated birdbath as Jane and it is excellent. If you happen to have a deck near the house to attach it to,it's so convenient.

We lost power the night before thanksgiving and our generator pull string snapped, so we vacated. Over a massive tree that blocked our road for a couple days. Funny how it almost seemed like the animals knew all was quiet?? We had come back to the house to grab a few things the following day and the pileated woodpecker was closer to the house than I've ever seen. The birds were going nuts in the yard in general. And then scampering along the back slope I saw a black squirrel? Nope......a fisher? Nope.......a mink! We didn't know that was what it was until later that night when we were doing some research on the NH fish and game website. My first thought had been a pine marten, but it didn't match. It was definitely a mink, which was a bit odd because we're not all that close to a water source. And did if grab my camera that WAS RIGHT NEXT TO ME?!?! Of course not! I'm such an amateur next to you guys!

I call him Hawkeye. Hes been hanging out in the maple tree, the clothesline, and the tomato trellis.

pixie, Hawkeye seems a most appropriate name. Young one, whether a Cooper's or Sharp-shinned.

Yesterday, at a local pond, a 6 pack of Canada Geese:

Jane

And, one headless Mallard. You either get lucky or you don't, lol. Try again another day. Did you know that geese stick their tongue out when honking? I didn't. Just saw it yesterday. Way off topic now...bye.

pixie_lou: Hawkeye's tail looks too short for an accipiter, so probably not a Cooper's or sharpie. Not much of a belly band so probably not a red-tail. I would guess juvenile red-shouldered hawk or maybe broad-winged. I'm not that good at hawk ID though.

Jane: A little splicing of the mallard head on the right onto the body on the left just might make a whole duck. Or maybe not.

I don't think I'd want to get close enough to a goose to see it sticking its tongue out. I once had one attack my bicycle wheel (I'd put the bike between me and the goose when it looked unfriendly).

Claire

This post was edited by claire on Tue, Dec 2, 14 at 11:01

I am running out of superlatives for the gorgeous photos posted. Jane, the flicker and particularly Fluffy are outstanding. That squirrel looks pretty well fed.

Lots of bird activity with the feeders up. I was playing around with “sports mode” on the camera

Bluebird landing

Goldfinch trying to deny tufted titmouse

Another disagreement

Junco all puffed up (maybe a small hint of eyebrows Jane? Very small.)

Red-bellied woodpecker and bluebird tolerating each other

This guy broke up the party for a while, but I saw no casualties. Rough-legged hawk maybe, Claire? Couldn't see all of him/her.

Susan

Pixie Lou - I'm going to guess that your fierce-looking guest isn't a broadwing since mine have been gone for at least a month, headed to a warmer climate for the winter. They are only about 15" head to tail, give or take a couple of inches and are the smallest of the buteos. I don't see Coopers and Sharpies very often, so I can't really judge if it's one of those, but I am going to guess that it might be a red-tail since they are fairly common around here in the winter. They are head to tail 1 1/2 feet to just over 2 feet but are a similar shape to broadwings. If you can get a good shot of his/her tail or the whole bird in flight, you might get more of an ID.

I love the range of birds that have shown up in this thread this month and there are some really gorgeous images.

Susan: The sports mode seems to be capturing motion well. Those goldfinches are feisty! You don't expect the little guys to be like that - I guess it's a little like the terrier attitude.

If a hawk goes after birds in your yard it's usually an accipiter - Cooper's and Sharp-shinned are the common terrorizers of bird feeders. Other hawks will eat birds occasionally (never refuse a snack) but are more likely to hunt mammals. The larger the hawk, the larger the prey.

It's fiendishly difficult to ID juvenile hawks - they all look similar. Size is important as is the length of the tail. Sharpies are about the size of a blue jay; Cooper's more like a smallish crow.

Claire

Claire - Yes, I find the hawks SO hard to identify. This one was quite a bit bigger than cooper's or sharp, more the size of a red-tail or rough-legged. Was about 20 yds away from the feeders and looking the other way. Didn't seem to be after the birds, but they wisely disappeared while it was there.

Susan

Susan: Another possibility would be a juvenile Northern Goshawk, a large accipiter. There was a post on the Bird Watching Forum last October with a good photo and expert discussion.

I'm just throwing this into the ring - I have no idea what the hawk is.

Claire

My thought when I saw your hawk photo, Susan was redtail, though I really couldn't tell you why. I really like the sports mode photos; they do a good job capturing motion on the little birds.

Susan, I have no idea about the hawk either, but after checking images online, I think Claire may be correct about the Goshawk.

Have you been bitten by the 'birds-in-action' bug? I hope so! Wonderful shots and I really like your feeder.

There was a Northern Mockingbird here this morning and I took about 20 shots of it and a robin together. Completely blew the transfer from the SD card to PC because I was listening to my favorite music. Total brain dysfunction, but he was here and I hope he returns. Only remember seeing them in the summer here.

