Friday dawned with sunny, but cool weather, so as soon as the breakfast dishes were cleared off the table, I pulled on a warm jacket and headed to Chagrin River Park. There weren't many birds willing to pose for a picture, although I did spot a female cardinal. That's her at the top of this …
A good day on the trails
It was definitely a good day on the trail in Chagrin River Park, but a very tedious weekend at the computer cleaning up my 18 years of photo files. I won't bore you with the details, except to say that I am making progress. Unfortunately, there is still more work to be done, and I …
More backyard birding
The colorful bird featured in my post yesterday, the redheaded woodpecker, is extremely rare in my backyard. Today's bird, the Baltimore oriole, used to stop by on rare occasions only. Now it flies in for multiple visits daily, enjoying the grape jelly I generously serve in the new jelly dish I purchased at Wild Birds …
Spring migration was in full swing…
Two weeks ago, when the annual spring migration was in full swing, birders were all agog over their unique opportunities to see and photograph unusual warblers and other birds rarely seen in our area. Many parks celebrated with special events, and birders planned field trips to prime location along the shoreline. I didn't have time to …
Orioles!
Lots of activity in our backyard today. Rose breasted grosbeaks, Baltimore orioles, and a little Eastern bluebird. Here are the orioles, but I'm saving the others for tomorrow when I have more time. It has been a cool, cloudy, and overcast day, but these visitors made the sun come out for me and put a smile on my …
The wrens have returned!
When we're talking birds, migration is a fascinating topic, especially in the spring when the woods are awake with the sight and song of the warblers and other birds that haven't been around during the cold winter months. The bird pictured above, a house wren, is small and looks sweet, but according to my i-bird app, …
Love those birds!
I was standing next to the trail, watching a house wren "feathering her nest," when I spotted two birds on a branch high over my head. I couldn't see them clearly with my naked eye, so you can imagine my surprise when I downloaded them to my computer after I got home. Talk about serendipity! I …
Can you name these birds?
It was a great day for a bird walk, with lots of little birds posing for their portraits. I even captured a couple I had to look up. How many of these birds can you name? All of them are common in northeast Ohio and surrounding states, and some even live here year round. One …
I never would have seen…
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 …
He’s still here, and guess what…
...He's not alone! He brought a friend. Yesterday morning I heard the distinctive call the pileated woodpecker makes when he swoops in for a landing at the backyard buffet. So of course I picked up my camera and headed for my post at the kitchen window (It actually makes a good bird shooting blind, although I do …
SEEN ALONG THE TRAIL 