I spent the morning at the Cromwell Meadows WMA today. It was one of those mornings when the birds seemed to be so bright and colorful.
I like the way the wings are positioned on this Red-tailed Hawk as it patrols the skies above the meadows.
I took this photo at Hammonasset a few weeks ago. Who do you think the carving is supposed to represent? Father time? Poseidon? I'm not sure but whoever did it has some talent. I wonder how long it took?
Time is something that I haven't had lately. In spirit I'm living the simple life in some cabin out in the wilderness but in reality I'm living in Connecticut, which is an expensive state to live in. We've managed to survive the bad economy by tightening the family budget. There are things that need be replaced, bills that need to be paid and a few extras that I'd like to purchase. I started working a second job at nights this week. There is seems a connection between time and money. Usually, if you want more of one you have to give up some of the other. I'm trying to find that balance now between time, money, and my love of nature. I'll have less time for nature but hopefully I will make the most of what I do have. I plan to continue blogging but there may be times when I need to take a break (waxwings photo from last winter).-
I had an exciting moment while birding at a place called Northwest Park in Windsor on Saturday. I heard a bird making a chattering sound in the woods. It reminded me of the sounded like a wrens but I could tell it was from a larger bird. It turned out to be a juvenile Red-headed Woodpecker which was a great find for me. They are an endangered species in Connecticut and a fairly rare bird. It was exciting to come across a bird like that on my own for a change. The photos and video I took didn't come out well so I didn't bother posting them. The bird stayed right in the sun the whole time.
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Here is a video that I took of a Northern Flicker making its wicka wicka sounds while searching for a snack.
11 comments:
I've never had a Red-headed here Larry... lucky you!
I hope that the economy will turn around soon, and you can go back to working one job and have more time to do what you love.
The economy is VERY stressful and the energy that it takes to stay ahead of financial disaster eats up free time to do the things one loves to do. I'm so pleased that you manage to find some time to still get out. Things of wonder can be found just beyond the doorstep and sometimes that is all I can squeeze in myself!
Wish that woodpecker would drop by here for a visit but I imagine that a 3000 mile journey is not what it has in mind...
Happy Thanksgiving to you.
Hi Larry,
Cool post... and wow, I did not know that the crisis was also strong in other countries than Iceland (well a bit)...
here too we are facing massive increases in taxes, prices and so on, which makes us more fragile than ever... Life sucks man, it is one of the first year where we have to tie our budget, and this also goes through reduction of my birding trip (Yes gazoline is expensive)... Anyway, I guess we should all try our best to survive....
Good luck, and thanks for the shots of the waxing, I love it!
...congrats on finding the Red-headed Woodpecker. I've seen two this year, and they were both in South Carolina this summer. I've never seen one in Cincy. I'm always on the prowl though. I hope I'm lucky one of these days. Liked the video...you really captured that wicka, wicka, wicka sound they make!
p.s. I do here the wicka, wicka of our local Northern Flickers, but not as many as I used to. Are your populations down? ...maybe it's just a regional thing here. I used to have them in my yard, but they are gone now.
Jayne-I hope so too. I'll probably appreciate the time I do have more now since I'll have less of it.It was a nice bit of luck to run into a RHWP.
WR-Happy Thanksgiving to you also. You know what they say-when the going gets tough-we'll just have to fight through it.
Chris-At least we're alive to talk about it.-I liked that shot of the wazwings too which is why I put it in for no other particular reason.
Kelly-Flickers are locally plentiful in my area but less so in other parts of the state.They are doing well overall.They like it best near the swampy CT River areas and stay through the winter there.I saw one other RHWP but it was so much more exciting to come across one on my own.
Hi Larry, hope the moonlighting is not necessary for long. I saw my first RHWP this year including a family with 3 juveniles. I never would have been able to ID the bird if the adults hadn't been there.
Ruth-I see you comment is back.I thought that I deleted it by accident while trying to remove spam.Wow-what a treat to see the whole family. We are hoping that the one I saw tries to nest.The jueveniles aren't that obvious with their markings if you haven't seen them before. I hope that the moonlighting is temporary too.
Great shot of the hawk. Congrats on the juvenile red head. We're always delighted to see them, too.
Larry, you are so right about time and money! Gus and I fight that same battle all the time! I hope you find the balance you are looking for! I'm with you in wanting to be outside all the time and I too fantasize about a cabin in the woods (or the mountains). Gus would choose a bungalow on the beach however.
In my experiences, having a second job gets especially difficult after about 6 weeks. Not only are you working additional hours, but the second job is usually not a very good job.
Hang in there.
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