It’s shorebird migration time in Missouri, and on May 3rd, I filmed four female Wilson’s Phalaropes, close up, whipping and whirling as they fed at a mud flat. They’ll make you smile.
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Just because you’re out birdwatching doesn’t mean you don’t see other wildlife. My husband and I happened on a snake in a birdwatching blind. This Racer didn’t show us how fast he could move, but he did show us, closeup, how fast he can flick his tongue. He was smelling us to decide if we were dangerous.
When I was in my twenties, I was terrified of snakes. So when I was about thirty, I went to a biology teacher who kept them in his science room and asked him to help me get over that fear. He did so by having me touch a boa constrictor–a large one–because he said that it was so large it wouldn’t make any sudden, scary moves. He was right. By the time I left, I had draped the snake around my shoulders and enjoyed the feel of its muscles moving. (And when I got home, my cat bit me because he smelled a snake on me.)
You can see all my movies on my YouTube channel: Jo Alwood.
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This movie about the owlet’s shaky introduction to life outside the nest is part one. I won’t know how many more parts there’ll be until the owlet is independent. I should say “owlets” actually. I’m almost certain there’s a second owlet still in the nest.
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All winter and spring, I’ve followed the pair of Great Horned Owls that have nested in our neighborhood for the last eight years. This year, I filmed them copulating but then found the abandoned egg on the floor of the woods–failed nesting. I was so disappointed. But a month and a half laterI was delighted to learn that they had found a different nesting site and that they had an owlet there. Last week I posted a snippet of the owlet with a parent peering over its shoulder. Today, another snippet: he’s less downy, he’s out of the nest and he’s trying his wings.
You can see all my movies on my YouTube channel: Jo Alwood
It’s a wonder suburban thoroughfares aren’t littered with the corpses of Robins, as much as they play in the street. But they successfully avoid the oncoming cars. What I want to know is WHY they choose so often to be pedestrians. Sure, they fly across streets some of the time, but they’re just as likely to run.
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I was as much an object of scrutiny as this owlet and its parent were.
The local Great Horned Owls have nested in the same Sycamore for eight years now, and they tried again in February. That nesting failed. On March 9th, I found the egg on the ground, opened it and saw the fetus. Now, on April 20th, I filmed their baby in a pine tree a block from the old nesting site. I’m no expert on owlets and can’t judge this one’s age. All I know for sure is that I’m going to keep an eye and a camera on that nesting site so I can film him when he’s ready to fledge. Maybe by then, he’ll be used to seeing me around, hmm?
I filmed last year’s Great Horned Owlet (as well as a Screech Owl). Two months ago, I posted a movie showing our Great Horned Owls copulating.
You can see all my movies on my YouTube channel: Jo Alwood
We have a Pied-billed Grebe at the small lake in our subdivision. He’s not going hungry.
Does he have the cutest little tail you ever saw? I mean, it isn’t even big enough to serve any purpose except to add to his general darlingness.
To see him in action, check out my video about his fishing habits.
You can see my movies on my YouTube channel: Jo Alwood
See if you recognize this bird by his behavior alone (because it’s a poor shot of him). Spoiler alert: people might name him in the comments. Look there only if you want the answer.
What could this Robin be up to, hmm?
You can see all my movies on my YouTube channel: Jo Alwood
In her own words, a female Cardinal tells you what her criteria are in a mate, and it’s not bad advice for female humans, as far as that goes.
You can see all my movies on my YouTube channel: Jo Alwood
