Giraffe graffti!!

Some one took a lot of time over the weekend to turn a favorite hawk perch into the likeness of a giraffe. A little spray paint and some imagination...now we will have to wait and see if the artist's renderings have a positive or negative affect on those perching hawks!!

Spotting a good thing!!

A Sunday walk with the daughter and she spots that fall visitor we all love to see!!

How cute is the face on that long-eared owl?? Just love those big eyes!!

Inspired...

I am finding myself lagging in my posting duties these days. :( Sorry.. maybe it's the time of season or the change in the clocks or maybe it's because those little warbler birds became so frustrating to capture with my lens ...I don't know why but I began to only carry my binoculars when I walked. Yesterday, for some reason, I decided to snag the camera as I headed out the door...and boy, I was glad I did!! I had only been walking the trail about 5 minutes when I noticed this young red-tail sitting on a branch close to the ground! Whatever he had been eating was gone, I could still see the blood on his talons..but no evidence of his kill. He was such a stunning sight...such beautiful markings.

He didn't seem to mind that I was so close as he pecked the branch's surface over and over again.

I sat and watched him for about 10 minutes. How nice to sit and watch a beautiful bird of prey right in front of me..no killing my neck, no gymnastics to get a decent shot...just what I needed to spark that ole digital hunting desire... ;-)

Good bye October....

The sun peeked out in the middle of the afternoon...calling to all of us to enjoy its warmth. I headed to the park and as I was parking the car I noticed this bald cypress tree just bursting with color! In the Spring and Summer these trees always look like evergreens to me but they are actually deciduous and after exhibiting these gorgeous colors, they, too, will eventually drop their leaves.


We are not seeing the usual autumn colors we normally see but there isn't a shortage of food. The trees and bushes are laden with fruit.

The milkweed are gracefully allowing the winds to carry its spider-like seeds into the air...

..while these orange and black beetles (milkweed bugs) feed on the juices of the seeds of the plants..

From bugs to bucks grazing in this field. I don't usually see male deer grazing together..and so I WAS very surprised when they picked up their heads to look my way!! Aren't they just striking to look at? Such handsome faces!!

I decided to sit a while on one of the many stone benches in the park. Many of the benches were made to exhibit tiles made at the Mercer Tiles Works, in Doylestown, Pa. Henry Chapman Mercer was a famous historian, archaeologist, collector and ceramist--a Renaissance man of the early 20th Century. Born and raised in Bucks County, his famous castle, tile works and museum are just a few miles away from where I live.

The late afternoon sun was showing all the colors of a fading October...and as I got up to leave I noticed that I had been in the company of one of my favorite birds. I guess he was also enjoying the last of the afternoon rays. As I drove home the sun lost its battle with the clouds. Rain again is in the forecast..tomorrow bringing a change in our clocks..but for now I guess, it's time to gather in front of the TV and hope our Phils win tonight!

Finding those posed birds!!

I was out looking for something different, something I haven't seen before, something that was easy to take a picture of... A little Ruby-crowned Kinglet landed not far from where I was walking. I know for a fact that fast and furious is a good way to describe these little birds when they are hungry. zoom zoom zoom....


...and I've learned that you always collect a huge file of bird butt shots...even if you don't try to!

I saw Eastern Phoebes, who unlike the RC Kinglets, strike a nice perched pose ONCE in a while..

and this Osprey who is a local resident at our nearest lake...seeing him WAY up there perched on his throne..is always a real treat!!




but it was this couple who caught my eye, as I made my way home. I've been looking for a small little fountain that would compliment my rather small backyard during the warmer months. I knew the moment I saw it that this was what I was looking for..the forever permanently-posed bird!! Picture ready...
Now, how far away is Spring, I'm ready!! ;-)

We are all watching...

Yes, they have returned. Our woods are full of White-Throated Sparrows!!I was happy to see them all fluttering among the bushes and scrubs foraging for food.


but I when I saw this deer peeking out over that fallen tree...

and this beautiful cardinal looking out over a small pond....sigh.. I knew they, like me, are looking for the return of those Dark-Eyed Juncos...that one bird who really says, "you know what is coming!" ;-0

Hey, is anybody out there?

...a lone visitor, outside my window. He sits and he calls...over and over and over...definitely not much happening for him or me when it comes to backyard bird visits!