Colvin Run Habitat - Our First GoPro Video

From the producers of the Colvin Run Habitat blog...our first legit GoPro video.
Notice the first bird makes his appearance by landing on the camera...it moves.

GoPro, of course, represents the new wave of small, go anywhere, go anytime video cameras.  I mounted one on a small branch of the dogwood tree and pointed the camera at a suet feeder.  Then I took about an hour of video to produce this 40 second video.  Guess I need a motion detector.

A little later, and with the camera pointing in a different direction, six white-tailed deer passed through the Habitat.

Cedar Waxwings

I continue to get response from readers - in Texas, Florida, Virginia, and other states - about their Cedar Waxwings sightings.

Since my February 2008 sighting in the Habitat, I have seen none of their beautiful birds.

In early April 2011 - springtime in the mid-Atlantic states - a colleague of mine captured these photos while walking.  Actually, she was walking, saw the waxwings, went home and got her camera, and returned to this tree where the birds were patiently waiting.  What luck!

These are three great photos.  Thanks for sharing!

I will post other bird photos from her.

Pileated Woodpecker Digging for Ants

Since mid-December, the pileated woodpeckers have been observed at least once a week at the large suet feeder in the Colvin Run Habitat.  This morning, one of the pileated woodpeckers was seen on the trunk of one of the maple trees.

This female (no red mustache) was digging in the remaining mark of a previously removed branch.  No she was not seeking maple sap (as other woodpeckers do), but rather digging ants that have infested this tree. 

From the third photo (click on the photo for a zoomed view), you can get an appreciation of the size of the hole that this woodpecker had dug.  She has her complete bill and perhaps half of her head buried in the hole.

This last photo was taken this afternoon and shows the size of the holes dug.  The site is located about 5 feet off the ground in a line of trees on the Habitat boundary furthest from the woods.  Perhaps this is an indication that these very shy woodpeckers are becoming more comfortable around the Habitat.

Tongue of Red-Bellied Woodpecker

Previously, I posted a limited number of photos showing woodpeckers and hummingbird tongues. Today, I took video of the tongue of a male red-bellied woodpecker in action. When the snow was too deep to get needed suet to the feeders, I hung this feeder just outside of the porch windows.  Over the last few weeks, the birds - primarily the woodpeckers - continued to come and eat the suet. The cone shape is a result of the suet sticking to the top of the cage feeder and the reach of the woodpeckers' longer beaks.

When the suet cannot be reached with the beak, the woodpecker tongue - which as you will see is longer than the beak - does a great job at reaching the suet. Above is one frame from the below video in which you can clearly see the curved tongue coming out of the beak and touching the suet. Now take a look at the video below. Enjoy the video.

Where does this woodpecker store his tongue?  The tongue slides to the back of the head, loops upward around the back of the inside of the skull, and then forward around and under the eye.

Blizzards of 2010: American Robins - Annual Migration

One last photo from the Colvin Run Habitat blizzards of 2010.  Even with 30 inches of snow on the ground and snow clearly still on the roof, this flock of American Robins arrived in two waves.  With snow on the ground, the worms were safe this day.  The annual robin migration attracts the robins to the water in the heated bird bath.  They drink, they splash, they continue north.  


With snow on the ground, the robins were a reminder of a coming spring.

Blizzards of 2010: Carolina Wren Seeks Cover

The large amount of snow weighed down all of the shrubs and created shelters - even in broad leafed shrubs like this rhododendron. The Carolina wrens made good use of this rhododendron located right under the temporary feeder outside of the porch window.  The wrens would come up, feed, and return to their shelter.

Take a close look at the upper left corner to see the tail feathers of one of the wrens.  Click the photo to zoom in.

Blizzards of 2010: Red-Tailed Hawk and Red-Shouldered Hawk

We saw in a previous post the red-shouldered hawk during the peak of the snow.  Here is a photo of the red-shouldered hawk perching the morning after the storm.

The next morning, this red-tailed hawk arrived and perched in the same spot.

This hawk would perch, then fly out, make a circle, and then perch again.

In the two above photos, you can see the red-tailed hawk's wing feathers as viewed from above and below.  The dark upper feathers and the white lower feathers provide protection from predators - though which predators is never clear to me.

And here is the reason for the name - the clearly red tail,