of course I came by to brag ... for the first time ever we had a yellow bellied sap sucker at our suet feeder. My husband wasn't going to put out more suet because the starlings gobble it up. I suggested just using the feeder that's about 10' from our kitchen window. The starlings don't like to get that close but the sap sucker didn't mind and we got a terrific view. He came back at least once. Later in the day my husband spotted what we think was a merlin. Another new to us bird.

Very cool, defrost! At a previous home a yellow-bellied liked our roof-top antenna for territorial drumming, so every morning at 4:30 a rhythmic metallic sound would transmit down through the house . . . it wasn't particularly welcome for those couple of months every year. I do think they are beautiful birds, though, and am always glad to see them here since our current visitors choose their drumming sites a bit further from the house.

I've never seen a merlin, though I have seen kestrels and once a peregrine. Very nice to know they are around also!

I have no idea what was so attractive to the clean-up crew yesterday afternoon, but they came and stayed for a while:

Great pics, Jane, as always - those turkey vultures seem to be celebrating being back even though there's snow around.

We're in a dry slot now in between two snow bands and I'm hoping it lasts (maybe an inch on the ground now). Sunshine would be a lovely thing.

Claire (sigh)

The next band of snow is here. If I could prevent it from coming your way, Claire, I would...alas,

Mr. Bluebird was on the ground doing whatever and was partially hidden, but the expression on the Mrs. pretty much sums up how most of us feel at the moment watching too early lilac buds covered in snow:

forgot to post the Chipping Sparrow that I think looks like a painting:

Great photos! Today we noticed pine siskins have showed up. They are feistier than the goldfinches. There a small flock of red winged blackbirds which we haven't had in years past. I think the difference is the tube feeder has black oil seeds in it instead of the mixed song bird kind and seed gets spilled. My husband also put up a table feeder which the blackbirds seem to like as well as all the spilled seed. The very stripe-y bird turned out to be female red winged blackbirds.

Lots of feeder activity. I think we took the feeders down early last year due to damage by raccoons. We don't feed in the summer due to bears.

I totally identify with that female bluebird, Jane - Blech! It's still snowing!

I've been out shoveling a few times to give the birds access to birdseed on the ground. Turkeys are a great help when they use their feet like snow shovels to get under the snow - sort of like sparrows digging in leaf litter but on a whole different scale.

Here a turkey is digging to feed himself, but the other birds happily join in to feed on the exposed seed.

Claire

Great photos as always Jane. Do you know what kind of hawk that is in the third pic from earlier?

Thank you, nekobus. I THINK it is the same Coopers that I took in a few posts above...the one on a post with the spotted back. BUT, I'm not great at hawk ID, so if someone else thinks differently, please help. :)

Jane

I'm fine with them all being Cooper's Hawks, although I'm not an expert either.

Claire

I hope he finds his mate. Carolina Wren has been singing his little heart out for several days.

Northern Flicker - tongue out. We all feel that way sometimes.

Always a pleasure to see your pics, Jane.

So nice to see the wren - I haven't seen them here since that one sighting on March 4 and I miss them. I hope the unexpected cold hasn't been too hard on yours.

The flicker has the right attitude for the latest weather annoyance - just when it seemed Spring was here the green all turns to white again and the snow shovels creak back into service. Tomorrow it starts to warm up again!

Claire (ever hopeful)

It was 9 degrees here this morning, and I was feeling sorry for the pair of phoebes, who rely on insects. By midday or so it had gotten above freezing, and they seemed to be finding something to eat, periodically darting down from their perches.

13 deer out in the field this morning around dawn. We often see a group of 4, but there was an additional group today, including some of last year's fawns who were chasing each other around as the others grazed. As long as they stay in the field and don't bother the garden, I enjoy watching them.

The other morning we saw a fox walking along the edge of our yard and into the neighbor's. We've all put up goose fences down by the river, so the fox quickly ambled along with just a few "looks" into our yard. Perhaps he heard about the increased muskrat population along the river? Those cheeky little muskrats love to graze in our gardens.

I think the phoebes are getting enough to eat. I see one or two swooping down to get some insect in the grass. The deer usually keep to the field although tracks show they skirt our garden area and walk up the driveway. My husband saw a coyote this morning. We haven't seen or heard any in ages suspecting a hunter has killed them after seeing a post on facebook. We used to see one quite close to the house, just sitting and watching. The one time my husband got nervous seeing one during the day when he was mowing, he got the jeep to chase it off and the critter really wasn't in any hurry to move and looked healthy. I called NH Fish & Game and was told that mowing stirs up mice and other yummies so coyotes have learned tractors/mowing mean lunch is about to be served.

