Thanks, all. Glad you liked them.

Looking forward to this years' new batch of frizzy-haired chicks!

Marshall

Here is the one carrying a nesting stick:

GRHE_WithStick_13May2022A by Marshall Smith, on Flickr

How they can fly through branches carrying another branch in their beak without breaking their necks is simply amazing!

Years ago we had a wonderful big Black Lab, who loved to fetch. One time he tried to return a four-foot stick through a three-foot gate and it didn't go well. I only threw him balls and frisbees after that.

Marshall

Lots of Green Heron activity at the local park pond today.

Didn't see any actual nests, but that doesn't mean that they are not there, hidden from those damn photographers! Did see one carrying around a stick, so a nest is in the future, somewhere.

This one flew at me from across the pond, and I grabbed this shot just as he was flying into dense willows on the bank.


GRHE_13May2022 by Marshall Smith, on Flickr


Marshall

The woodpecker drama continues with no resolution evident yet.

I'll have a more complete update in a new topic soon, but until then, this shot is from early this morning.

Driving out the family of flying squirrels has so far been unsuccessful. But looks like the woodpecker pair are still making the best of a bad situation...

RBWP_MatingPair_02May2022 by Marshall Smith, on Flickr

Marshall

The green herons have arrived back at my local park pond. This one took a moment to spruce himself up before carrying on.

They may not have paired up yet...I saw three chasing each other around the pond and didn't see any indication of nest building.

GRHE_SpringPreening_29Apr2022A by Marshall Smith, on Flickr

Marshall

F

Thanks, AviRoad! Glad you liked them.

If I have enough decent photos to choose from, and there is a story there, then I try to put them into some kind of photo narrative.

Sat out there for a couple of hours yesterday and nothing of note happened. More to come later, I hope.

Marshall

That makes two of us!

Marshall

I didn't even know what I was seeing, didn't realize we have flying squirrels here in KY!

Glad you liked the story, more to come this summer, I hope.

Marshall

Earlier this spring I watched a male Red-bellied Woodpecker dig a hole in a dead ash tree in our front yard. It progressed into a full nest hole, the female showed up to help, inspected the work, and all seemed well.

Since all the hard work had been done, a pair of starlings then came and decided that location would be good for them. I thought they had settled in.

Lo and behold, a small flying squirrel wanted it too, and forced them out.

Now to the present, the woodpeckers are back and are trying to reclaim their nest.


Here is the pair of Red-bellied Woodpeckers:

Birds14Apr2022_207print by Marshall Smith, on Flickr


At various times they each take a turn flying to the hole and looking in:

Birds14Apr2022_240print by Marshall Smith, on Flickr

Birds14Apr2022_231print by Marshall Smith, on Flickr

Birds14Apr2022_232print by Marshall Smith, on Flickr

Eventually this provokes an angry reaction from the squirrel. So far it has always been in there when the woodpeckers show up.

Birds14Apr2022_242print by Marshall Smith, on Flickr

Here is another try:

Birds14Apr2022_364print by Marshall Smith, on Flickr

Birds14Apr2022_277print by Marshall Smith, on Flickr

Birds14Apr2022_365print by Marshall Smith, on Flickr


In the midst of all this flurry the male took an opportunity to investigate another existing hole lower down on a broken branch of the same tree. He went all the way in, turned around, and stuck his head back out. This may be their backup plan if the squirrel eviction is not successful.

It will be interesting to see how it all goes this summer!

Birds14Apr2022_322print by Marshall Smith, on Flickr


Marshall

Looks like they all flew in on a redeye.

Good shot! We don't have near that many at a time around here.

Marshall

What with the pandemic and us living miles from a town, we do a lot of online shopping.

So, for us, Amazon Prime has paid for itself with free shipping and one or two day service. (How do they do that?!!!)

Anyway, YMMV. BTW, I find your posts and discussions of your projects very interesting. Keep them coming!

Marshall

Amen to that!

Won't have to watch endless replays of "The Shot" any more...until next year.

Marshall

I believe you are entirely correct about wildlife becoming accustomed to traffic. We have a local park pond here in Georgetown, KY that is encircled by a walking track. For many years the pond was frequented by a Great Blue Heron that had been fed fish by the local fishermen. It was so bold that it would pull their stringers out of the water if they walked away from them to another spot on the bank.

Another heron has taken over for the past couple of years, and is much more wary of humans...at least so far.

Marshall