We are a commune of inquiring, skeptical, politically centrist, capitalist, anglophile, traditionalist New England Yankee humans, humanoids, and animals with many interests beyond and above politics. Each of us has had a high-school education (or GED), but all had ADD so didn't pay attention very well, especially the dogs. Each one of us does "try my best to be just like I am," and none of us enjoys working for others, including for Maggie, from whom we receive neither a nickel nor a dime. Freedom from nags, cranks, government, do-gooders, control-freaks and idiots is all that we ask for.
Flocks of Purple Grackles (along with other blackbirds like Cowbirds, Redwings) always pass through on their way north around St. Valentine's Day.
It is still winter but they are rugged. They seem to like marshes at this time of year along with the other species of blackbirds, probably due to snow cover everywhere else.
North America has two species of Kinglets. I had a Ruby-Crowned flitting around shrubs this morning. I've rarely seen that ruby crown though. It takes sharp eyes to notice them even though they are not uncommon, especially in winter. Maybe you need to be curious about birds to see them.
Our two Kinglet species have quite different habits. Tiny birds, but impressive egg-layers.
This humble little critter is usually seen on the trunks of older trees, picking through the bark. You would never see them through foliage in summertime, but in winter they are all over the US.
I heard one hooting outside my open bedroom window last night at 4 am. Woke me up. After 20 minutes, another one joined in the conversation. A mate. They will lay their eggs soon, in winter.
Remarkable large birds, top predators, and adaptable to almost every habitat from urban parks to deserts. They are found everywhere in the US, Canada, Central America, and in parts of South America.
They will eat anything that moves: house cats, snakes, skunks, rats, porcupines, mice, fish, muskrats, possums, crows, gulls, ducks, even smaller owls - but their favorite food seems to be rabbits.
I rarely see them, but I hear them regularly. They are non-migratory and early maters and nesters, laying eggs in January snowstorms.
I had three Wood Thrushes munching my holly berries yesterday. Rarely see them at a 3-foot distance. They are small for birds with such amazing voices.
"Long-distance migrant. Twice a year, Wood Thrushes cross the Gulf of Mexico in a single night's flight. They spend the fall and winter in Central America. They return north in spring 2 to 6 times faster on a route that's generally somewhat farther west."
Happened to see one overhead today, chasing a flock of pigeons. Flocks of pigeons around here are usually domesticated, but the owners fly them are least once daily. Easy prey, and delicious.
I usually see them (and rarely) during migration - like now. A good number of them nest on office towers in NYC, but I've never seen them there. They like cliffs and beaches. Skyscrapers are cliffs.
It seems that the North American Grey (Gray?) Wolf entered North America from Asia. It prospered in Canada and the US for a long time. As I recall, the last wolf in Manhattan was killed in the early 1700s.
Re-introduction of Grey Wolf in the western US has been successful to the point that limited hunting and trapping is legal.
Not uncommon in the US, but not often seen. A pal had a couple roaming his back yard the other day in Maine. They are good tree-climbers. They are in the Mustelid clan - weasels to Wolverines.
Fishers are similar to the European Polecat. They do not fish - their name is from the Dutch fisse.
Migration goes on in North America through October and somewhat November. Except for hawks and a few other species, most migration occurs at night and up to 10,000 feet.
Some friends caught a couple of small (50-60 lb) Yellowfins about 20 miles east of Montauk last weekend. What fun. They happily ate chunks of the Yellowfin sashimi while cleaning them. That's the way to do it.
About Yellowfin Tuna . Tuna are one of a small number of warm-blooded fish.
We mentioned in our piece on cicadas that the Katydids would begin their singing in mid-late summer. They are beginning to go strong now here in New England.
Open that window, shut off the TV, and let those wonderful, soothing, romantic, sentimental, poignant, sleepy-time night sounds roll in to feed your soul. And engrave it in your heart - we only have so many Augusts in our lives. For the katydid, it's their one and only - no wonder they sing their hearts out, until a hard frost kills them all.
You hardly ever see a Katydid - they are well-camouflaged in the green leaves but they are all over. Early evening and nighttime are when they make their music - more like Kay-did than a three-syllable tune. It sounds as if they are singing to each other. With the crickets providing the chirping background theme, it's a fine choir out there right now, at night. The bugs own the night.
I encountered a flock of about 50 of them yesterday afternoon, twittering as they flew. Probably trying to fatten up before their trip to western South America. They can't perch, so you will only see them in the air.
My personal story about Chimney Swifts was in church, a decade ago or so, when one came down the old church chimney. Yes, during Pentacost service! The service was interrupted while I gently snatched the bird while he was trying to get through a closed window and carried him outside.
Heard my first cicadas of the summer this weekend - just a few, and just for about an hour or two, but these are probably early risers - first emergers from the soil, practicing playing their instruments. Maybe this will be a good year for them.
Some people call them locusts.
It means that in a few days we will be hearing the remarkably loud raspy buzzing from the tree-tops on every hot sunny day - the characteristic sound of high summer in New England, until replaced by the more refined Katydid's evening song as late summer comes.
We have both 13-year and 17-year cicadas - that's how long the two species live as larvae underground, sucking on tree roots, before they emerge to mate, breed, and die.
Their life is a metaphor.
Cicadas are edible, but I don't know anyone who eats them regularly except birds who have great sport chasing them when they fly from tree to tree. We often find their empty exoskelatons attached to tree trunks - as they grow, they crawl out of their old coat.
I saw a pair of them in my tall oak tree this morning, and I suspect that they are weaving one of their remarkable hanging nests in it again this year, as they did last year.
These exotically-colored Eastern songbirds are never common, but are regularly seen - but only if you look up into the tree-tops. One odd fact about these orioles is that they like to eat oranges. Some people put orange halves out to attract them.
Image: This male is a bit on the yellow side, more like a female. Most of the males we see in New England are more flame-orange. The Orchard Oriole seems unusual in New England and is smaller, darker, and tends to nest near water in the South and Midwest.