Not hard to see why the BC chickadee is such a favorite. I'd need a lot of Biofreeze if I had to search for food like this:

Methodically, he went through a small boxwood hedge looking for boxwood pysllids - the bug that curls boxwood leaves.

Pest patrol!

Sadly, a young hawk crashed into our garage door and died. I've posted on facebook looking for ideas but perhaps it is best to leave it for the circle of life rather than hoping a nature museum might want a taxidermy project. Thoughts?

My preference is to leave it in the yard to be recycled by the critters and birds, rather than have it taken out of the environment for a human project. Leaving it there also will let the adult parental hawks know what happened to it if they still were caring for it.

Claire

I agree with Claire and have done exactly that. I move a dead critter to a more remote area and as you said, "leave it for the circle of life".

Jane

At least it's not a baby but seems young because of colors. Thanks for agreeing to circle of life. It took me awhile to decide that was the most honorable thing for a wild creature.

defrost - 'honor' is the key word. Your instinct is good.

Well, . . .
Great monarch butterfly migration mystery solved

Good article, Jane. They solved "how" but "why" is still up in the air. Unless you factor in "it's always worked for us so why not?". The trouble is that it depends largely on that one area in Mexico remaining intact, not to mention food being available on the migration routes.

I hope the monarchs have a little flexibility built into their neurobiological systems.

Claire

Chilly and windy today with Fire Weather Warnings up for gusty winds and low humidity, but at least it's sunny.

Most of the turkeys are off in the woods, presumably nesting, but I saw this lump of feathers today in the yard.

One raised its head and it was clear the lump was turkeys.

The feathers glistened in the sun.

I wonder if the dinosaurs were also shiny and beautiful.

Claire

This thread has some batch of pictures in it. So varied and interesting and beautiful.

We have had a visitor for about a month, and it has become quite tame. A cute, fairly large snowshoe hare showed up one day while it still had some white fuzz. Now it is all brown on back and white underneath and a little on the muzzle. It let's us get within about ten feet of it and could care less when I'm working in the yard. So far it seems the favorite is heuchera and the lawn. I'm a bit worried because the favorite spot is my nice shade garden (it's living under our back deck) and I don't want it to try out the "good stuff"! Anyone have any experience with them? Is my garden doomed? Or are they polite?! I did have a chat with it a couple weeks ago where I laid out the terms and conditions of living in my yard, but I'm not fluent in nose wiggle, so I'm not sure if it agreed to such terms...........

T2D: I know nothing about snowshoe hares so I'll let others comment, but I do love the image of you sharing nose wiggles to negotiate.

Claire

No help here, Susan, since my hares stay on the other side of the road.

Claire, those turkey feathers are gorgeous!

Today when I arrived home a male cardinal was singing in a blooming red maple by the house. The color echo was lovely, but by the time I grabbed the camera, he had moved on.

T2D, how do you feel about thumping and grunting?

• Communication - Snowshoe hares use visual, tactile, vocal, chemical, and mechanical signals to communicate. Individuals "thump" with their hindfeet, perhaps as an alarm signal. During courtship, partners may touch noses before a male rushes or chases the female. Chases then alternate between the two, both stopping abruptly and turing to leap over the back of the other. Both may urinate on the other while leaping. Snowshoe hares perform guttural hisses at the conclusion of mating, and grunt, snort, or growl in other contexts. When captured, injured or frightened, they may scream. how to t.alk to a hare

Before this thread goes into the vault, here are Brants we saw on the Connecticut shoreline last Saturday. Never saw this Arctic dweller before.You can read about them here: BRANT

Jane

If you have to have a blizzard, that's a good kind to have! I occasionally see brant in the bay from my house or in the local marsh, mostly in the winter, but never in those numbers. Nice pictures of a very jaunty-looking bird.

Claire

I haven't seen Brant in a few years -- only ever in the spring. Neat photos! The plumage resemblance isn't surprising, since these and Canada geese are from the same genus.

I found one picture of a brant (I think) in the marsh with a Canada goose and a couple of American black ducks. I took it in February 2015 during the GBBC. The brant (upper middle with the neck ring) is much smaller than the goose.

