hawks – The Hermits' Rest

Birds of Interest at the Ranch

Even after over a decade here at the Hermits’ Rest, the wildlife can surprise me. Did I mention I saw one of our big cats last week? Yep, a big ole cougar sauntered across the road as I was leaving. It was headed into our woods.

Totally inaccurate rendition of the event

Let’s get back to birds. First, we seem to have a new long-term visitor that has me very excited. It’s a Short-eared Owl. I’d registered one last year, but thought it was a fluke. This year I’ve heard it consistently for a couple of weeks.

Now that’s a great face, isn’t it? They eat lots of small mammals around sunrise and sunset. Now that I know what they sound like, from Merlin, maybe I’ll have a better chance of seeing one.

I need them to eat more, so cute little mice will stop climbing into my buckets and drowning or otherwise croaking. I have had to turn all containers in the birding station sideways.

Another fun bird that could eat some sparrows for me is the Sharp-shinned Hawk. It explains why the “Kestrel” I saw today looked so big and had such a small head. It was this guy.

Sharp-shinned Hawk. More gray on the back than Cooper’s or the much larger Red-shouldered. Photo by David McQuade.

I can’t recognize its call yet, so I’m glad Merlin can. This is also another one like the Red-tailed with many morphs. I need to learn the sound. Still, I’m glad to have new and different hawks to watch.

Otherwise, it’s just sparrows and more sparrows.

The final fun bird is a familiar resident, the Pileated Woodpecker, our largest. I hear and see them often, both calling and pecking. What’s cool is that Lee and I saw one while driving to horse lessons. It came out of a hole in a telephone pole right on the side of the road! I know to look for it later!

I shared this picture so you can see its ability to make large, oval holes. Photo by Marc St. Onge.

More later! Thanks for reading.

Sky Light, Stars Bright

I’m glad that last time the aurora borealis came to Texas I got to see it and get good photos. It was here last night, but I was so engrossed in what I was doing that I missed it.

Photo from yesterday by Shelley Paulson Photography. Wow.

I went out tonight more than once and was quite charmed by the glow to the north, but I think it’s the village of Ben Arnold.

It was a beautiful evening, though, and much warmer than earlier this week. I love that it’s dark enough out here to see the Milky Way in photos.

Thank goodness we have these chances to remind ourselves what an amazing setting we’re privileged to live in.

Yes, even crow poison is amazing, blossoming all winter.

Yeah, the weather here can go from 35° to over 80°F in one day, which is also impressive. our plants and animals must adapt!

Connie has neck feathers again after her awkward molting period

I wasn’t going to mention this, but it’s another impressive nature thing, to me. The past few days, hawks have been all over our property. Nearly every time I come outside, I disturb a Red-shouldered Hawk or a Northern Harrier. There’s no secret as to why: the rodent population is really high. I see all kinds of mice and rats everywhere I go lately. They hang around the chicken coop just waiting for the birds to go to bed so they can eat their food. Grr.

Ha! No mouse or rat photos, so here’s something I colored.

So, please, hawks, eat up. And thanks, dogs, for doing your part on rat patrol. I’m disappointed at how few the horses get, though. They should get busy going after mice instead of finding cockleburs.

One more mandala. Thanks to Lee for scanning them.

The stars tonight were prettier, though.

Of Blankets and Birds

I’m too tired to write much. Well, honestly, my back hurts too much to concentrate. Spending 3.5 hours in the seating at the place where our Master Naturalist meetings are held is too much, even with cushions. However, it’s good that we started a new member class and that I got going on borders for my temperature blanket from last year. Here it is in its lengthy glory:

Last January is at the top, and the last row is December 31-January 12.

I’m not sure how I didn’t realize the year would end with one day on the last row. So I added the beginning of January. At least that put a few cold days on that end of the blanket. I plan to do the black border wider on the long side to make it more balanced. we will see.

Close-up of summer through winter. You can at least tell it cooled off a bit.

It was another pretty cool bird day. The highlight came when I was standing in the back yard of the house we are incredibly slowly renovating. Suddenly a Red-Shouldered Hawk landed on the old clothesline support, just a few yards away. We were impressed! And she stayed there. We left, not her.

It’s really fun to share an interest in nature with a family member!

Maybe tomorrow I’ll be perkier! I did enjoy the class this evening. The new students are interesting people.

Random Ranchy Observations

Since I’m not up to much deep thinking right note, I’ll share some things I’ve been seeing here at the Hermits’ Rest. None are stinky dead armadillos.

The cows are in full baby mode at this time. Every time I look out at the pasture I see more pretty calves. This year they are many different colors, which is fun. The one above may be black, but looks a very dark brown to me. There are shiny white ones that stay shiny until it rains and they get muddy, tan ones, red ones, etc. It’s fun to watch them running around.

