Backyard Birds: June (Part 1)

2020_06_16__Backyard birding_0030 — Apparently Baltimore orioles like to feast on grape jelly.

When summer rolls around, a familiar bird in our backyard is the Baltimore oriole pictured above. One glance at her beak as she zooms through the backyard is enough to tell you the oriole has recently enjoyed a taste of the grape jelly in the backyard buffet.

Hummingbirds, another common bird in Northeast Ohio during the summer months, are anatomically much better suited for sipping sugar water. Some sections of the country are visited by a much greater variety of hummers, but here, on the southern shore of Lake Erie, we only see the ruby-throat. On this male, you can see a faint hint of his ruby necklace.

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The Eastern bluebird is another summer resident, a favorite of mine, and a bird that we sometimes even see in colder months.. 2020_06_23__backyard birding_0001

Raising baby bluebirds can be a challenge for the parents. In the top left picture of the collage below, the little one is making a lot of noise, demanding his dried mealworms. They don’t look very appealing to me, but bluebirds love them, and this baby is hungry. Responding to his demands, Papa Bluebird picks up a mealworm from the ground and flies up to feed Junior. The last picture in the collage, shows Junior alone after his meal is over. It won’t be too long before they repeat the same routine. Mama Bluebird was nowhere to be seen when I took these pictures. Maybe Juniors demands wore her out, and she was taking a rest in the nesting box at our neighbor’s house when the little family lives when they are not flying around the neighborhood.

More bluebird pictures

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2020_06_27__untitled shoot_0019 — Papa checking out the nest.

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2020_06_26__untitled shoot_0002 — Baby Bluebird by himself.

2020_06_27__untitled shoot_0013 — Papa carrying food or nesting material back to the nest.

2020_06_27__untitled shoot_0004 — Young bluebird perched on top of the nesting box.

: Young male bluebird

Bluebirds enjoying the garden

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Pileated woodpecker

This large woodpecker is sometimes called the Woody Woodpecker bird because the familiar cartoon character is modeled after him. I can hear him coming because he loudly announces his arrival as he flies through the treetops and into our backyard. He is likely to arrive at any time of the day, and you would think that the cartoon Woody has jumped off the screen and come for a meal.

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Skip-38 — A pileated woodpecker staring hungrily at the bluebird’s mealworms. He may be hungry, but he’s a little large to help himself to the mealworms.

Thanks for stopping by today.

That’s it for this backyard bird post. Part two will be posted soon. If you like birds, come back to check it out!

Trailwalker (aka Skip)

July 8, 2020 9

Covid-19 Morning Entertainment

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At home, during the covid-19 lockdown here in northeast Ohio, I can’t gather with my (human) friends for a cup of coffee (or a mug of cocoa, my preferred beverage). So this morning I turned to my backyard friends for entertainment, and the pileated woodpeckers didn’t let me down. They flew in, and hung around for 10-15 minutes, solo and in pairs, giving me enough time to snap some pictures to share with you.

2020_03_26__untitled shoot_0004 — They’re very adept at climbing.

: Whoops, not always adept at holding on.

But when food is on the menu, they will persevere and find a tasty tidbit of suet.

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Appetites satisfied, they launch themselves off the feeder and fly back to the tall tree…

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And eventually move on to another neighborhood. If we’re lucky they will return this evening (or the next time they get hungry). If we’re very lucky, the bluebirds will come by. I haven’t seen them for ages, but, as they say, hope springs eternal. Meanwhile, I don’t know what you are doing for entertainment these days, but if you enjoy watching the birds come back for another visit to see what flies in.

Thanks for stopping by today.
~Trail Walker (aka Carolyn L.)

March 26, 2020 5

A magical moment

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One recent Sunday morning I glanced out my kitchen window and saw this very small fawn resting in the grass by our neighbor’s shed. Reaching for my camera, I captured a few pictures as the baby stood up and looked around.

