alarm calls in the woods

The raptor Coopers Hawk came to the water bowl for a drink, then dropped his tail feathers into the cold water while looking around for dinner. 

All the songbirds freeze in place and get very quiet when a raptor appears.  They don't want to be seen or heard, for fear of becoming a raptor's meal.

Read a fascinating article about alarm calls that birds make to alert others of a raptor hunting in the area . . .
https://www.allaboutbirds.org/look-out-the-backyard-bird-alarm-call-network/

snow birds

Robins returned to the wild wild woods; they heard it is now "astronomical spring".  

feathers of Downy Woodpeckers

Downy woody  Picoides pubescens
is the smallest woodpecker of the wild wild woods.  We see two or three at a time, searching up and down the trees for insects within the folds of bark.


The nasal bristles (stiff yellow feathers above the beak) keep wood crumbs out of the bird's nasal openings as he searches for food or excavates a nest hole in a tree.



Downy Woodpeckers stop at the water bowl too, where this tiny feather was left behind. It may be from the top of this male's head.

a murder of crows

This hawk was gliding over the feeder garden looking for breakfast.  The American Crows, who had been snatching peanuts from the tray feeder, gave chase.  The hawk landed on a nearby roof.  The crows dive-bombed in an effort to scare the hawk away.  The hawk calmly waited, squawked a few times, then lifted off towards the river for a better chance at hunting.

feet and beak

We heard the shrill whinnying calls of the male Pileated Woodpecker Dryocopus pileatus as he made his way through the woods, then came to the suet block for breakfast.  He thrust his strong beak into the food, scattering some crumbs to the ground and gulping a few pieces into his gullet.  Once he had a mouthful, he went to a nearby tree where he used the rough bark to hold the suet as he consumed it.  His tongue has a spear-like tip bearing backward-facing barbs that allow him to lick food items from between the folds of tree bark.  Pileated Woodpeckers' favorite food is carpenter ants; also other ants, wood boring beetle larvae, termites, flies, caterpillars, cockroaches, grasshoppers, wild fruits and nuts.
Woodpeckers have zygodactyl feet (two toes facing forward, one facing back) and allows these birds to easily climb and grasp bark, tree branches and other structures.