We have piliated woodpeckers that nest upNorth.

I have a picture of them in my album and also in the photo blog that is separate. It is very hard to get a picture of THEM.

We saw Sandhill Cranes whooping it up across the bay one summer. Their noises were amazing. We thought they were teaching their nestlings how to catch food. whoop whoop.
Could only watch thru Binos.

We have had eagles now for about 6 yrs. I saw a young one trying to manage a snake it had plucked off a rock, one day. A large garter. We also have Great Blue Herons, and also Night herons, up there. Last year the little birds were scarce. But the large ones were plentiful. I have to admit it is difficult now watching the eagles catch the ducks and mergansers. It is noisey and not always a quick catch. I watched one family get decimated 2 summers ago. The resulting chicks took a week to find new parents. The mergansers will adopt, and that is fortunate!

OH yes! Days ARE getting longer! YES
 

Bit by bit, but longer...YEAH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Croci out in our front are little green threads about 2" high and potential Daffs are about the same. No sign of new and different birds tho except for the crows and or starlings. The few squirrells I'm able to see and track are definitely BUSY! Must be that 'time of year'? Nor yet, have I seen any real sign of buds swelling on any of the trees...they must know something we don't?
Blue cranes are soo beautiful and graceful? But deserve respect and DISTANCE, as do GEESE! Don't ever mess with a Canada Goose-they KNOW somehow they are protected and assert that knowledge!
I'd encountered a Golden Eagle 5 years ago about 30miles from here sitting on a fence post. I was on a country road and just watched IT in awe! IT watched me with disdain, I believe. Took about fifteen minutes? I stayed until it took off - such majesty and power in this creature!
Love hummers tho rarely have them where I live. I still like to offer them a 'stop' along their way.
Don't know about you all? I LOVE SPRING! I hate the allergies tho that come with it...but that is what good meds are for! Hugs for more WARM to all! -j

hi
 

I just loved all of the beauty you showed us today Mrs. D,I kept saying wow
and smiling,thank you.

Dahlek watching those birds by your front dooor grow was pretty and just plain awsome. We have had Bald Egles all over saw some bue Jays ,
Robins,but I love seeing the first Cardinal. :):)Thanks for this hugs,Sue

Well guys I got the call to go down south. Going to be gramma, again..number 3. So if ya don't see me for a few days, I did not croak! Maybe I will see a robin.

Scratch that last post....uh, I just checked the weather and that storm is in my way.....10-15 inches in Nashville??? Paducah KY 6 to 10?? Jeepers. What is wrong with this picture! Not to mention the ice. I can not believe it is THAT bad down there....holy cow! Well good thing I found this before I attempted to drive 8 hours in the middle of the night, and hit that crud in the wee hours...That would put me in a bad mood, or a psych hospital. Foooooo. Well guess you have to put up with me. What a disappointment. I am so tired an exhausted, it is probably insane to think I could keep my foot on a gas pedal for 9 hours anyway....sometimes fate intervenes.

On Sandhill Cranes, we get these huge flocks up to 100 of them during migration, it is an unbelievable cacophony of sound...it's beautiful. Usually the huge flocks are in Fall. In Spring, we get smaller flocks... every field has at least one pair, and they have one to two babies and they are so protective. 20 years ago, we had no Cranes...none. They have made a fabulous comeback. First time I saw them in the wild, I did not expect them and I thought they were loose domestic emus.

Today, we had a high of 9, actual temp. I can't wait for Spring and Cranes.

Cy, dear, I know that we don't all have the same expectations in life, but I have never expected loose domestic emus. But hey, aim your sights high girl--we're rooting for ya!

(or do you live in Autralia and I missed that part?)

No, we have a few people who have emus for eggs....kind of left over from the emu egg craze from a decade or more...also emu meat. Emus are quite a bit bigger, but if you are not familiar with Cranes, you don't know what the heck they are the first time you see them running across the road! We have them everywhere now.

A Sandhill is quite large if you get close. Once we had a wounded one and I called the DNR and they told me to stay away because they can peck you in the head and fracture your skull and kill you. Our state has had 4 deaths from Crane attacks.

No, not in Australia...in the western Great Lakes.

It is amazing what people keep as domestic animals. We have lots of llamas, alpacas, bison, elk, emus, ostrich, peacocks etc on farms here in the midwest.

Ahh, harbingers of Spring
 

Once had a bird-loving fiance years ago. I still can identify many and impress my new(ish) wife. We have pairs of bald eagles on the Columbia River. Great Blue herons. Big birds up close are impressive.

This weekend we saw pink blooming camillias. Yes, on the south side and up close to a house, but they were new blooms!

I love it when the days get longer -- feels like I made it through another year.

Nice topic...

Wow, the Midwest is so exotic and dangerous! Who knew? I'm gonna go pack my pith helmet and jungle boots right now! Safari!!!!!