Two Foxes on the Snow

Over the last ten days, a red-tailed fox has been observed running across the lower meadow at the Colvin Run Habitat in the morning. The lower meadow remains covered with snow - from the snow storm we had two weeks ago - and as a result the fox is easily seen.

This afternoon, a fox was observed quickly coming out of some brush. The fox made a quick stop and appeared to look back (first photo). This fox then ran hard across the snow with an urgency.

With the first fox out of sight, a second fox came out of the brush from the same location. Clearly larger, this second fox walked casually and even took time to mark some shrubs.

After the marking, the second fox walked across the snow. Ten minutes later, the second fox return to the original brush.

Pileated Woodpecker: Seldom Seen Visitor to the Habitat

Three years have passed since the last Colvin Run Habitat sighting of a pileated woodpecker. But this is the first time that this woodpecker has visited the suet feeder.   

When I first glanced out the window this morning, I thought that this crow-sized bird was, well, a crow. But with a quick second take, I caught the distinctive red crown. Note that these photos show two individual birds.  The woodpecker in the first photo is a male - has a red mustache. The woodpecker in the second photo is a female - has a black mustache.

Of course, the ever-faithful and daily-visiting Northern Cardinal was a bit jealous and insisted that he get into the photo.

Spring Snow

Just when you think that winter is over and spring is in full swing…it snows!
The cold temperatures visiting the Mid-Atlantic States for the last week were joined by about an inch of snow during the last weekend. In the Colvin Run Habitat, the snow accented the fully blooming daffodils and pansies.

Nine White-Tailed Deer Show for the Count

Late in the first day of the 2007 Great Backyard Bird Count, the white-tailed deer arrived. They arrived in the Habitat’s lower meadow area and were clearly unclear where to go (see the first photo). Nearly all of the regular deer visitors have a set path through the Habitat; they come, stop, eat, but always continue on the same path. I suspect that these deer were looking for something to nibble on, but with the snow-covered ground they found little. The herd totaled nine (as seen in the second photo). From the third and fourth photos, you can see that we have a maturing young male who was tolerated by mom. He will be leaving her in the next season.

Snow in the Colvin Run Habitat

Snow fell today in the Colvin Run Habitat creating a barrier between the birds and their natural food. As a result, many different types of birds visited the feeders all day long – northern cardinals, starlings, finches, goldfinches, a variety of sparrows, juncos, mockingbirds, blue jays, tufted titmice, chickadees and downy, hairy, and red-bellied woodpeckers.
Here are the more peaceful photos of the birds in the snow – a male and female cardinals, a female downy woodpecker, and a dark-eyed junco.
It was also a day of surprises. First, while coming around the hose to fill the seed feeders, I case face to face with the fox who was in his normal brush observation location. Both of us were equally surprised. As I backed up, he turned around and disappeared into the bush. After he left, I confirmed with his tracks in the snow that he had been chasing squirrels earlier. (No photo of the fox). Second, six red-winged blackbirds visited; one even visited the window-mounted feeder. The red -winged blackbird is a rare visitor; I do not recall ever seeing one in the winter snow. (Got photos of the red-winged blackbirds, but poor quality). Third, when adding water to the birdbath (the starlings constantly bath and splash the water out), I saw the red-shouldered hawk up in one of the oak trees. As I began to photograph him, he flew away. (Got photos of the red-shouldered hawk in flight, but poor quality).
I’ll post some of these ‘surprise’ photos, but thought you might enjoy just the snow fall for now.

Cardinals In the Snow

There is nothing as special as the male northern cardinal in the snow. Bright red in the white snow.
Of course, the cardinal is the Virginia state bird.
By far, the cardinal is the most numerous bird in the Colvin Run Habitat.

Remember to click on any photo to see an enlarged view.

White-tailed Deer in the White Snow

The beauty of a light snow is that all of the Colvin Run Habitat animals can clearly be seen. Not that this deer family – mother and her two young ones – are hard to see anyway. When they travel through the habitat, they always travel in a straight line formation.
We have followed this family of deer via blog posts since last September. The two young can clearly be differentiated by size. From my observations, I believe that the smallest is not really growing. When they crossed in front of me while driving my car this evening, the size of the smallest was clear, although I saw not signs of poor health.
Here is a quick index to previous posts about this family of deer:
>Deer Family Strolling
>Dad Deer Brings Family
>The Daily Deer
>Deer Dining
>The Deer and the Fox

In some sad news, I believe that the dad was a victim of road kill in early December. With his rack, he was quite distinguished. The road kill was within a mile of the Habitat and from my observations was nearly identical to the photographed dad.