© Tracy Abell 2012
HAPPY HUMP DAY, EVERYONE!
It's crazy hot and windy here in Colorado.
Wildfires burning
air quality ever-changing
and frequently poor.
Woke to a smoky house in middle of the night
so shut off swamp cooler and closed windows.
Air was decent on Saturday and Sunday mornings
and I hit the trails early.
Saturday I was treated to coyote sightings – three in all
so stopped to watch them watch me.
I smiled the rest of the run (even on the uphill).
Because I don't run with a camera here's a coyote cousin from somewhere else:
Image by: John and Karen – NCTC
Nature most definitely nurtures my soul.
And on days like today
when I don't want to pollute my lungs
I stay inside and look out my window.
© Tracy Abell 2012
What have you seen today?
1) Zebu turned 16 this week and got his driver’s license.
Knowing him, that’s what he was dreaming about in this old photo:
2) Zippy is training for the MS 150 Colorado Bike Ride next weekend
and has been going on looong rides in the 90+ degree temperatures plus
commuting to work via bike which means a return ride of 12+ miles uphill.
(It’s a good cause and he’s low on fundraising so if you have a couple bucks
to toss his way he’d be thrilled).
3) Wildebeest is living with Casa Bonita workmates and enjoying
the freedom of a home so messy he temporarily lost his phone.
4) I am waiting to hear back from a critique partner on my revisions
before I can finally, finally send them off. In the meanwhile I’m revisiting the project
I set aside several months ago and tweaking the synopsis with a new perspective.
5) The nest cam is still running at Cornell University and here’s the youngest
hawk looking quizzical on her return visit to the nest the other day:
I’ve been out of the loop here but hope everyone is doing well.
Wishing you all a great weekend!
Here is a screen grab from today of the third and last hawk that has yet to leave the nest above the Cornell University athletic fields:
And here’s today’s Agnes episode as she makes her yearly attempt to go off the high dive at the pool:
AGNES by Tony Cochran
The hawk is 70 feet above the athletic field
and Agnes is probably only about 10 feet from the water.
Still.
I very much empathize with both of them
as they summon the energy and courage to take the plunge.
Yesterday three Red-tailed Hawks on a UW-Madison campus ledge
contemplating the edge
and their first fledge*
A few minutes later, two Red-tailed Hawks on ledge
peering over the edge
as they ponder the sibling that just fledged
Today, the one remaining hawk on that ledge,
not overly close to the edge
yet most probably contemplating fledge
fledge* (from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology): the time at which nestlings that are reared in the nest leave the nest, even though their flight abilities may not yet be well developed.
I've been scarce around these parts and the longer I stayed away,
the harder it was jumping back in.
What to say to make up for the long silence?
How could I justify a return to blogging when the planet kept spinning without my input?
Then it hit me: where would you guys get your red-tailed hawk fix if I wasn't around?
This is a screen grab from May 23.
Zebu thinks it's a nightmare-inducing image, but I like it.
Hope you do, too.
Wishing everyone a lovely weekend.
Been busy in revision cave but wanted to post an update on the red-tailed hawks.
Here is the mother (named Big Red on site) with the three fuzzy-headed nestlings:
And here's a shot of the handsome father (Ezra) taking a break from hunting duties:
Yesterday I was working at my standing desk next to the open window and heard a cry.
I pushed the window open wider as I scanned the sky for the red-tailed hawk
but then realized the cries were coming from the livestream running in the other room.
It was Big Red vocalizing.
Right species.
Wrong state.
Know what I’ve been doing?
Watching a pair of Red-Tailed Hawks in Ithaca, New York.
Wait, Tracy. I thought you were in Colorado.
That’s true, but the Cornell Lab of Ornithology has a nest cam on a light pole
about the athletic field where this pair has nested for at least the last four years.
And I’m watching.
(Wildebeest and Zebu think it’s a bit creepy to spy on birds without
their consent and I agree somewhat, but my curiosity wins out).
This is the female (designated Big Red) during her nest shift:
Here is what’s underneath: the first hawklet that hatched early yesterday morning
and the two pipped eggs:
I’m including this second screen save because right then I saw movement in the egg on the left and the already-born hawklet was leaning in and chirping, as if offering encouragement. (I know . . . anthropomorphism alert!)
(Also, I believe that red mass in the upper right is the remains of a pigeon.
Hawks are birds of prey, after all. Apologies for the graphic image but I’m just
learning how to do screen saves and that image was “grabbed” with everything else).
As I mentioned to a friend yesterday I thought my birthing experiences were hard
work (and they were), but I was never rained and snowed upon or worried about
attacks from owls or had to deal with one newborn while two others struggled to hatch.
Whew.
