I have seen nuthatches here before. I have become fascinated by the smaller Brown-headed Nuthatch, Sitta pusilla.
Since most of my birding days have been in northern or western climates this is a relatively new bird for me.

This little nuthatch is more the size of a chickadee than the white-breasted nuthatch that I am more familiar with.  It favors pine forests in the Southeast US.  There are about 5 tall pine trees in my neighbor’s yard and one snag that once was a water oak. I believe it is nesting in one of the cavities in the snag. 

According to the information at All About Birds, the Cornell University site, 

The Brown-headed Nuthatch may sleep in a tree cavity or in the open on pine branches. The female or the breeding pair roosts in the nest cavity before the eggs are laid and throughout the nestling period.

They also may share their nest space with other brown-headed nuthatches, though no one knows yet if they are last year’s young or how they are connected.  

I found it fascinating to learn that they sometimes will use a small piece of bark to life another section of barck in search of food. I have observed other nuthatches stuffing sunflower seeds into cracks of tree bark as a food cache so this makes sense to me too.  I also like the fact that they are so close I do not even need to use binoculars for a terrific view.

The American Woodcock (Scolopax minor) is the SkyDancer.

The American Woodcock delights birders every spring with his night-time aerial acrobatics. When you look at this bird, it is hard to imagine agility or acrobatic in the same sentence. But Let me tell you these skydances are incredible. I look forward to the first ones every season.  I try to introduce someone new to the adventure.

The short story about this annual skydance is about the American Woodcock each evening in the spring. About 22 minutes after sunset in a scrubby field, probably not far from you, there is a ritual dance performed by the male. It is a performance you are not likely to forget.  I first read about it in Aldo Leopold’s book A Sand County Almanac.  And it is a rare season when I have missed it since then.

The males pivot around in a circle making their “peenting” or buzzing sound in all directions. You see, they want all the females to know they are there! Or at least that is what WE are thinking anyhow. Who knows what a woodcock thinks besides the woodcocks?  Then the short stubby bird that looks like dead leaves on the forest floor, who has a bill that is almost as long as his body (with a flexible tip for probing in the soil for earthworms), launches skyward! And UP he goes swiftly with some twittering from his wings, he will go as high as 300 feet or more, so bring your night vision binoculars! A few seconds at the top of his climb and the fluffy bird DIVES back to the same spot on the ground to begin the process all over again.  It is astounding in so many ways. He will continue to do this through the evening and then pick up the routine again when the light is about the same level, just before dawn the next morning.  On a full moon night these energetic little game birds have been known to do the “skydance” all through the night.

I admire these little birds. I never see them at other times. But this annual event is worth the wait for me. I know they are around and I know they are game birds and hunters will indeed seek them out. But they seem awfully small to me, hardly worth the effort. Perhaps that is because I am not a hunter.

I invite you to get to know more about the American Woodcock whose range extends from Canada to Mexico in North America in woodland areas and fallow fields that are just a little moist. Hint – you might want to bring something to sit on rather than the damp ground.  Also if you only move when the birds are airborne, you will be surprised how close you can get to these birds without interrupting their display. If you are in northwestern Pennsylvania an extraordinary multiple skydance is waiting for you on a spring evening at Jennings State Park just south of Slippery Rock.

Audubon was an American naturalist, wilderness explorer and artist. His business skills never fully developed, much to the dismay of his father and his family. However he managed to eke out a living with sales of his drawings and paintings. During one part of his life he earned a substantial income doing oil portraits of influential people. His wife, Lucy Bakewell was trained as a teacher and she served as the primary reliable breadwinner for their small family as they moved from Pennsylvania to Kentucky and Louisiana and while he went exploring and traveling.

John James Audubon was born in what we know today as Haiti. He became an American citizen after his childhood and youth in France. His father was a French merchant and his mother was Jeanne Rabin, the mistress of his father while he was in Haiti. His life story is packed with surprises and real life adventures. I invite you to dive into a bit of American history and put this artist’s life into perspective with the times in which he lived. Born in 1785 and died in 1851, he lived during exciting and precarious times.

You might enjoy reading this short and engaging biography available at Amazon.

The Boy Who Drew Birds: A Story of John James Audubon (Outstanding Science Trade Books for Students K-12 (Awards))

Just click on the title or description  above and you can make a contribution to this site!

Another way to support this site is to visit the new Amazon store I put together:

In Honor of John James Audubon. Thank you.

This season the chickens are running free range and covering a much wider territory closer to the fields where we grow produce. But not in them. On this day they were very active close to the barn and house.

I looked up. There was my reward. Soaring above was a solitary bald eagle just a little north of our field. As it soared on the thermal current spiraling upwards I observed its white head with each return until the Bald Eagle soared above the clouds and out of sight. I had no binoculars on me and my spotting scope was in the trunk of my car. So the entire magical moment was a naked eye sighting. My favorite kind. Perhaps my most common viewing of wildlife is without assistance. It is often just noticing something different and focusing my attention on it. This is what birding and birdwatching is about for me. Taking moments from each day and appreciating the aerial escapades of whatever birds I happen upon.

