One more trip to the grocery store?

Are you making one more trip to the grocery store to buy something you need for Thanksgiving dinner?  

Our chipmunks have been filling their pantry, too - but they have been making lots of trips -- to get only one item though-- sunflower seeds!  They aren't getting ready for one special meal either.  They are stocking up for the whole winter (and trying to get it done ahead of the storms, just like us people!)

"I don't need milk and bread - or turkey for that matter! These sunflower seeds will do for me!"

I had a lot of fun watching our two chipmunks one day recently.  I think they knew what kind of weather was coming, without listening to the forecast!  They were busy as could be all morning!

Now, I say two chipmunks, because one is our 'woods chipmunk' and one is our 'well chipmunk'.  There could be more (and probably are!) but I've only seen two at a time.  One from the woods, one from the well.

The 'well' chipmunk doesn't have far to go for groceries.  It lives in the pile of stones that covers our well casing.   He or she goes in and out where the blue arrow is pointing.

The woods chipmunk has farther to go and so I think is in much better cardio-vascular health.  Watch it run to the food in this video!

Sometimes, it comes so fast that it has an encounter with the 'well chipmunk'!  Sort of like crashing grocery carts at the market!

"Hey, watch it there!"

Mostly they get along.... at least, they seem to, since they are both so busy filling up their carts... I mean, cheeks!

Usually, one shops on the upper level of the 'store' and one down, but sometimes they share the upper spot (and they will share with the birds!)

Then, cheeks full, they will head back to their pantries to unload.

Here goes the woods chipmunk - and she did this over and over again that morning!

The woods chipmunk even came after we had some snow...

"I use more energy running, so I'm still storing up!"

But, now that the snow and cold have really started, I haven't seen either chippy.  Guess they are having a nap for Thanksgiving.... how about you?  Happy Thanksgiving!

Dr. Ruby and the Rumble in the Woods

It's been awhile since Dr. Ruby has made an appearance on the blog.  So, if you've been missing her, today is your lucky day!

Ruby comes to my house just about every Thursday and we usually go for a long walk.  Going for a walk with Ruby can be interesting, fun, and possibly frustrating-- if you happen to be in a hurry.  I'm usually not, so it works well for us!  

We have a system.  When Ruby is taking her time sniffing out some good spot, I use that time to look for birds or take photographs.  This morning, right after we started out, I saw a flock of birds a ways off.  Using my binoculars, I was happy to see it was a flock of bluebirds!  By the time I had checked them out with my binoculars for a few moments and switched to my camera, Ruby was ready to be off.  I clicked one photo very quickly, hoping to catch a bluebird or two:

 Well, thanks to digital technology, after zooming in and scrolling around, I see I did manage to capture two of them --

There were actually about 8 of them, but by the time I took the photo, most of them had seen Ruby (who was out ahead of me, moving in their direction) and decided to move along to somewhere else!

Ruby and I moved along, too, at Ruby's pace.  This can sometimes be surprisingly quickly for how short her legs are!

Although as soon as she catches a scent, it can change abruptly.

This morning there was something new to check out.

Luckily, it is at the farthest point away from our house.  Ruby spent quite awhile looking and listening to the rumble coming from that direction.

"What is it Grammy?" she seems to ask.

They are going to drill a gas well there, Ruby.

"Oh, will the Pileated Woodpeckers like that, Grammy?" "I don't know, Ruby."

Ruby and I continue our walk around our path, heading toward home now.  A little flock of Chickadees are "dee-dee-dee-ing" and Ruby notices them and looks up.  But mostly she keeps her nose to the ground!

 I keep Ruby on her leash - because her nose is such a powerful part of her, that if not on the leash I'm afraid she might start following the scent of a deer and be a mile away in no time.  No amount of calling her would probably have any effect and I would not be quick enough to keep up with her! So, it's the leash for her.

Though we do have a regular path we typically follow (and Ruby knows the way), she also goes 'off-trail' often.

Though you'd think she might get tangled up, she is very good at retracing her way!  I don't know if she understands me telling her to "back up", but she almost always gets back to the path without having to be rescued.

Good girl, Rube!

She has one habit that's not so good.  Once we get back close to Grammy's house, she likes to run full speed!  Unfortunately, her leash only goes out 16 feet, so this results in me being yanked quite hard at times!  And what is her big hurry???

To get back home and take a nap!

Ruby about 2 minutes after we got home!

My Choice for "Best-Dressed"

Drum roll, please.... or maybe another kind of drumming would be fitting!  Here's a link to listen to the drumming and various other sounds my choice for best dressed bird makes.

And the winner for best-dressed bird at my feeder is -- the Red-bellied Woodpecker!

Isn't he a beauty?  I always get a thrill when I see one at our feeders or in our woods.  Part of the allure for me might be that I remember how excited my mother got years ago, when one began appearing at her suet feeder in south-eastern Pennsylvania.  While they are quite common there now, they didn't used to be.  The only info I was able to find about their spreading range was this -- "The Red-bellied Woodpecker has been extending its' range northward over the last 100 years".  I don't have records to know when they started coming to my mom's feeder but I would guess sometime in the 60's.  I know we didn't have them in northeastern Pennsylvania when I first moved here in the late 70's, but in the years since then they have arrived and become more common. 

Here's a look at the Red-bellied from all angles - from one day when my suet log was empty and he was determined to check each hole and find any morsel he could!

This one is a male because he has red all the way along his head.  A female does have red on her head, too, but only on the back.

The Red-bellied woodpecker is probably one of the birds most often called by the wrong name - since it's easy to see their red-heads, but not very easy to see the red belly they are named for. Click here to see a photo of a Red-headed woodpecker, which is much more rare.  If you see one of those, let me know!

