One of the benefits Carole enjoys most about living in the country is watching the numerous wildlife in the area. Our place is virtually a "Wildlife Sanctuary". It's easy to spend hours just looking out the window into the world of Mother Nature.
Carole enjoys feeding the birds and she attracts quite a variety. The following pictures would look better if I had a telephoto lens, but you can see a larger image by simply clicking any one of the pictures.
The brilliant color of the Indigo Bunting is amazing. They look iridescent in the sunlight.
The Bluebirds are fascinating to watch. They are constantly flying off to gather food, then returning to the nest to feed their young.
The Cardinals are pretty . . . and easy to locate because of their bright red color, especially the males.
The Downy Woodpeckers are the 'bully' of the bunch. When they want to eat, they chase all of the other birds away. They also try to get into the grape jelly Carole has out for the Orioles, so she is constantly shooing them away.
But the Red-Headed Woodpecker is the most colorful of all the Woodpeckers . . . bright red head and a body of contrasting snow white and black. They seem to be much gentler than the Downy Woodpecker.
The Baltimore Orioles are also wonderfully colorful birds, brilliant orange contrasted with dark black. They are attracted by oranges, which Carole keeps out for them, and they love grape jelly. When the grape jelly is gone, they start hollering at Carole until she refills their bowl.
We also see many other species of birds, such as the Yellow and Red Finches, Chickadees, Titmice, and several types of smaller Woodpeckers. We also have a number of Hummingbirds.
And, of course, we have lots of noisy Blue Jays. This one was squatting in the grass when I took the picture. She looked like she was laying an egg but I don't know what she was really doing.
Obnoxious Crows walk around the yard and flutter from tree to tree looking for a little roadkill out front. When several are in the area, they can sure make a lot of racket with their 'cawing'.
They compete with the ugly Turkey Buzzards for a free meal of roadkill.
In addition to birds, we have a lot of squirrels. They are fun to watch as they chase each other around and scamper up and down the trees. I have a corn holder on the side of a tree and it's fun to watch them grapple with an ear of corn chewing off the kernels one at a time . . . and sometimes running off to bury one.
Last year we had an albino squirrel in our yard all summer, who we named Al Bino (Isn't that original?). He was tiny when we first saw him and we had the pleasure of watching him grow to full size. He was snow white with pink eyes . . . really unique to watch. But, alas, he disappeared over the Winter, possibly a meal for a large owl who was keeping an eye on him. But we will never know his true fate. We miss him (or her).
Most of these pictures were taken out of our dining room window, so you can see that watching the birds and animals is common while we eat.
We also have lots of rabbits running around the yard in the evening. Deer pass through occasionally, but spend a lot of time under the apple trees along the driveway in late summer. Also we see an occasional fox crossing the yard, we sometimes smell a skunk, and, much to Carole's chagrin, walk around the place and you may even see a snake . . . but that's just a part of living in a "Wildlife Sanctuary".
The brilliant color of the Indigo Bunting is amazing. They look iridescent in the sunlight.
The Bluebirds are fascinating to watch. They are constantly flying off to gather food, then returning to the nest to feed their young.
The Cardinals are pretty . . . and easy to locate because of their bright red color, especially the males.
The Downy Woodpeckers are the 'bully' of the bunch. When they want to eat, they chase all of the other birds away. They also try to get into the grape jelly Carole has out for the Orioles, so she is constantly shooing them away.
But the Red-Headed Woodpecker is the most colorful of all the Woodpeckers . . . bright red head and a body of contrasting snow white and black. They seem to be much gentler than the Downy Woodpecker.
The Baltimore Orioles are also wonderfully colorful birds, brilliant orange contrasted with dark black. They are attracted by oranges, which Carole keeps out for them, and they love grape jelly. When the grape jelly is gone, they start hollering at Carole until she refills their bowl.We also see many other species of birds, such as the Yellow and Red Finches, Chickadees, Titmice, and several types of smaller Woodpeckers. We also have a number of Hummingbirds.
And, of course, we have lots of noisy Blue Jays. This one was squatting in the grass when I took the picture. She looked like she was laying an egg but I don't know what she was really doing.
Obnoxious Crows walk around the yard and flutter from tree to tree looking for a little roadkill out front. When several are in the area, they can sure make a lot of racket with their 'cawing'.They compete with the ugly Turkey Buzzards for a free meal of roadkill.
In addition to birds, we have a lot of squirrels. They are fun to watch as they chase each other around and scamper up and down the trees. I have a corn holder on the side of a tree and it's fun to watch them grapple with an ear of corn chewing off the kernels one at a time . . . and sometimes running off to bury one.
Last year we had an albino squirrel in our yard all summer, who we named Al Bino (Isn't that original?). He was tiny when we first saw him and we had the pleasure of watching him grow to full size. He was snow white with pink eyes . . . really unique to watch. But, alas, he disappeared over the Winter, possibly a meal for a large owl who was keeping an eye on him. But we will never know his true fate. We miss him (or her).Most of these pictures were taken out of our dining room window, so you can see that watching the birds and animals is common while we eat.
We also have lots of rabbits running around the yard in the evening. Deer pass through occasionally, but spend a lot of time under the apple trees along the driveway in late summer. Also we see an occasional fox crossing the yard, we sometimes smell a skunk, and, much to Carole's chagrin, walk around the place and you may even see a snake . . . but that's just a part of living in a "Wildlife Sanctuary".
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