Early morning the fierce rising sun cast a pink radiance over the snow-mounded pines. Later the cooler, white sun renewed its fire in the orange plumage of a male house finch. A serene male junco waits his turn at the seed tray. A beautiful morning.
Last week a large flock of starlings visited my yard but their numbers were meager compared to the thousands caught by video over the River Shannon (Ireland) in a wondrous display of coordinated motion. Follow the link below to see this incredible video and be sure to read the article.
Here are some images of a Black-capped Chickadee, a Northern Cardinal, and a White-throated Sparrow taken on January 3 through my kitchen window. That day here in Gettysburg was brisk with a brief snow shower.
Whenever I see a Red-tailed Hawk, I'm reminded of my developing trilogy Of the Wing. You see, the stories of my trilogy (am now writing book 3) were inspired by red-tails, hawks that I often saw soaring over the pastures and woodlands of my property in Clearfield County, Pennsylvania.
At that time I took daily walks through the woods with my dogs (among them, Sammy, a large and shaggy sheepdog who features largely in book 1, The Legend Awakes). So frequently did I see these hawks, red tails ablaze in the sun, that eventually I took a message from the sightings--that I should write a book about a girl and a Red-tailed Hawk.
Now, years later and living in Gettysburg, I still see meaning in sightings of red-tails. To me, they carry a message of encouragement to keep on writing. Just yesterday I saw two: one flew onto a tree branch where another waited, apparently a mated pair. I conceived of a comparable scene between hawks in the opening chapter of book 2, The Ivory-billed Obsession. How coincidental that I should live a scene once created in my fiction. And if you wonder why two red-tails open a book about a fabled woodpecker ... well, you'll have to read it to find out.
I posted this YouTube video because it contains lots of interesting information about the raptor that rules supreme throughout the books of my trilogy: The Red-tailed Hawk.
Just posted on the White-throated Sparrow not too long ago and here I go again. Can't help it--so many of them around and this time I caught an almost "good" photo. Too bad I clipped his bill in the shot.
I also wanted to share a great birding web site (Audubon, Seattle) . . .
- - - which provides a perfect image of his crisp white throat and white striped head. But as the description points out, there are two color morphs for this sparrow--a white and tan morph. Thus you're as likely to see one as the other. Looks like a caught the image of a white morph, though I've seen the tan morph in my yard.
I also like Audubon's range map. It's more visible than Cornell's (All About Birds), though neither provide a blow-up large enough for my eyes, except for the state map of Washington. Must check to see if Audubon has a comparable site for Pennsylvania.
Down the road (a busy one) from where I live are huge pastures and farm fields. In fact they're everywhere around here but not on my small patch of property or even adjacent to it. Thus each day I put a leash on my black lab Bridget and we head out to one for some free roaming and running time.
Our favorite pasture (look for an upcoming post about it on my other blog, 26 Years to Live) has a pond, formed to collect run-off from the fields. The shallow pond and surrounding mud flats attract local killdeer (pictured here), and spanning telephone lines collect all manner of bird, of late most notably--American Kestrels. (Sorry; no photo this time but maybe next.)
Seems like each time we visit, I see a kestrel perched on the telephone line. But not for long as our approach always prompts a departure. Recently however I did get to see one hovering above the pasture before diving straight into the high green grass. Whether this colorful bird of prey caught something, I couldn't see (too far off).
About a week ago I was especially surprised to find not one kestrel but six, all perched side by side along the telephone wire. At the time I thought this odd because I didn't know what another birder later explained to me: "In the winter it's not unusual to see numerous kestrels in the same area if the area is prime hunting grounds. They're more communal on the wintering grounds as opposed to breeding territory."
So another lesson learned (and thanks for the tip, Deuane!)
Check out the first two books in my developing trilogy Of the Wing (www.ofthewing.com), the adventures of a young birder and her friends. Ideal for any age.