We narrowly avoided another dead animal mess today when I saw an unexpected rock next to the fence. It’s a good thing I have the terrain memorized. Sure enough, the rock was a pond cooter or some such turtle. It was trying to exit through the good fencing. If Goldie had found it, that would be the end of the turtle. I was able to pick it up and put it safely on the other side, pointed toward the back pond. It didn’t even pee on me!

This is sort of funny to me. I finally SAW an American Robin on the ranch. I’ve heard them many times, but never saw them. I was thinking it was a Mockingbird imitating a Robin! But at last, yesterday, one flew to the top of a tree that had lost most of its leaves, and I saw the whole bird. Now if only the Blue Jay would pop into view. I’ve never had trouble finding them except here!

Birds continue to be noisy these days. Cranes are still flying over daily, but the crows are the instigators of most noise. They seem to really dislike sharing space with raptors. Two days in a rows the band of local crows were flying around and cawing away at the Red-shouldered Hawk family that also hands out here. I’ll see them fly back and forth as the hawks make enough screeches to make a dance recording.

Gemini made this. I like the red eyes on the top crow.

Another day the hawks were not out yet but the Great Horned Owl was. It had the nerve to want to nap near the crow’s spot. Once again the swirling crows went into action, this time matched by the hoots of one of the owls. I believe the owl headed back over to the other part of the woods.

And finally, let’s go back to turtles. The front pond is pretty low. In fact, it’s low enough that we found our missing water trough that disappeared in the bad wind event months ago. All the turtles are still in there, and since it’s been abnormally warm, they are out sunning themselves often. You’d expect to see them scattered around the edges of the pond. But, no, they line up like they are on a log, even though there are no longs. There are often five or six in a row. I can’t get a photo, because they dive in when they detect me, so I drew a picture.

But, hey, I got the turtles, bur plants, willow trees, the trough sticking up, a killdeer, and a horse. Art. Yes. I draw as well as I sing now. Very much out of practice.

Time to Heal, So Heel, Goldie!

We got our dog back and I survived the journey. Let’s just say it’s hard for stressed-out people to deal with how those close to them act when stressed out. But Goldie is home!

She was glad to see us, and is walking well for her first tripod day. The poor girl will not pee or poop anywhere but here, so I was glad to hear that they expressed her bladder during surgery. 48 hours is a long time to hold it, even when your bladder is large.

We have to keep her quiet for two weeks and not let her run and jump. That’s gonna be hard, but we brought her crate into the living room where she won’t be alone. You see, Harvey can’t come upstairs since his stroke, so he has to have someone down with him. So, the living room is now a bedroom. Yow.

We took the couch cushions off, too, so Goldie can sleep in her preferred spot without straining. No more straining now that the car ride is over. The exit was difficult.

Yeah, it was an extra stressful day, not only from a dog standpoint but also a work standpoint. Things change a lot when you’re suddenly in change management. But hey, I got to see a hawk up close, not flapping around. That was good.

This is a good spot, says Mr. Red Shoulders.

I’m just tired. Too many early days and too much calendar chaos with meetings and events changing on me. Time to draw on my reserves, because guess what? It’s burr season again. The horses are covered. We didn’t get enough of them. Now I’m pre-exhausted.

At least the dog is back.

Let’s Duet

There was a funny/punny song from the movie Walk Hard called Let’s Duet that made it sound like the singers wanted to “do it,” and it always made me laugh. Today’s duets might have been about hooking up, too, for all I know.

As we all know, flowers are about sex, too. This is a false foxglove. I’d been waiting for them to bloom.

Basically, large birds of prey had things to tell each other today.

First, when I went on my morning walk, there was a Red-Shouldered Hawk making a lot of racket. As I walked down the road, it became obvious there were at least two hawks. It’s interesting to me that once they start duetting, you can tell the difference between birds. I couldn’t figure out the topic of their communication, but it did keep the other birds quiet. I didn’t hear a House Sparrow until late afternoon!

I came back to work after enjoying four different woodpeckers, including a booming Pileated hard at work on some poor tree. I enjoyed watching it go up and down as it pecked.

Digression

After a pleasant lunch with my rather giddy friends who’d all watched the same televised event last night, there was more work (including a chat with a guy in Scotland whose daughter loves horses).

Speaking of horses, look at this good boy.

I decided I feel better, so while the horses were eating, I chopped down more evil cocklebur plants. I’ve discovered that the plants eat my arms and make little cuts and peeling skin. But I did it anyway. I love watching them shrivel up. Apache and Fiona toss the stems around.

Drew, on the other hand, now asks me to spray the water hose near him so he can drink it. His lips get all flappy and I can’t stop laughing. Too bad I can’t get a photo, because my hands are full. He really can be funny.