 Yep, it's red under there!

Thanks to everyone who commented on FB (and Sara in the comments here) to choose their favorite from my dozen contestants.  Goldfinches were the top pick, and there were votes for Cardinals, Rose-breasted Grosbeaks, Hummingbirds, and White-throated Sparrows.  No one else choose my favorite, so I'm going to post some more photos so I can show you just how gorgeous these birds are!

Look at those tail feathers!

 And to show you that I did fill the suet log for him, and he had a feast, plus some food "to go"!

Here's full view of his beautiful head.

Bye-bye.... see you again soon, I hope!

Look closely and you can see his red belly in this photo, too!

Best Dressed Birds Contest

Vogue has their best-dressed lists --  and GQ, People magazine... I've even seen a list of the "best dressed national hockey league players".  Personally, I'm not very interested in "people fashion".  I do love my birds though.  So I thought it would be fun to have a best-dressed bird list.  

It would be really hard to choose from all the birds, so I narrowed my choices down to birds that come to our feeders.  Today, I'm going to post a selection of my favorites and then in my next post I'll reveal who is my number one favorite.  Meanwhile, feel free to vote for your favorite in the comments.

Here are the contestants, in no particular order:

The tufted titmouse is such a jaunty little bird, that even though I don't have a truly flattering photo, I had to include him.  You can just barely see his mostly-hidden rusty brown accent under his wing.  I love his  grey crest with the black accent in the front.

The white-throated sparrow has the "wow!" factor with its yellow supralorals, if you are into details.  Also, I love those crown stripes and white at the throat.  All in all, an interesting combination with his understated brown, black, and white wings.

I'm a lot about color when it comes to beauty.  If red with a burnishing of gold makes you happy, you might choose the northern cardinal.  Plus, there is his red crest set off with black around his bill.  In a snow storm setting, he is spectacular!

For the cuteness factor, you could hardly beat the tiny black-capped Chickadees!  Aren't they adorable?

Color again... and yellow happens to be one of my favorites.  Strikingly set off with a perky black pill-box cap on the fronts of their heads, and black and white wings.  However, in winter they are olive-drab.  A slight minus to their fashion standing?

Ruby-throated hummingbird.... perfection in a tiny package.  If you are into glamor, they might be your favorites, since they are shimmery and jeweled, especially when the spotlight hits the males' red throat feathers.

Just beautiful - the male and female Baltimore Oriole.  If you happen to be a fan of the orange and black Philadelphia Flyers, this might be your favorite fashion bird, too.

Mourning doves may not be a fashion models favorite 'body shape' but I think they are winsome birds.  Their colors are not bright, but seen in the right light you'll notice they have some pink iridescence - and if you're into footwear - how about those sweet pink shoes?

Downy woodpeckers are another bird I love for their personality.  But this isn't a personality contest.  They were chosen for their sharp black and white suits, and this male in particular for the red heart on his head!

This white-breasted nuthatch is on his way to the feeder to grab-and-go with a sunflower seed.  He stopped for a moment on his favorite perch for a photo opp.  Nuthatches are always tidy-looking and I love their clean cut appearance.

There's a lot of detailing in the fashion choices of the red-bellied woodpeckers.  Yes, red-bellied!  Although they have a gorgeous red head, they are named for the patch of red on their bellies.  They also have red eyes and striking markings on the wings, back and tail feathers.

Last in our runway line-up are the male rose-breasted grosbeaks.  Yes, they have rather large beaks, but the rest of their outfits definitely makes them contenders.  Each spring when they come back from their winter vacation, I'm always a little shocked at their bright rose ties and black-and-white tuxedos!

Which is your favorite?  Or perhaps it's one of the birds I left out... there are so many beautiful birds, it was hard to pick just a dozen!

Update:  Here's a link to see the winner!

Beeches and Bluebirds

A recent post of mine was called "Looking on the Bright Side".  Well, most of the brightness of the trees is gone now here.  The post after that was about American Chestnut trees, which isn't exactly a happy story.  As I've been considering what to write about next, the Beech trees were talking to me, saying "tell our story, too".  Unfortunately most of what I could think to write about them isn't a very happy story either, so I've been putting it off.  This morning, though, something cheerful happened and I decided I could include that to brighten your day afterall.

First, the beeches.  The young beeches hold onto their leaves for a long time... sometimes most of the winter.  When I went for a walk last Sunday in the wind and snow flurries, the beeches were really fluttering!  I hope you can hear them in the video.  

Beeches are a predominant tree in our woods.  Unfortunately, like the American Chestnuts were years ago, they are being affected by disease.  

It's a disease which is started by an insect (Beech scale) that penetrates the bark, allowing a fungus to enter, which begins to kill the tree.  You can read more details about it here. 

It seems to have affected most of the Beech trees in our woods.  It's good for the birds that forage for insects under bark, like the woodpeckers and brown creepers.  Or those who make their nests in cavities in dead trunks.  Of course, not so good for the trees themselves.

The trunk eventually gets so weakened (whether they have Pileated Woodpecker holes in them or not!) that the top breaks off and falls to the ground.

These provide good lookout spots for the chipmunks while they have a snack.

There still are some trees which don't look infected.  See the nice smooth bark on this tree.

It's surrounded by diseased trees, so maybe it's resistant.

I hope so!

Now, a success story.... the Eastern Bluebirds.  They were dying out, too, quite a few years ago.  But with a little help from lots of people who put up special houses for them, they have made a huge comeback!  I looked out our window this morning, and was very happy to see this little family.

There are two male and two female Bluebirds in this photo (one is partly hidden behind the lower left corner of the box).  Also, a pair of House Finches came to see what was going on!

They brightened my day and I hope they do yours!