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Its mama was nowhere to be seen, but I hoped she was nearby. After a few moments, the little one wandered, on wobbly legs, behind the shed and out of sight. Later, when I returned home from church, she was gone, and I haven’t seen her since. This is not the first time we’ve seen a deer in our neighborhood, but each time is a magical moment, and one to remember.

Trail Walker

June 17, 2019 10

New year’s resolution???

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My intention for 2019 is to create a blog post at least twice each week. As you can see from my record so far this year, I haven’t been very successful despite my good intentions. As I post this, on March 14th, we are much closer to April Fool’s Day than to New Year’s Eve. My (poor) record speaks for itself, and if I continue at this (slow) pace, I’m in danger of feeling a little foolish, or negligent at best.

However, to borrow another idiom that seems to fit my situation: Better late than never…because my intention is related to two specific goals: to get more exercise and the improve my photography. Both are still possible in 2019. After all, we’ve not yet a third of the way through the year. So with my goals in mind, I took my camera and hit the trail in Chagrin River Park several times this week, which is where I spotted the deer at the top of this post and captured her picture, as well as those below.

2019_03_13__Chagrin River Park_0016 — A walker left seeds for the birds on the park bench…

2019_03_13__Chagrin River Park_0015 — This deer knows there must be some left for her.

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2019_03_13__Chagrin River Park_0006 — Hopefully, this towhee got his share.

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2019_03_13__Chagrin River Park_0023 — And the squirrels never miss a chance for a tasty treat.

That’s my bounty for this trail walk. I only walked about a mile, but that’s a start. Wish me luck, or, better yet, put on your walking shoes and join me.

See you soon.
Trail Walker

March 14, 2019 5

A gift!

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What a gift it was to take a trail walk in the Holden Arboretum with my friend Lisa for the second week in a row. It is, without parallel, my favorite place to walk, and I have missed it this summer. As always, I took time to pause at Lotus Pond and capture a few shots of the golden willow tree (above).

From there we walked around Corning Lake where we were lucky to spot a cedar waxwing. I used to see the waxwings near the bridge in Chagrin River Park, but haven’t had a glimpse of them this summer, so I felt really blessed by this one that hung around, almost as if offering us a few photo opps. Isn’t he a beauty? A real gift!

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Watch this place for a few more Arboretum pictures as I get time to post them. Hope you have enjoyed these.

Trail Walker…Back on the trails again!

August 20, 2017 2

Summer in the Arboretum

Regular walks in the Arboretum, easily my favorite place for trail walking, have been missing from my schedule this summer. Bob has made a great recovery from his heart attack and quadruple bypass. He has continued regular walks in our neighborhood park, as well as the shorter evening walks we take with Gulliver around our street. Now he has begun attending cardiac rehab three times a week. But, until this week, I have had neither time nor energy for long walks. Can’t tell you how great it felt to walk, talk, and “bag lunch” on the patio at Holden overlooking the gardens with my friend Lisa. Here are a few pictures I snapped along the trail.

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Thanks for stopping by today so I could share a little beauty with you. I hope you enjoyed the pictures.

See you soon.
Trail Walker

August 12, 2017 7

A mini-meander in Holden Arboretum

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This was a beautiful day to wander the trails in the Arboretum. The sounds, smells, and colors of spring were intoxicating! Although I don’t have much time for blogging today, if you enjoy this mini-meander, please come back tomorrow when I’ll take you on a longer walk.

Hope to see you again tomorrow.
Trail Walker

May 27, 2017 5

I never would have seen…

2017_04_18_Places_Chagrin River Park0182 — Peek-a-boo! I see you, but you don’t see me!

I really wouldn’t have noticed the little red-bellied woodpecker peering out from its nesting hole, but another, sharper-eyed photographer had located the nesting hole high up in a tree in the middle of the bog. He pointed it out as we walked past the tree a few days ago. So I have Randy to thank for this set of pictures, and I am delighted to give him credit for his generosity in pointing it out so I could take these shots.

