Tag: habitat

Posted in My photowalks, nature, Ohio, photography, wildlife

The rear of a deer

Posted on by Trail Walker

Several whitetail deer crossed the trail in front of me. As I watched, this one leaped off the trail and into the woods. Their grace and beauty make these animals a joy to watch. A very large herd of whitetails lives in our neighborhood park, which is fine so long as they stay in the park. However, they don’t! Every night, and sometimes during the day, they migrate from the park into the surrounding neighborhoods. There they feast on flowers, bulbs, flowering trees, and, under cover of darkness, the seed I put in our bird feeders for the chickadees, nuthatches, and other songbirds. The deer are also a hazard on the highways. It’s too bad they can’t comprehend boundaries. On the other hand, it’s too bad that people have taken over so much of their habitat with housing subdivisions, shopping malls, six-lane highways and the like.It’s an ongoing problem with no good solution.

That’s all for tonight!
See you soon.
Carolyn aka Skip

Posted in birds, My photowalks, nature, Ohio, photography, spring, wildlife

What is it about birds?

Posted on by Trail Walker

My favorite subjects for photography are people, dogs, landscapes, but most of all birds. Birds are a big attraction for me. Observing their behaviors and the expressions on their faces brings me much joy! It can be below freezing according to the thermometer, as it was today, but just give me a woodpecker to watch (or any bird for that matter), and I forget all about the frozen feeling of my fingers and toes. Here is a slide show of the birds I met in the park today.

I ended my walk standing under the big trees by the bog, watching the antics of the yellow-bellied sapsucker. Look closely at his picture and you can see the little line of sap wells he has drilled in the tree trunk. Apparently these wells are beneficial to all sorts of critters, including hummingbirds! Birds are fascinating! After the sapsucker vanished from the scene, I headed home for a cup of hot cocoa. If you’ve been hanging out in the bog with me today, maybe you should have one too. See you again soon.

~Carolyn aka Skip

PS If you want to know a little more about the sapsucker, check out his close up on my other blog.

Posted in My photowalks, nature, Ohio

A strange scene

Posted on by Trail Walker

Near the end of my photowalk this afternoon, I happened upon this man following some deer along the edge of the woods. The deer, normally placid animals, seemed alarmed by him and the little white dog that was walking with him. The dog was off-leash, against the park rules, and the four or five does were running away. The deer herd that makes its home in our little park is quite large, and the deer peacefully co-exist with the people and dogs who regularly share the park. That didn’t seem to be the case this afternoon however, and it puzzled me.


Finally, only one deer remained. The others had dashed into the safety of the trees. Was I imagining a threat to the deer? One thing I am sure about is the danger the fluffy little dog was in. One crack with a sharp hoof, however accidental, would have been the end of that dog. Visitors who frequent the park must learn to respect the wild animals that live there.

That’s the news from the south shore of Lake Erie today. Thanks for stopping in for a visit.

~Skip aka Carolyn