Kestrel and Kingfisher
written by Alex Lamoreaux
Yesterday morning, I drove around some agricultural areas near Woodward, PA in search of winter raptors. I was rewarded with distant but still satisfying looks at five Rough-legged Hawks in addition to a few Red-tailed Hawks and American Kestrels. Running alongside one of the roads we drove was a small creek that hadn't yet iced over. Perched on telephone wires above the creek were a male Belted Kingfisher and a male American Kestrel. The two birds were about 100 feet apart from each other. I have always sort of thought of the Belted Kingfisher as filling the same niche as the American Kestrel, only it hunts aquatic animals whereas the kestrel hunts terrestrial animals. Being able to see the two species side-by-side, the kingfisher scanning the water for prey and the kestrel scanning the tall grass for prey, was such a neat sight and I thought I would share some photos with you all.
American Kestrel - male (Photo by Alex Lamoreaux)
Belted Kingfisher - male (Photo by Alex Lamoreaux)
Nuts for peanuts
written by Anna Fasoli
Over the weekend, I finally made some progress with a group of jays that have been ignoring me. I haven't spent much time with this group, just because they have been so unresponsive. Approaching them on foot in the scrub never got me anywhere either. But on sunday, I walked up to a single jay in this group, and while it tolerated my presence, it seemed just a bit agitated. This is actually what I was looking for; some jays just sit and preen while I do just about everything to get their attention, which can be pretty frustrating for me. I could tell the first peanut I threw in the jays direction caught its eye, as it re-positioned itself on the branch for a better look at the sand where it dropped.
A new jay checking out the scene of free food
I crouched down in the scrub, and as I threw a few more peanuts, the jay started calling. Most of them do this right before they fly to the ground to grab the peanut, and you can almost hear a sense of frustration in their raspy calls as you watch them decide what to do. The tracks on the sand tell me that groups of jays frequently forage along the sandy roads in the scrub, but they are hesitant to be so exposed with a peanut-throwing stranger just a few feet away. Finally, this jay flew to the ground and rushed in for a peanut. Within seconds the jay was gone in a blue blur, but I knew I had just created a peanut addict.
Florida Scrub-Jay coming in for its first peanut
Within minutes, the jay was back for more. On its third visit, it was followed in by another jay. This jay took great interest in watching the original jay snatch a peanut, which is exactly what I wanted. Once one jay in a group shows interest in me, other jays follow, and they all slowly start to see how easy and un-scary it is to take advantage of the free food. Choosing the easiest way that it knew to get food, it pursued the jay with the nut into the scrub. Both came back, and as the original jay landed back in the scrub on its favorite perch, it wasn’t pleased to be followed by the apparent intruder. A jay fight took them both to a high snag, where the intruder was forced off the top. The original peanut-eater came in for a peanut and left, while I continued to try to lure the other jay in. I had a whopper of a peanut with 3 nuts in it, and I knew it would be hard for any jay to resist. Sure enough, the large peanut was the motivation the jay needed to come in and get its first treat from me.
Who could resist such a huge peanut...
The two continued to come in for peanuts and fight eachother for about 45 minutes. Other jays were calling in the distance, and a few stopped to see the peanut action, but the constant fight for food kept them away, but interested; I am sure next time I visit this site, I’ll have more takers.
Back at the group of jays that have been taking peanuts since day one, I got at least two different individuals to step into the trap for a peanut. These jays are losing their fear of me and let me sit very close to them while they snack on peanuts.
Florida Scrub-Jay searching for a peanut
Florida Scrub-Jay about to snatch a peanut from inside the dummy trap
Eastern Screech-Owl at nest cavity (?)
written by Alex Lamoreaux
While birding at Toftees gamelands here in State College, PA on January 18th, I found an Eastern Screech-Owl poking its head out of a cavity in a tree. I went back this evening to see if the owl was still there, and as soon as I walked up to the tree I could see the owl's little gray face looking back at me! Hopefully, the owl is planning on nesting in that cavity! Below is a photo I took this evening of the owl - sorry for the bad quality, but it was the best I could do in the rain and fog.
Eastern Screech-Owl - gray type (Photo by Alex Lamoreaux)
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