Jane

This morning the crows were making a racket, so I knew there had to be something out in the field annoying them. It turned out to be a redtail who tolerated the crows berating her for just a few minutes before she took off, crows following along and yelling the whole way.

Thanks so much for input on the hawk! I really hope I have another photo op and can capture the whole magnificent bird.

This cold icy morning, the robins came in and decided that the winterberries were ripe and ready. Here’s what it looked like when they arrived.

Susan

nhbabs: I enjoy watching the aerial acrobatics where the crows mob the redtail which soars around looking sort of unconcerned. After making its point (what me worry?) the redtail heads off to quieter territory.

Susan: Winterberries? What winterberries? Robins are really good at devouring them. I didn't realize bluebirds ate them too.

Claire

After seeing Plymouth and NH winterberries and birds, I'm wondering where I can try a winterberry bush again? Wonderful pictures. In Feb., when the Cedar Waxwings clean the aronia in under 3 hours, I'm so aware that if I hadn't been here to see it, another year will pass before that opportunity presents itself again. So glad Susan and Claire were home! The bluebirds here do go after the berries on a blue princess holly, but the bush is still small.

Nice hawk, nhbabs. Today's digital zooms are great, but the pictures we all take certainly backs-up our desire to be surrounded by native landscape and beauty. I came home from Maine with a clerodendron...now for M&F winterberry... hmmm
Jane

Amazing eating to strip a shrub that size in just a few hours! I need to get a different male winterberry holly for my Winter Reds since though they bloom well, they don't develop more than a few berries. The timing isn't right with our local males.

In a previous house we had a crab apple that we loved watching in the spring as the fruit thawed and the grouse and/or cedar waxwings would move in to gobble up the crabs.

Our turkeys jogged through the field this morning at first light, the first time I've seen them in more than a month.

The Turkey Regiment! They look like they're in formation. What a neat field.

Well, I could hear Fluffy talking to himself this morning so I went outside. Now the good news is, 8 weeks after surgery, I finally get glasses next week! So perhaps decapitated ducks and scalped hawk pictures will stop. Of course, we all know the opposite of good news.

Thanks to this thread, I am now on the prowl for Mr. and Mrs. Poppins, dwarf winterberry - link below. I can make room for a dwarf variety. Anybody have this variety?

Jane

Here is a link that might be useful: Homenursery - Ilex verticillata, Poppins

Mine is the Red Sprite/Jim Dandy (male) combo. Not familiar with the Poppins. Looks great though!

Susan

Thanks, Susan. It appears that either Red Sprite or Poppins will be wonderful.

Needlessly, I had concern that the chokeberry outside my window was no longer prolific. What a rat.
{{gwi:2129035}}

{{gwi:2129036}}
Jane

Jane: That picture really shows the squirrel using its paws like little hands. The dexterity is amazing.

Claire

Jane, today your photo of Fluffy (the middle one) from 11/29 is the picture of the day on GardenWeb Facebook. I didn't know that site existed until last week.

Susan

Well, I'll be...thanks, Susan. GW is one of my 'Liked' pages, but seldom do I see it on Facebook. They used one of my robin with berry pictures earlier this year and one of nhbabs's landscape scenes. Today I got a deal on a SX50, so I sold my Sx40 (there is a 400mm difference in focal length) so we'll see what the future holds. It was kind of you to bring this to my attention, thanks again. :). Hope you don't get snowed in again this weekend.
Jane

I was also surprised to see that a couple of mine were on there in October. I didn't know there was any link to FB.

Well, I love my SX50, but I was truly inspired to get my new camera by all of the gorgeous stuff on this site!

Supposed to get mostly rain here, I think. Hope.

S

This thread keeps on giving! Claire, your turkeys of the Nov. 27th posting are on Facebook. That makes 4 of us on this thread frequently are also on Facebook, whether one belongs or not, apparently. Don't know if the link will work, but it's below.

Here is a link that might be useful: Claire turkeys on FB

I've been noticing that photos from folks from the New England forum crop up on GW's photo of the day on Facebook, at least a few times a month.

If you want to have them pop up on your feed, make a comment or like a few and you'll see them more often.

Thanks, nhbabs, I will like and like. Just saw Susan's bluebirds.

Yes, I first heard about this site last week when someone on Bird Watching mentioned Claire's turkeys, and since she is not on FB I let her know which photo. Then I scrolled down and saw a familiar nhbabs one, and mine. I guess NE is well represented.

Susan

Not having been on the Bird Watching Forum, I'm behind the times about the Facebook discussion. Sorry for the repetition. I was anti FB for a long time, but I've learned a lot about birds, photography and foreign gardens since joining. I did not give info I didn't want to give, but am on and enjoy learning more about the world.

It's nearly lamp-lighting time, the doves are still here roosting (on field stone - how do they stand it?), and one chap came for sip. I wondered what he was thinking as he gazed back into his own eyes. I'll never know.
Jane

Nice pic, Jane.

Perhaps the dove was staring at the length of this thread and wondering when Claire would get around to starting a new one.

It will be up in a few minutes.

Claire