2017_04_18_Places_Chagrin River Park0194 — Peering back into the nesting hole

2017_04_18_Places_Chagrin River Park0191 — I zoomed in closer for a better look.

2017_04_18_Places_Chagrin River Park0195 — I’m not sure this is the same bird. Could it be a female?

I’m not absolutely certain if there is one bird or two, so today I returned for another look, but nobody was home. I guess I will just have to keep checking out the nest on future trail walks.

To be updated if there is more to share.
See you soon with more tales from the trail! ~Trail Walker

April 23, 2017 9

Three owls-awake today!

Yesterday I posted a picture of the Great Horned Owl and her two owlets. Typical of babies, the little owls napped right through their photo opp, but when I returned to check on them this afternoon, they were awake.

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Their nest is at the top of a broken off tree, and it doesn’t look very cozy to me, but it is perfectly camouflaged for the little family. As you can see, the babies are growing rapidly, and it’s a tight squeeze for Momma and the two owlets to sit side-by-side.

Here’s a closeup of the larger owlet. He really takes up more than his share of the space in the nest. Maybe Momma will be relieved when they have fledged. What do you think?

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I thought the owlets would be cute, and I was surprised at their features. They look almost human, in a weird sort of way, but I wouldn’t call them cute. What do you think?

Thanks for taking a walk down the trail today.
See you soon. ~Trail Walker

April 19, 2017 12

Big birds in the backyard

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To my delight the sky cleared this afternoon, and I was even more delighted when I heard a familiar sound in the neighborhood. I hurried to the window and, sure enough, the pileated woodpecker was in our backyard. It didn’t hang around for long, but before it swooped through the air to land on a tree farther away, I was able to grab my camera and get off a shot.

A visit from the big Woody Woodpecker look-alike is always a joy, and I thought to myself that I had my big bird photo opp for the day. But a little while later, Bob came home from his walk with Gulliver, rushed in the house, and announced, “Get your camera, and let’s go. The eagles are both at the nest.” So we took off for Bruce Yee Park, just a mile down the road from our backyard, where a pair of bald eagles have recently set up housekeeping. My longest lens really isn’t long enough to get great shots from much distance, but it was a delight to see this pair, Mama sitting on the nest and Papa standing guard in a nearby tree.

2017_04_07_Bruce Yee Park_eagles0046 — I couldn’t get a clear shot of Mama.

2017_04_07_Bruce Yee Park_eagles0112 — But Papa sat straight up and let me take multiple photo opps.

2017_04_07_Bruce Yee Park_eagles0049 — They seem to be taking parenthood very seriously.

Our recent weather hasn’t been conducive to photowalking, and I haven’t added many shots to my trailwalking gallery nor posts to my blog, but this afternoon’s two unplanned and unexpected photoshoots …both without leaving the neighborhood, made up for my recent photographic dry spell. I couldn’t have asked for a better day!

Thanks for stopping by to see my big birds.
Trail Walker

April 7, 2017 17

More bluebird pictures

Bluebirds enjoying the garden

Pileated woodpecker

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Thanks for stopping by today. ~Trail Walker (aka Carolyn L.)

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Trail Walker…Back on the trails again!

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Hope to see you again tomorrow. Trail Walker

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To be updated if there is more to share. See you soon with more tales from the trail! ~Trail Walker

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Thanks for taking a walk down the trail today. See you soon. ~Trail Walker

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Thanks for stopping by to see my big birds. Trail Walker

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Thanks for stopping by today.
~Trail Walker (aka Carolyn L.)

See you soon.
Trail Walker

See you soon.
Trail Walker

Hope to see you again tomorrow.
Trail Walker

To be updated if there is more to share.
See you soon with more tales from the trail! ~Trail Walker

Thanks for taking a walk down the trail today.
See you soon. ~Trail Walker

Thanks for stopping by to see my big birds.
Trail Walker