My friend spotted a male harrier cruising
Posted: Thu Jul 10, 2025 5:29 am
One red-winged blackbird now ventured out toward an island in the middle of the pond, displaying his red “epaulets” and his vocal abilities. Two or three other males called from the periphery and chased each other. There may have been a couple of females lurking in the trees around the pond, staying in concealment. Two song sparrows got into a serious tussle, pecking and flapping and rolling around on the ground; one of them took off in a hurry but came back later, peaceably. Ruby-crowned kinglets sang and fidgeted through the tree canopy; robins (both male and female) hopped and ran in the understory; juncos (male and female) flitted hither and yon. Two or three snipe took off in a hurry.
at the far edge of the adjacent big quarry pond, in and out of the brush. As I followed his progress, I noted an odd stump on the near side of the big pond. There was indeed a real stump, and tucked up very closely to that stump was a great blue heron, scrunched up as small as possible, looking cross (or sleepy?), trying to be invisible country wise email marketing list and nearly succeeding. I would have missed it if I’d circled the pond in my usual direction — and had not been harrier watching.
Kingfishers called as they flew over the small pond toward the big pond. Suitable dirt banks for nests are not evident around the small pond, but there may be some over by the big pond. Perhaps the most exciting observation was a violet-green swallow that flew very fast in numerous circles around us and over the pond. It whizzed by so closely and so many times that we could be very sure of the identification, although it was a bit dizzy-making for me, spinning around so much!
at the far edge of the adjacent big quarry pond, in and out of the brush. As I followed his progress, I noted an odd stump on the near side of the big pond. There was indeed a real stump, and tucked up very closely to that stump was a great blue heron, scrunched up as small as possible, looking cross (or sleepy?), trying to be invisible country wise email marketing list and nearly succeeding. I would have missed it if I’d circled the pond in my usual direction — and had not been harrier watching.
Kingfishers called as they flew over the small pond toward the big pond. Suitable dirt banks for nests are not evident around the small pond, but there may be some over by the big pond. Perhaps the most exciting observation was a violet-green swallow that flew very fast in numerous circles around us and over the pond. It whizzed by so closely and so many times that we could be very sure of the identification, although it was a bit dizzy-making for me, spinning around so much!