Catharine
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I recently saw a Barred Owl, which has been discussed in the course a bit, in my backyard. It was trying to catch a squirrel, around mid-day, and it sat on my back fence for quite a few minutes, enough to get some not-very-good photos of it, one of which I've inserted below. The experience convinced me to invest in a new camera with a zoom lens so that I could get better photos of birds. Unfortunately, I have not yet seen that owl again, but it was very exciting to see it for those few minutes. I had heard its call several times in the last year, but that was first time I had seen it.
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I do not often have crows come to my yard, but last year, in the late summer, a group of 3 showed up, I believe it must have been a mother, father and child, as they hung around our compost heap and were feeding the (very large) younger bird from it. It was very interesting to me, as I had never witnessed crow family behavior like this. Most of the time when I see crows, they are either flying in a large flock overhead, or I will see a few at a time, hanging out in the trees in the neighborhood, often on trash pickup day, seemingly talking to each other, and perhaps foraging for food.
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For years there was a roost with hundreds of crows at a local shopping mall (North Bethesda/Rockville, a suburb of DC), which has trees and lots of light at night, which is why I assume they chose the location. I am not sure if they are still roosting there, as the shopping mall has been mostly demolished. I have recently (in September/October) seen many crows flying overhead in the early evening, but I'm not sure where they are ending up. Perhaps one of these evenings I will try to follow them.
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I was very surprised also to learn that chipmunks eat baby birds! I had not realized until recently that squirrels did so, but in the spring, I witnessed a squirrel stealing a baby Mockingbird -- with one of the parents in hot pursuit -- which was a rude awakening. To think that these cute little chipmunks are also baby bird predators is an eye-opener.
Viewing 4 posts - 1 through 4 (of 4 total)