Claire

The one just to the left of the goose? That's a drake mallard.

Thanks nekobus, you're probably right - my bad.

Claire

Thanks, nekobus. I went digging in my files to try to find photos of brant but this and another less clear one taken at the same time were all I found, and I had labeled them both "brant?".

I'm a little more confident of my identification of brant in the bay in the front of my house. While they were farther away they all looked the same. At least mallards come in two different plumages, male and female, and a flock is mixed.

Claire

The ants that live under my bluestone path suddenly started swarming today. I think these may be Pavement Ants starting their spring attempts to take over the neighboring areas. They're much smaller than the ants that are sneaking into the house.

When I was processing the video I noticed how loudly the birds were singing - a nice accompaniment to the ant mosh pit.

Claire

Wonderful concert, Claire! I've noticed them, too, when I pulled out paving stones in the gardens in order to weed.

Here are two not-so-good photos of the neighborhood fox who travels up and down the river several mornings a week. They were taken with an iPhone that doesn't focus, but I now have the camera ready on the kitchen counter.

Nice red fox pics, Molie! The fox probably appreciates the open path you've provided for it to travel on its hunting trips. A few days ago I also saw a fox running through my yard - lawns and paths are useful for critters besides humans.

Claire

I almost hate to say this, Claire, but I don't mind his hunting in our area. We have an overabundance of muskrats that love to browse in the gardens. It's pretty difficult to keep them out, but maybe he'll help. In the last photo he is heading towards the neighborhood "mulch pile" at the edge of a neighbor's yard. Everyone throws large garden items, even trees, there and so we imagine that there are tunnels galore below the pile .... a condo complex for critters.

moliep - those pictures look like paintings - very neat!

Sometimes I think birds need sunglasses.

Jane

Or perhaps a little more sleep....

Claire

Not sure if this blue jay was just foraging or nest building.

The bees in their usual frenzy on the Pieris.

Donald, the blonde-tailed squirrel, not using its tail as a hat this time.

This robin appears to be posing for me, but really it was waiting for me to go away because there's a nest in the Yew by my front steps. I'm guessing that bug on the limb knows it's not on the menu?

Susan

Nice pics, Susan, as always. Donald seems to have a few tufts of hair on his head - maybe that's what he was hiding with his tail/combover?

I really like the robin on the curly branch pic.

Claire

Some questions for those of you who know much more than I do:

Shouldn't Mergansers be gone by now here along the CT coast? We were surprised to find this one hunting and then preening along the river's edge this morning.

This is an immature female, right? I always thought these ducks traveled in pairs. She didn't seem concerned about being alone.

Will Mergansers nest in the wood duck box our neighbor placed in the river? The bottom of the nesting platform is above her head in the first photo.

Not a clear photo as she's looking at me, below, but I like the ruffling and the fact that this is a pose I seldom see. Mostly Mergansers are spotted motoring along on the river or diving, not resting on the shore.

She looks so young in these last two quick shots.

Thanks for any answers,

Molie

moliep - no, she's fine right where she is. Our area is a 'year round' area not necessitating migration. Check the map here: Merganser seasonal territories

Yes, she may use the wood duck box - same size and they pal around together.

Wood Duck/Merganser Nesting Box

Not the best shot, but here are the two duck families together:

Jane

Very cute little merganser there! I don't know much about duck migration but I checked Birds of North America Online (Cornell subscription site) and they say

"Spring

A late migrant and breeder. First migratory movement in Mar,
intensifies in Apr; most breeders arrive on breeding grounds mid-to late
May."

and

"At Cape May, NJ, overall numbers begin to decline mid-Apr; few observed after late May (Sibley 1993). In Massachusetts, movements late Mar–May with peak of 15,000 observed in Cape Cod Bay, 31 Mar 1984 (Veit and Petersen 1993). Winter birds depart Boston Harbor, MA, late Mar (Miller 1996). In Vermont, move mid-Mar–mid-May (Laughlin and Kibbe 1985)"

It sounds like they all should be gone from CT soon and are unlikely to breed in your area.

That said, I saw the first Brown Thrasher of the season today - they do breed here.

Here with a Red-winged Blackbird:

One of my favorite birds (I have a whole lot of favorite birds).

Claire

This thread is getting long but I don't want to cut off any comment on items here, particularly Molie's merganser. People are welcome to continue discussion here, but I just set up a new #5 thread for new posts.

Claire