New Visitor

I have a pair of Carolina Wrens (Thryothorus ludovicianus) chomping at my suet feeders. I actually had been hearing them, long before I saw them. They have a loud, distinctive song, particularly the males. There have been reports of captive males singing their song up to 3,000 times per day! These birds are very territorial and mating pairs (which last for life) will defend their feeding grounds, so I guess my feeder is in this couples territory. I suspect from watching these two that they will be nesting in my neighbors pine trees.

Beautiful Blue Skies

I was being watched carefully today while hiking around the lake. This broad-winged hawk (Buteo platypterus) made the spring sky even more inviting. These birds are returning from wintering in Central and South America; a 4,000 mile trip on which they have been shown to travel an average of 69 miles per day.