Covered Bridge, Harpersfield, Ohio

We hadn’t been out to Harpersfield (in Ashtabula County) for a few years so we decided to take the drive to see the covered bridge which spans the Grand River. There were several people fishing off the bridge walkway, and several Great Blue Herons and Great Egrets were also trying to catch fish as well. After visiting the bridge, we walked downstream and found a nice spot to fish. Nearby there was a group of 7 belted kingfishers, which were also vying for those same fish.  It was a great morning to take in the natural beauty of the area! Here are a few photos.

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A Turkey Vulture Visits for a Snack

Someone driving down our street yesterday hit a raccoon and it didn’t take long for a huge turkey vulture to drop in for a snack. The bird pulled the raccoon off the street and into our yard so it could eat in peace, away from traffic. They are somewhat homely looking birds and they are quite large. Here are a few photos; I suspect that raccoon will be history soon.

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Red-Shouldered Hawks Are Back In Action

We’ve had red-shouldered hawks visit our yard, nesting close by,  for decades. Last year, we watched as a pair raised a brood of two. This year, a pair - maybe the same one from last year -  has been spending quite a bit of time in our yard over the last few days. I was able to get several photos today, and was fortunate that the pair perched in my back yard so close together that I could get them in one frame. Here are a few photos from today’s action; hopefully they’ll have another brood this year.

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Red-Shouldered Hawk Family On the Hunt

This terrified fox squirrel was almost hawk food

This spring, a pair of red-shouldered hawks built a nest in a tree two houses away from us. At least one of the adults was hunting regularly in our front yard, appearing every morning around 7:00 AM. It would perch alternating between an electric pole, our mailbox, and the top of some of our shrubs. It seemed to find plenty of things to eat and we assumed that, with the increasing appearance of an adult, the pair had at least one hatchling to feed. We were surprised when two juvenile red-shouldered hawks began appearing in our skies, practicing their flying and calling out, along with the adults.

The two juveniles are now hunting and feeding regularly in our back yard, scanning for food while on a fence or in the trees. Nothing is safe! One hawk recently swooped at a baby fox squirrel (it missed) but we’ve seen it catch and/or eat birds, a frog, and small rodents like a field mouse or mole. One hawk sat on the edge of our gutter, eyeing up a another fox squirrel in our oak tree,  at the same time hanging its wing down over the gutter, sunning itself. When I went outside to get a photo, the bird took off, but the squirrel sat frozen in the tree for some time, allowing me to get very close to take its picture.

Yesterday afternoon, both juveniles were hunting in our back yard and I was able to sneak out of the house undetected for a photo.  Shortly afterwards, one of the adults came into the yard so at one point there were three red-shouldered hawks within a few feet of each other.

The juveniles are back again this morning and seem to be having great luck in catching food. I suspect that soon there will be far fewer moles, frogs, and song birds in our yard!

An adult hunts in our front yard on top of an electric pole

This adult takes off with a bird in its clutches

A pair of juveniles scan our back yard, looking for a snack

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A Great Egret at Grand River Landing

Today we visited the Grand River Landing Park in Fairport Harbor, Ohio, part of the Lake Metroparks. The temps were in the upper 60s and going higher so it was perfect for a walk near the river. As we drove into the park, I saw a large white bird standing near the water in a small area away from the river itself. It was a Great Egret.  We quickly parked the car and hoped the bird would stay put until we could get nearer for a better view.  As we walked closer,  it flew up into a nearby tree and posed for several minutes and then flew off to the other side of the river.  Even though we were still far away, we were likely still too close for comfort for that huge bird!   Here are a few photos from the park, including one of that lovely bird.

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The Grosbeaks Are Back

Like clockwork, the rose-breasted grosbeaks return. They always appear in early May at our back yard feeder by an oak tree when the oak leaves are just emerging. Here’s a photo of a female rose-breasted grosbeak who spent a good part of the morning at the feeder.

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Red-Shouldered Hawk In Flight

My husband spotted a pair of red-shouldered hawks sitting in a tree in the front yard. As I tried to get a photo, one of them flew over to a neighboring stand of trees. Here are photos of this beautiful bird as it flies by = slightly blurry from its motion.

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At The Icy Eastlake Pier

We visited the Eastlake Ohio seawall and fishing pier this morning. The temperature was 11 degrees and it was cloudy and breezy. The walk to the pier was treacherous because of ice. However, the Lake Erie water near the pier is unfrozen due to the warm water discharge from the Eastlake power plant. It’s normally a good place to see birds when it’s cold; unfortunately, it was even too cold for the birds. We saw few ducks and a handful of gulls, all which were out of the range of my long lens. We did see a lesser black-backed gull among a few herring gulls. Otherwise, it was an uneventful visit. There was some steam coming off the water but it only made the scene look even more frosty. Here’s a photo. (Click on image for a larger view.)