By the time I was finished lopping, I realized it had gotten hot outside and I’m actually not completely better. I have to go a bit more slowly still.

Back to Duets

To recover from the bur attacking, I sat by the pool to watch the birds, only there weren’t many. All the cute little Cave Swallows must have been flocking the last few days, because they are gone. Boom. Safe travels, Swallows!

The other birds were lying low because of the next duet, which was between Great Horned Owls. I usually hear a few hoots, but tonight it was just like the hawks earlier, a long and complicated interaction. Again, you could distinguish the two birds. It was just beautiful. It made me feel all autumnal, even if it got again.

Have a good night or day!

The World! There’s So Much in It!

Wow, there is a lot to see between Sedona, Arizona and Socorro, New Mexico, especially on the less crowded roads. I think I got overloaded by the variety of terrain, weather, and human interest today. I’m smiling big time!

The day started out with one last neighborhood walk in Sedona. The birds and beasts all showed up to say goodbye, except those rude javelina. I even got to see the coyote, but it ran off quickly.

Even the ash-throated flycatcher showed up.

The drive down through Arizona and New Mexico was spectacular, because the scenery would change every few miles depending on elevation or proximity to water. Plus it was cloudy and we got to see rain falling around us. Don’t let people tell you the desert is boring, because I found this high desert drive to be awe-inspiring as we went from nearly bare flats to juniper-studded hills to mountain forests of huge trees.

On the way, we did stop in Winslow, Arizona, mainly for a train. It has enough Route 66 kitsch and Take It Easy references to please any pop culture junky.

We also stopped at the Petrified Forest National Park. There is really a mind boggling amount of petrified wood just laying there, like fallen logs. It’s big business in the area, too. I also found the Painted Desert worth the trip. Its chocolate and vanilla hills are subtle compared to the red rock area, but the formations mesmerized me. If it wasn’t so dang hot we’d have stayed longer.

As we were driving near the pretty town of Magdalena, I saw something that looked like those white “marshmallows” of hay we have at home, but they seemed to be all lined up. Then I said to Lee that they looked like radio telescopes, like some kind of array. Then I got all excited. That’s what it WAS! The Very Large Array! We drove right by it!

I’d read about the VLA and all this things it found for years. I have always enjoyed learning about astronomy, so to see this piece of radio telescope history really was a great experience. Too bad the visitor center was just closed when we drove by.

I did eventually calm down, but wow, it was big.

After we arrived in Socorro, we needed to eat, so I got adventurous and led us to a local bar that was supposed to have good pizza. It was mostly a bar, but really old and funky. Everyone knew each other there.

Soon we also knew someone, because yet another of my old online/real life friends happens to live in Socorro, so she joined us. I’m sure Lee thinks I know someone everywhere, just like my dad did.

My friend Jay shows her excellent photography skills.

Jay, Lee, and I talked until the live band started, then we enjoyed the unexpected pleasant temperature and sat in the town square for more chatting. We were all (not just me) distracted by a small hawk that kept flying around. She seemed to have a mission involving the building next to the bar.

We thought for sure she was a Cooper’s Hawk, but I had a suspicion she was too small. sure enough, both iNat and Merlin identified her as a Sharp-shinned Hawk. They look very similar. Who knows for sure, though? Not me.

Tomorrow I hope to see more birds AND another long-time friend.

Birds, Birds, Birds

Today of course I was up extra early, since I’m two hours ahead in my body. So I took off a walked through the pretty neighborhood adjacent to the resort. There is also a pretty golf course here.

This combination meant for a lot of birds. I couldn’t have had more bird fun if I tried. There were six new ones, many of which I saw, too. So, here are my new birds so far. Note how many are described as “dull.” But some are pretty spectacular!

But the highlight was this: I heard a flock of House Finches screeching and went to check it out.

I saw what was making the fuss. It was a spectacular Cooper’s Hawk noshing away on a finch. It was so preoccupied that it let me get decent photos of it. I had a great time watching it. Wow!

I also got photos of other birds and beasts today. I’ll just dump them here. Sadly, the rodent I saw hid too fast.

The other thing I enjoyed were plants. The neighborhood I walked through had beautiful xeriscaped yards with all kinds of native and other plants suited to this climate. Combined with excellent weeds, I had a lot to look at (sorry if you already saw this on Facebook but I wanted to share with others). I can’t ID them all.

Sorry to once again not ID, but I have to go to bed early to get up and work. Well, I’ll have a lot of time in the evenings to do stuff.

We did have a nice brunch and get some groceries. Driving all around Sedona was confusing. Too many roundabouts and New Age shops. I mean, I’m new agey, but there are so many places to get your aura photographed.

