Varied Thrush

I spotted a new bird today at my feeders.  I had to do some researching and found out that the bird is a Varied Thrush.  I suspect that the one I saw was female since her colors are more brown and a dull orange rather than a more pronounced orange and black like the male.  A very cool bird I want to hear it vocalize, I hope she will come back with others and become a regular visitor to my spot.

It's been a long time...

It's been a long time since I posted something here not because of a shortage of sightings but because I've been very busy and having some personal issues that are taking up a lot of my energy.  This pic I had to post that I took a few days ago on Halloween Day.  The geese are now gone and probably will return in a few months but the ducks are still here and so are the squirrels.  In the last few days I've seen these small brown/grey birds with blackish heads that are common around our area each winter have arrived for the winter season. I'll find out their name and post a pic later.

August 6th 2011. Dragon Fly

Today I was only home briefly in the morning before I went off to do a double shift at work.  We had a corporate lunch of 250 people than after that we did a wedding party of 115.  During the short time I was home before I left for work I saw a few red streaks of something zipping by a couple times.  I went to investigate and found that it was Red Dragon Flies.  Very cool, I never seen red ones before.  Here is a pic I snapped by the waters edge at the lake!

August 5th 2011. Jays, Ducks, and Geese.

Blogger shows this video way too small.  I put it on my youtube. If you follow my youtube link it will be larger and better quality.   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JY2QxU9IkGA

I went to the park just a few blocks away to read and study and I decided to make a short video with my iphone.  Please excuse the shaky parts it is my first video.  Turn up your sound I edited it and put sound and music in the background.  The music I chose is light, playful, and airy so I thought it was appropriate.  In my backyard we get ducks also in addition to the geese.  Enjoy this video clip!

I was sitting out and my table and watched the Jays and the usual visitors at my patio.  This time the Scrub Jays and Stellar's Jays brought their fledglings (young).  I thought it was quite a coincidence that both species brought their young on the same day.  It was so cool to watch them all feed and teach their young how to eat peanuts and other seeds.  Most of the time the young just fluttered their wings with beaks open for their parents to feed them.  It was wonderful to watch.  I've included pics, the Scrub Jays are grey and azure blue while the Stellar's Jays are blue at the lower part of their body and black on top with blue streaks above the eyes.  They also have their signature triangle plumage on their heads.

August 4th 2011 - Raccoons, Opposums, and Squirells.

Very early this morning while still dark I saw a small Raccoon foraging around doing it's nightly routine, he or she came up to the patio for a drink of water and a few peanuts that fell from the bird feeder.  I also spotted an Opossum down by the lake and looking for bugs to eat in the lawn by the patio.  There are many misconceptions about Raccoons and Opossums.  People think they are pests and to often if not killed by cars people murder them because they don't know how to deal with them.  Most of the time they do nothing.  Instead of killing or trapping them take preventative measures by tethering your trash cans down and using a tight lid.  Their are also easy ways to keep them out of your garage or house by using deterrents.

The thing about killing is that it only frees up the territory for new animals in adjacent areas to move in where there is no competition.  The problem is never solved by murdering these guys, deterrents are the way to go.  Opossums are hugely misunderstood they are very interesting creatures and very clean despite that most people are taught that they are ridden with rabies and other diseases.  In all actuality they are the cleanest of all mammals even people.  They also don't tear things up and are a huge benefit because they are natures cleaners on account of their diet.  Lastly they are the only Marsupials (like kangaroos) in North America and the oldest survivors.  Fossils are found to be over 70 million years old.

Today I also saw some adorable squirrels playing and maybe doing possible courtship in the backyard.  It was so cute so I posted a video of that. Also I have included pics that I took and a few websites that give factual information about Raccoons http://www.wildliferescueleague.org/pdf/raccoon.pdf and Opossums.http://www.opossum.org/

August 3rd 2011 Anna's Hummingbird

Today I saw all my regular guests but one of my regular guests gave me a pleasant surprise.  It was an Anna's Hummingbird.  I do have a hummingbird feeder out on my patio and it needed cleaned and refilling so I took it down.  It is very important that you keep the feeder clean and change the sugar water every few days before it goes bad.  In the winter you can keep it out longer.  Always chill the sugar water before putting it out. You can kill or make hummingbirds very sick if you don't.  Also you can make them very sick and they can die if you use anything else other than plain white sugar.  Brown sugar or organic sugars are bad because it contains some molasses which is high in iron that their little bodies can't tolerate it.  You don't need to color your sugar water red or anything else it's not good for them and it does nothing for attracting them anyway.  Once I finished with all that and their sugar water cooled I carried it outside.  As I was walking the feeder over to put it up a hummingbird came right over and kind of scared me by coming inches from my face I guess to check me out than it fed while I still had the feeder hanging in my hand.  It was a very cool personal experience. I suppose they aren't so afraid of us because they move lightning fast and we must look slow motion to them.  Here is a link about Hummingbird Care if anyone is interested http://www.hummingbirds.net/feeders.html and also a picture of the Anna's Hummingbird which I told you about.

August 2nd 2011. Northern Flicker.

Today I had the day off work so I was at home all day cleaning and doing homework.  Since I was home all day I kept an eye out for what I could see from the animal kingdom.  I recorded what I saw.  Below is a list most of these I see everyday. 


1) Anna's Humming Bird
2) Stellar's Jay
3) Canada Geese
4) Scrub Jay
5) Black Capped Chickadee
6) Raccoon
7) Fox Squirrel
8) Spotted Towhee
9) Common Finches
10) Douglas Squirrel
11) Grey Squirrel
*12) Northern Flicker Woodpecker



I did see a bird that I never saw before so I looked it up and after some research I found out it was a juvenile Northern Flicker.  It really is very unique and beautiful woodpecker with interesting patterns.  Check out the pics I've included of the Northern Flicker.  The last pic I took of the juvenile Northern Flicker I spotted today.

August 1st 2011. Canada Geese: A Common Sight Even In My Backyard!

The picture in my blog header above is what inspired me to begin blogging about all the cool and beautiful wild animals I see everyday and everyday I see something new.  I took this picture last week while having my morning coffee before work.  I was coupon clipping from the newspaper when all of a sudden I heard the honking of geese and these geese landed between me and the lake.  It was great watching them.