Horseback-riding birds:
In the field by the bay some Brown-headed Cowbirds flit around the horses’ feet — foraging is better for birds associated with grazing animals. One dozing horse was awakened by a pair of cowbirds landing on her back — nonpaying passengers, heh. The mare twitched her back muscles and they flew off. For now.
I’d been watching horse birds for weeks as they followed the big creatures keeping out from under their hooves, assuming they were all blackbirds until a sharp-eyed commenter in a previous Bucket noticed the two-tone coloring of some of them. I’d never noticed some are Cowbirds, like these. Photos made the difference in accurate ID!
Bigger isn’t always the boss:
I stopped at Otto’s marsh last week for my spring CoCoRAHS citizen-science Field Photo Weekend observation. A Bald Eagle soared overhead, possibly checking out the pair of Pied-billed Grebes paddling there. The big wetland is starting to dry up now the rain has pretty much stopped but there are still plenty of reeds and tall grasses along the edge. Masses of blackbirds are nesting there and they are aggressive in protecting their territories. The eagle didn’t act too worried but it was a strange sight: a magnificent raptor being chased and attacked by a male RedWinged blackbird a fraction of its size.
Birds at dusk:
Last week I heard the distinctive chirping call of an osprey from inside my house as the sky darkened outside. I leapt up and went out onto the deck to see if it was in view. Considering that the time was a little after 9pm, I was surprised to get such a good view: there was the osprey — with an eagle chasing it! They circled several times fairly low over the trees and then headed off toward the beach. It was a Hail Mary, grabbing my camera as I rushed out the door, but amazingly it picked up the action, sort of, even in near dark.
Possible but…..
Here’s another example why I keep my camera handy most of the time. While I was out in the garden last week I heard a very very low croaking call overhead. Looking up, I saw 6 large long birds in formation flying NW to SE, not far above. They were silhouetted against a gray sky, and gone before I could memorize more than this impression. I didn’t have my camera on me, and my memory has gotten hazier, but at the time I knew they didn’t look or sound like any large bird we have around here (like Great Blue Herons). I wondered whether they might have been Sandhill Cranes, a bird that migrates through very occasionally, with local reports at most once a year. But without better evidence I can’t conclude that’s what passed overhead. If only!
Seeing anything unexpected in your natural neighborhood?