One more shot of the ever-vigilant mama:
(Warning: I’m sure I’ll be back with more shots of the next hawklet . . .)
EDITED TO ADD:
Here’s an exhausted hawklet #2 leaning against third egg in process of hatching:
Here are both hawklets while #1 gets fed:
And one more, just because:
I'm noticing lots of amorous behavior from the male doves in the neighborhood
and admit to chuckling at the way they follow the reluctant females from limb to
limb, wire to wire, hoping for attention.
© Tracy Abell and Zippy 2012
The females will put up with that behavior for only so long before taking wing.
I've been missing in action and so wanted to pop in with a quick birdie greeting:
© Tracy Abell 2012
Hope all is well with my friends, both feathered and non-feathered.
(* And now I have the song in my head:
Please don't be long, please don't you be very long . . .)
Out of all the birds that visit our feeders, no one beats the Mourning Dove for mellow.
© Tracy Abell 2012
I can always use a little more mellow.
Such a dapper fellow, wouldn't you say?
Wishing everyone a red-feather** weekend!
**like red-letter, only better!
I received an email from my birdseed supplier the other day
with an offer for a suet cage that prevents European Starlings
and other large birds from eating the suet.
© Tracy Abell 2012
But where would be the fun in that?
Most days the Dark-Eyed Juncos are chased from the feeders
by the other birds (mostly House Finches) but today the juncos
are holding their own.
I had great fun watching this one hop and dance about the tree
(I know it’s crazy but it seemed as if s/he was clogging).
© Tracy Abell 2012
And now I’m headed back into the revision cave although I’d prefer hanging out at the feeder. . .
Most days the Dark-Eyed Juncos are chased from the feeders
by the other birds (mostly House Finches) but today the juncos
are holding their own.
I had great fun watching this one hop and dance about the tree
(I know it's crazy but it seemed as if s/he was clogging).
© Tracy Abell 2012
And now I'm headed back into the revision cave although I'd prefer hanging out at the feeder. . .
It’s a gray, dreary day and I’m battling weepy-sack-of-Tracy feelings
but am hanging in there thanks to the activity outside my window:
It's a gray, dreary day and I'm battling weepy-sack-of-Tracy feelings
but am hanging in there thanks to the activity outside my window:
**all images © Tracy Abell 2012
Wishing everyone an activity-filled, not-at-all dreary weekend!
I. Must. Stop. Looking. Out. The. Window.
© Tracy Abell 2012
Yes, there's blue sky and sunshine and oodles of birds and crazy squirrels . . .
But I have an opening chapter to rewrite. Again.
Whenever I glance outside and see an empty feeder and vacant plum bushes,
I scan the vicinity for hawks.
This is who came looking for breakfast this morning:
© Tracy Abell 2012
My best guess is Sharp-Shinned Hawk (because of the squared-off tail feathers)
as opposed to a Cooper's Hawk.
However, I'm not going to argue the point.
Do you see that beak?
The Eurasian Collared-Dove was introduced to the Bahamas back in the 1970s
and rapidly spread westward across the United States.
Wonder whether this guy would rather be here in snowy Colorado or
lounging on a warm, sandy beach.
© Tracy Abell 2012
We've already gotten at least a foot of snow and it keeps falling.
Zippy filled the feeder and put out another suet cake this morning
and it's a feeding frenzy out there.
I was just making pumpkin pies and kept stopping to snap photos.
This guy's up on the wire overlooking the scene, and the various jays (blue, western scrub)
keep flying to adjacent wires where they appear to be taunting him.
The hawk doesn't seem to much care
and comes across as rather zen-like amidst all the hubbub.
I was all excited when I saw this photo I took today:
Hey, I said to Zebu, it's Three Turtle Doves.
To which he replied, "I think the song goes 'Three French Hens, Two Turtle Doves.'"
So I looked up The Twelve Days of Christmas and, sure enough, it's Two Turtle Doves.
Well.
I'd rather not break up the trio so if you'd be so kind, either squint your eyes
and pretend these are Three French Hens OR miscount the birds
and end up with only Two Mourning Turtle Doves.
Thank you.
The thermometer reads 8 degrees
and I'm so very grateful for my warm home.
I filled the feeder this morning after shoveling
(a profanity-filled exercise due to steamed-over-eyeglass-induced blindness)
and am enjoying the flurry of activity out there.
The House Finches and Mourning Doves coexist peacefully
but there are some birds who never seem to fit in the the crowd.
Juncos are often chased from the feeder
but today's odd-bird-out is this Spotted Towhee.
© Tracy Abell 2011
Is it just me or does it look as if he's wearing an executioner's mask?
Dude, there might be a lesson there.
Tracy Abell 