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A Pileated Woodpecker Visits

This afternoon, a female Pileated Woodpecker was pounding away on some of the pine trees in our yard. I was fortunate enough to grab a quick photo before this lovely, large bird flew into more dense cover.

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An Osprey Soars at Mentor Headlands State Park

While walking the dunes area today at Mentor Headlands State Park (Ohio), we spotted as Osprey flying overhead. Here’s a photo of the bird as it flew over the water near the lighthouse.

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Baltimore Orioles, Yellow Warblers, and Red Winged Blackbirds Abundant in Mentor, Ohio

We made the rounds of the best birding places in Mentor Ohio on Sunday. The weather was sunny and slightly cool, but the birds were very active. At Mentor Headlands State Park on the dunes trail, we saw many Yellow Warblers and one Black-Throated Green Warbler. All of the warblers were very active, stopping only for seconds, barely enough time to get the camera to focus. I managed to get one photo of the Yellow Warbler as it sang. At the Mentor Marsh Wake Robin Trail, the Red-Winged Blackbirds were more than happy to pose. And at Veterans Park, one gorgeous Baltimore Oriole stopped to preen while others flew by. Here are a few photos.

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Least Sandpipers Rest; Red-Winged Blackbirds Flood Wake Robin Trail

I’m finally getting caught up on photos that I took earlier in the month. I visited Wake Robin Trail in Mentor Ohio a few weeks ago, and arrived on a day that was filled with red-winged blackbirds. They were everywhere, sitting on the dry cattails that lined the trail. Most of the Mentor Marsh is filled with invasive phragmites - tall grasses that love brackish water. The area lining the trail has been cleared and replanted with things like cattails, grasses, and wildflowers that were native to the area before the phragmites took over. This has encouraged more unusual birds to stop by during migration. (It's a long story about how the water turned brackish, which made perfect conditions for the phragmites to thrive.) The trail is an excellent area for birding, especially during migration. I think I arrived on the day that all the red-winged blackbirds came home. But amidst all of those red wings, I did catch a pair of least sandpipers hanging out in some shallow water. Here are a few photos.  (Click on any image for a larger view.)

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A Robin With A Mouthful

Over the years, we’ve had several robins who have nested very close to the house, in some cases where we can see the eggs hatch right outside a window. This year, we had a robin who seemed to be very protective of the area near our garage, but we never could see a nest. I did manage to catch the robin perched on the peak of the garage roof, with a mouthful of bugs/worms in its mouth, apparently waiting patiently until I cleared the area to get to the nest. Here are two photos. (Click on any image for a larger view.)

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A Pair of Red Shouldered Hawks Wait For A Meal

The sun finally came out after several days of gray skies, bitter cold, wind, and plenty of lake-effect snow. Along with the sun came many birds, which have been somewhat absent from our back yard feeder for the last few days. There were so many birds at the feeder and in nearby trees that I got my camera and spent some time taking photographs.   When the squirrels in the yard began to bark and run for the trees, and the blue jays began to scream and scold, I knew that a predator was close by. It didn’t take long for me to find a pair of red shouldered hawks sitting in the nearby apple tree. They both seemed unfazed by me, and only when a few blue jays dive bombed them did one of the pair leave the area. The other remained in the apple tree for 2 more hours, likely hoping for a “snack” of some hapless bird at our bird feeder. (We’ve seen many birds get picked off by hawks while near our feeder, so we can only think that to the raptors, our feeder is a fast food restaurant.)

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An American Goldfinch Poses

The weather was gorgeous yesterday, but the birds seemed to know that the weather was going to turn bad. The yard was filled with various birds frantically eating anything they could get their beaks on. Most of the birds were moving too fast for my camera, but one American Goldfinch landed long enough for me to snap a few photos.

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A Male Downy Woodpecker Poses For The Camera

Over the last week, a very industrious male downy woodpecker has been hanging around our bird feeder and a lower branch of one of our oak trees. He was kind enough to pose for a few photos, and here they are!

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The Great Backyard Bird Count – Red Shouldered Hawks Visit

A pair of red shouldered hawks decided to make an appearance in my back yard as I was doing my observations for the annual Great Backyard Bird Count. Here’s a photo of one of the pair!

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Northern Cardinal Blurred by Snow

During a heavy snow over the holiday weekend, a male northern cardinal was taking shelter on a tree branch. I managed to get a picture before he flew away, but sadly the snow was so heavy at the time, the bird looked a little fuzzy in the photo. Still, with a little help from Photoshop, a blurry bird looks much better as a colored sketch-like image. The color of the bird was not altered in any way – he was certainly as bright red as he looks in the photo.

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