Of course when I have my binoculars (Bushnell compact) or my spotting scope (also Bushnell) I can spend a little more time exploring the details of the scene and the bird. Those are the times when I wish I had a Swarovski spotting scope and Leupold Katmai Compact binoculars with me. That day shall come my way but it must wait until some household essentials are purchased first. In the meantime I share the joy of birding with you today, another magnificent sunny (that is unusual) spring day in April.

I even missed participating in the Christmas Count this year. But Winter continues and bird watching opportunities have not gone away completely! I hope they never do!

One way many birders appreciate this season is by participating in the annual and International Project FeederWatch. It is a great way for the everyday citizen to be directly involved with real science research.  Partnering with Cornell University Ornithology Labs and Bird Studies- Canada, you can be a part of this year’s data collection until early April. I enjoy watching the birds that frequent our backyard feeder too when I cannot get out into the field, forest or swamp.

In 1863 President Abraham Lincoln established a national holiday for Americans to take time to express their gratitude for the many freedoms and gifts and blessings that we have.

That has become our Thanksgiving holiday. Pilgrims in 1620 celebrated a harvest feast even after a year of exceedingly difficult colonization and settling. Turkeys and other game birds were believed to be part of the feast, along with fish and venison and a wide variety of vegetables from the harvest- which actually was quite paltry due to a drought.

Nonetheless. This weekend we celebrate Thanksgiving. I with you and your families all the best and I am thankful for your friendship and support through this year of many challenges.

Birds seems to fly by challenges. Yet that is an illusion. They are predator and prey. And their hardships are more than most of us could imagine in our everyday lives.  So be thankful for what is.

Today came close to being absolutely heavenly! Magnificent weather. Muted yet soft leaf color giving the hills an amber-rust overall appearance.  Just enough gentle gusts of wind to send waves of colorful leaves across my path.

At the Azalea Cascades path in Desoto State Park the brittle brigades paraded across the boardwalk before me. I caught  a white oak leaf in flight, then a chestnut oak leaf and later a red maple leaf and picked up a sweet gum leaf with its vibrant red sheen.

You might think I had forgotten to absorb the cascades and birds along the way. But no. Because of all the recent rains the water level was high at all of the waterfalls.

I was blessed with some up close and personal visits from several of my favorite confusing fall warblers! I heard and then saw hairy woodpeckers, a yellow-shafted flicker and a yellow-bellied sapsucker all right along the trail as I simply stood still. I think the warblers came close to investigate me.

It was the first time I hiked in this area, I wore my hearing aids and it was refreshing and rewarding. My ability to locate the bird sounds was skewed by the location of my microphones. However, without the aids I heard neither the birds nor the waterfalls.

The crisp clear blue sky coupled with the intensely varied forest reminded me how much the mixed mesophytic forest of the Appalachian Mountains speaks the language of home to me.

Just as I realized that, I turned toward  a nearby chirp sound and saw a Yellow-throated Vireo (Vireo flavifrons) too close to use my compact Bushnell binoculars! I could almost touch it. It perched on the branch of a blooming witch hazel shrub.

Of course! Insects were coming in to feed or drink at these tiny spidery yellow flowers and this saavy little bird was just perched and waiting for them. I froze in place for several minutes and established eye contact with the warbler once or twice before it flittered away to a different feeding area.  I felt privileged to be there at its buffet table.  This little charmer is often mistaken for a warbler and the “hanging around” behavior is typical for this species.

At about 6 months of age this Condor Chick has reached almost the same size as the adult condors but with a lot less muscle and power.  It still lingers near the nest and must be cared for by the adoptive adult parents.  These giant birds normally have long lives so it is quite reasonable to see a long 6 month stretch before the single hatchling takes its first flight.

All of the activities of these Condors have been observed by wildlife biologists and this sighting was rather exciting.  More on this story see this article. You will find several posts related to Condors at this site, listed below.

As some of you know I am an avid Condor enthusiast and feel their plight quite personally. As a consequence, I celebrate moments like this with great delight. You may enjoy the tiny Condor-Mania Outlet I prepared to accompany this update.

And it seemed for a while that THIS young Falcon was still able to fly.  Much to everyone’s concern! The Nation Watched and Followed the Balloon Boy named Falcon.

Today it seems this Falcon never left the ground. Instead of fledging he hid in the attic.

I trust Falcons with feathers more.

Observed with my compact Bushnell binoculars.

AWESOME. Yellowstone National Park Lifetime Moment!

Who even knew that Bull Elks and Grizzly Bears could swim so well?

Let me tell you. The Bull Elk outswam that hungry Grizz and ended up grazing on the far side of the lake. Observed in a stunning moment at Riddle Lake late one September afternoon.

Imagine just sitting there eating your lunch on a log and watching this REAL LIFE adventure play out before you.

THAT is what WILDNESS is about.
THAT is why we carry our binoculars with us wherever we go.
THAT is why National Parks were created “for all to enjoy”.

Who knew that a grizzly bear would attempt to take down a bull elk for a meal?

But then, Who Else COULD? Maybe a pack of Wolves.

And to be there with my trusty compact Bushnell binoculars could be the only improvement. You see the last time I visited, we swapped binoculars for a day. And mine stayed behind for this adventure. Of course I still have binoculars, I simply was not with my Bushnells while they had this adventure! I simply listened as it was told.

Binoculars & Scopes