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Showing posts with the label songbirds

Nature Note #148: The Feeling of a Pleasant Summer Evening

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Imagine a quiet river ambling by on a warm summers eve. The sun is starting its downward shuffle towards the horizon and a warm glow fills the skies above. I have to be honest, I was worried about finding a quiet spot to go fishing in the city or even just outside.  Cities, in my opinion, are atrocities (no pun intended). Entirely too many people shunted into many small spaces with the expectation that they will get along with one another. It's an introverts nightmare and personally, I have made it my mission to get outside the city of Syracuse as much as possible. The city itself isn't all that bad. I'm still not used to being in such close proximity with my fellow species, Homo sapiens and don't know if time will change that, but until then, I will continue to escape to the countryside come the weekend. I'm lucky to have so many interests in the outdoors and have been blessed with an internal drive to experience nature up close. Whether it was Beaver Lake a fe...

On The Wing #61: Birding at the Watershed

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While I haven't gotten out much this week due to my schedule, I just wanted to take the time to share some great photos I've taken recently around the Watershed Preserve in Pennington, NJ. So far I've listed 40 species where I'm staying and I'm am so excited for spring migration! I hope you enjoy what the wilds of New Jersey have to offer. An inquisitive Carolina Chickadee ( Poecile carolinensis ) peeks upward. A male Red-bellied Woodpecker ( Melanerpes carolinus ) in mid hop as it scales a snag. A Yellow-rumped "Myrtle" Warbler ( Setophaga coronata ) skips around the branches looking for running sap and fleeting insects A female Downy Woodpecker ( Picoides pubescens ) drinks sap drizzling from a tree trunk. Bluebird houses abound on the property. They might be used by docile bluebirds and Tree Swallows ( Tachycineta bicolor ), or by the more aggressive House Wren ( Troglodytes aedon ). Canada Geese ( Branta canadensis ) and Ring-...