Day 19.024: Cryptic

Dramatic unopened pine cones confused a hundred. (6)

There weren't a hundred of us, but we were a little puzzled by these half-open cones in this pitch pine on Saturday afternoon. If you solve the clue let me know!

Day 19.023: Saturday afternoon birds

Our nature group gathered in the "heat" (i.e. least bitterly cold part) of the afternoon on Saturday in Kennebunkport. Here are some of our bird sightings:

Mallards resting on the ice (approx. 335 in this group)

A few Canada geese were with them

This duck's speculum was catching the light perfectly

One American black duck was hiding among the mallards

Curly tail feathers

Red-shouldered hawk

Eeek! I've been spotted!

Off he goes

American black duck

Common goldeneye

American robins

Finding some fruit on a crab apple tree

Mourning dove (in the afternoon)

House sparrow

House finch

Rock pigeons

Day 19.022: Exile #2’s Sunday Column #541

Exile #2 writes...

Although it’s too cold for the snow on the ground to melt much at the moment, it is managing to melt a little on roofs. Because it is so cold, however, that is just making for some spectacular icicles. We have a few forming a slightly menacing portcullis above our garage door but they are nothing to the curtains of icicles we saw along eaves on our walk on Saturday or the enormous 5 ft long spears that seemed to be forming on the corners of buildings. It’s not for nothing that many places put up signs warning people to watch out for falling ice!

Day 19.021: Florida birds: miscellany

We did go out for a walk with our nature group today, but let's finish off the Florida birds first. Here are the rest of the birds I saw and managed to photograph:

Boat-tailed grackle

Palm warbler not in a palm tree

Nanday parakeets in a palm tree

European starling

Fish crow

I was pleased to get my ear-in recognizing fish crow voices. Almost all - if not all the crows I heard were fish crows.

Palm warbler not in a palm tree

Northern mockingbird in a palm tree

Boat-tailed grackle

Boat-tailed grackle

Day 19.020: Florida birds: raptors

A few Florida raptor sightings:

There was clearly a nest next to where this osprey landed, but I don't know if that had any relevance on this January day

Cooper's hawk (next two photos are the same bird)

Osprey (different occasion)

My first turkey vulture of the year

Another osprey sighting

Day 19.019: Florida birds: gulls and seabirds

Another roughly drawn category. Another collection of photos from my short birding walks in Clearwater Beach. 

Laughing gull

Lesser black-backed gull

Lesser black-backed gull

Royal tern

Hungry gulls

Double-crested cormorant

Brown pelican

Double-crested cormorant

This gull seemed to be having trouble swallowing this fish

A pelican kindly offered to help him out, a chase ensued, expanding to include a fish crow. Eventually the gull dropped its prize and the pelican made short work of it

I specifically went out hoping to find an anhinga

Small rearrangement required

Once I spotted one, I found a couple more

This one was displaying nicely (maybe the same one with the fish in the earlier photos

Nice view of a cormorant from one of the bridges

Black skimmer

More skimmers and other birds

Laughing gull

Classic pelican pose

I sadly didn't see any diving this year

Another anhinga on a later walk

Two of these are additions to my life list - the lesser black-backed gull and the black skimmer.