Crows vs Snake

Backyard birds have been pretty scarce. But the crows are ever-present. Today I saw a couple of crows wrestling a snake. The crows won. I don't like that they harass my hawks, but they can catch and eat as many snakes as they wish!

A montage of the fight. Click to enlarge.

Nature: Earthflight

TV ALERT: Tonight at 8 (EDT) on PBS—What would it be like to see the world from a bird’s perspective? State-of-the-art technology and sophisticated camera techniques have now made it possible to do just that and more as EARTHFLIGHT, A Nature Special Presentation takes viewers on a breathtaking aerial adventure over six continents. Check out a preview here.

UPDATE: Didn't realize this is a six-part series. Should air every Wednesday. In case you didn't catch it or record, first part is already available online at the PBS site.

WE KNEW THAT!  Read an interview with the filmmaker. Love the last question and answer:
What do you hope EARTHFLIGHT viewers will take away from the series? 

I hope that people will discover that birds are clever and adaptable creatures often with a complex social life not so different from our own. They have an unrivalled knowledge of the life of the planet and through their remarkable journeys they bring countries and continents together in ways that are constantly surprising.

Migration Musings

I read a nice editorial in the New York Times this morning: Empty Barn-Rafters 

Phoebe this morning

As if on cue, shortly afterward my Phoebe made a rare visit to my backyard (she usually stays in the front and side yard, nearer her nest). Perhaps she was saying ‘so long?’ But not yet, perhaps. The phoebes are one of the first songbirds to return in the spring and the last to leave in the fall. Cool fact: In 1804, the Eastern Phoebe became the first banded bird in North America. John James Audubon attached silvered thread to an Eastern Phoebe's leg to track its return in successive years.

And, this afternoon, the sun finally came out after a gray, rainy weekend. I spotted both Desert Hawk and Sky Hawk (my neighborhood Red-tails) for the first time in a long while, soaring on the thermals. I wonder if “our” hawks (NYC, Philly, Cornell) have begun their journeys south?

A not-very-good photo of my hawk!

Hawk Mountain, in eastern PA. conducts annual raptor migration counts. To date, they have spotted 466 raptors, 47 of them Red-tailed hawks. Interesting site. http://www.hawkmountain.org/

The beautiful and mysterious monarch butterflies also make an incredible migration each year. I noted that on the Hawk Mountain site, they cancelled a program, “Tag your own monarch,” due to the lack of monarchs this year. 

Butterflies on 9-13-2012

I’ve observed this in my own yard … have seen only a few, while last year, my butterfly bush was inundated with them. You can find many articles on the Web on the sharp decline of the monarch butterfly. Click here for one. 

(Click to enlarge photos.)