Sunday, June 28, 2009

You haven't seen any herons lurking around, have you?


Frog
Originally uploaded by Laura Erickson

The Compleat Angler


Happy thought!


Wood Thrush
Originally uploaded by Laura Erickson
Here's a happy thought. Don Kroodsma told Laura Erickson that MY song was his favorite bird song!!! I've been doing my best to elude her camera, but when she told me that this morning, I decided what the heck, and though I kept my distance, I cooperated at least a little.

Saturday, June 27, 2009

Oh, wow, I have a headache!

Please make your windows easier for us to see BEFORE migration! Dr. Daniel Klem, the hero for many of us birds, has a new paper in The Wilson Bulletin about how humans can reduce window crashes, titled Preventing Bird-Window Collisions. Please read it and help my friends and me to have safe passage. Please..

Wednesday, June 24, 2009

Canada Goose eggs are quite tasty!


Mink
Originally uploaded by Laura Erickson

Family Portrait


Yep--there are four!!


Great Blue Heron
Originally uploaded by Laura Erickson

Regurgitated fish

are SOOOOOOOO yummy!!!

Tuesday, June 23, 2009

Swamp Fox


Swamp Sparrow
Originally uploaded by Laura Erickson
Swamp Fox, Swamp Fox, hiding in the glen.
I fly away to fight again.

Check out my fledging checklist!

Julie O'Connor and Debbie Waters worked out a checklist we Peregrine Falcons must complete before we can leave the nest. Remember--think OUTSIDE the box! Check it out on Sam Cook's blog: http://www.areavoices.com/samcook/?blog=54000

Got baby food?


Red-winged Blackbird
Originally uploaded by Laura Erickson
This is prime stuff!

Monday, June 22, 2009

Baby food!


American Robin
Originally uploaded by Laura Erickson
Spiders and worms--the right food for growing babies!

Thursday, June 18, 2009

My hero


Song Sparrow
Originally uploaded by Laura Erickson
is Margaret Morse Nice. And if you don't know who she is, there's an excellent article about her in Wikipedia.

Definitely three


Great Blue Heron
Originally uploaded by Laura Erickson
But might there be four babies? Keep watching!

Wednesday, June 17, 2009

Please, sir, I want some more.


Great Blue Heron
Originally uploaded by Laura Erickson

I eat a few baby ducks and geese


Snapping Turtle
Originally uploaded by Laura Erickson
They sweeten my disposition. You'd feel snappish, too, if you had a leech on the back of your neck.

Honey, I know you're mad at your little brother,


Great Blue Heron
Originally uploaded by Laura Erickson
but siblicide is common in Great Egrets, not Great Blue Herons. So you're just going to have to get along.

Great blog, or the greatest blog?

When I was a baby, I got very sick and would have died except for Marge Gibson. She is a world-renowned wildlife rehabilitator, and she saved my life. And guess what! She has a blog. And boy is it interesting--she gets the coolest birds in, and shows photos of them and is SO interesting! Check it out! http://raptoreducationgroup.blogspot.com/

Sweet sweet sweet! I'm so sweeeeeeet!


Yellow Warbler
Originally uploaded by Laura Erickson
Well, unless you're a bug.

Tuesday, June 16, 2009

Did you know that some people don't like geese?


Canada Goose
Originally uploaded by Laura Erickson
It's interesting learning about the world. But rather scary, too.

Aren't I handsome?


Swamp Sparrow
Originally uploaded by Laura Erickson
It's shocking how many people overlook us Swamp Sparrows.

Little things mean a lot.


Great Blue Heron
Originally uploaded by Laura Erickson
Yes, I'm still bringing sticks home to my sweetie. It's nice to show our little ones how important it is to share and work together.

So I'm not a bird.


Woodchuck
Originally uploaded by Laura Erickson
Wanna make something of it?

Mommy and Daddy told me...


Virginia Rail chick
Originally uploaded by Laura Erickson
...to stay out of camera range.

Bye bye, little fishie!


Oops! Dropped my fish!


Caught it again!


Family Portrait


Great Blue Heron
Originally uploaded by Laura Erickson
Do we have a third or even a fourth chick hiding in here? We're not saying! So you'll just have to keep checking.

Friday, June 12, 2009

I love waking up early!


American Robin
Originally uploaded by Laura Erickson
And when I say early, I mean it. I've been starting up singing every day about 3:55 a.m., when it's still quite dark. What's the point? I want everyone to know that this is MY territory--that I made it through the night, I'm still here, and I'm not going anywhere.

Couldn't I hold off until a "civilized hour"? Nope. When it starts getting light, it's time for breakfast! There's just a brief window of time between the sun coming up and the worms going down for the day. So I like to sing, loud and vigorously and long, before it's light enough to hunt. That singing will dispel any doubts about how filled with vim and vigor I am--a robin needs the respect of his neighbors more than just about anything!

After I've eaten my fill, I'll start up singing again, until I have babies to feed--they keep me hopping!--but my favorite singing is always long before dawn. Cheerily, cheerily, cheerio!

Thursday, June 11, 2009

Hello, world!