I didn’t get any city pictures due to our dirty windshield. But here’s the fancy CVS pharmacy.

The views, though, are spectacular. I can’t wait to go hike.

Still a Weird Happy

If there was a biography about you, what would the title be?

Yes, if there was a biography about me (Zzz) it would be called Still a Weird Happy. That was the name of our club of misfit hippy girls in 7th grade, which we turned into imaginary alien friends. Anita and I wrote stories about the Weird Happys (spelled that way on purpose) when we were young teens.

All of us Weird Happys were odd in one way or another, both the humans and the imaginary ones. But we embraced it. And I’ve always tried to keep that attitude. (I was trying to write something nice, but I’ve been interrupted five times now.)

I interrupt this whine with a hairy buttercup. They are so shiny.

Yeah, I’ve skipped blogging for a couple of days, because I’ve felt pretty boring. It’s been fine, just nothing extraordinary. I had a good lesson on Apache yesterday, and it was great to have him rideable again. Here he is very tired after Tarrin made him do things he didn’t want to do.

Even his new brow band didn’t perk him up.

Drew seems better, too. Today I was able to exercise him and groom him normally. He just had one little expression of annoyance when cantering. I was able to remove his burs and everything. Wow, both horses doing okay! It must be time to leave town for a few days!

I’m in love with Mabel now and let her nip me.

The other mildly interesting events this week so far were bird related. On Monday, I had the chance to hang out in the back yard and listen for birds around sunset. I was entranced at the sound of two great horned owls calling to each other. Mourning doves were also cooing away, which was so soothing!

And yesterday I was out walking when two red-tailed hawks flew right over my head, calling and calling.

They began their love dance, and I watched the whole thing! Next, they flew over to the big electric pole and began making little cooing chortling sounds. I’d never heard hawks speaking their love language before. What a privilege!

Soon enough, they flew off together. I saw and heard them again today. I wonder if these are the same ones I saw a few weeks ago?

I never see these guys at the same time I see the red-shouldered hawks or harrier. That’s unlike the woodpeckers, who seem to all hang out at the same time. Today I heard a Downy, a Ladderback, and a Pileated within 5 minutes of each other.

Yes, my life is calm right now. I’m loving my work and enjoying my leisure, which is pretty great. However, if you have a spare moment, please send healing vibes to my Purple Martin-loving friend, Donna, who had back surgery, as well as to family members dealing with challenges.

Stay weird. Be happy.

Speaking of Love – and Hawks

Can you share a positive example of where you’ve felt loved?

Woo hoo. Today’s prompt goes with my day’s experience. So, let’s blog.

I’ve figured out that one of my “love languages” is the one about giving time and effort. When someone spends time doing something to make my life better, I feel love.

One example is how incredibly grateful and loved I felt when I came home from a trip expecting improvements to my horse area, but was blown away to see that two portable buildings we had were now a beautiful and large hen house with the interior painted “my” colors and a HUGE new tack room that would hold all my horse supplies and have a sitting area. I was blown away.

Note that they painted the hay storage container to match the building.

Every time I go in either of those buildings I have warm feelings about the two guys in my family who worked so hard on it. They were my son’s first two carpentry projects, so there are imperfections, but they’re charming to me. And I think of the stories behind how they got all the furnishings and built the saddle racks and pegs for halters, etc.

The other time I felt loved like this was when Lee gave me my bird journal. I couldn’t believe he’d spent so much time collecting bird photos then made the book by hand. I get to feel loved every day when I write in it!

He also made this cute book cover for the journal.

Love Birds of the Day

The highlight of my day today was all about love. After making many trips back and forth to the horse trough with water, I decided to go listen to birds for a while. Today got down to 12°F but then warmed up to 45°. That felt balmy!

You probably can’t tell, but the pond iced over.

As I headed towards the woods with my empty water containers, I saw movement. It was the pair of red-tailed hawks I’ve been watching for a few weeks. They were doing an awesome love dance. I was transfixed as I watched them soar and glide, then dive down near the ground and up through the trees.

The only photo I got of them flying. I was too busy watching most of the time.

It was so graceful yet strong. I felt privileged to get to see this up close. It was the closest I’ve ever been to flying hawks. They flew right past me a couple of times. At last, they rested in the trees for a bit.

They are both in this picture. One flying low in front of the trees, one higher, behind trees.

Then, off they went, flashing their wings at me. That made up for the hard work. I loved those love birds.

I made it a loop

PS: thanks to everyone who tells me they read my blog. I feel like the lady on Romper Room (a television show from my youth), who would look in her magic mirror and say, “I see Susie and Donny…” or whoever’s parents had sent her a postcard.

I see you, Mike, Donita, Lory, Libba, Catherine, Barbara, Debi…and so many more!