Birds, Bats and Beyond

New Address

Jim Wright's blog is now at:

http://celeryfarm.typepad.com/cf/

OWL: Great horned owls!

   

  A woman who reads my stuff in The Record e-mailed me to say that she had a great horned owl and two owlets just beyond her backyard along the Hackensack River.
   I was dubious, and it turns out I was right.
The owls were just beyond her neighbor's backyard, just close enough to get good shots with telephoto lens and a muliplier.
   I tried to be as quiet as possible, and not stay too long,  and keep my distance.
    The video here probably makes it seem that I was even farther away than I was, but I wanted to make a point that it is not a good idea to go anywhere near nesting birds -- or animals -- to photograph them.
   The photo that begins the "Think Worms" video, for example, was taken from inside my house with a telephoto and a great deal of cropping...
   The great horned owl Mom was a very cool customer, as you'll see from the video. She is, after all, at the top of the food chain.
   I am vague about the owlets' location, just as a precaution.

BIRDS: Duckling Rescue (video)

The marsh warden of the Celery Farm coaxed a mallard mom and her 11 tiny ducklings out of the courtyard in the Church of the Epiphany in Allendale, N.J., on Sunday morning before services began.
   This has become a common problem -- a mallard laying her eggs in the courtyard of a church or school, without an all-important exit strategy.
    The courtyard nesting makes sense, though.
   The babies are safe from predators, and there's invariably a good Samaritan to help them out.
   In this case, for a minute or two, the Church of the Epiphany became the Church of the Good Shepherd.
   Coincidentally, the marsh warden was born on December 25.

OWL: 'Think Worms,' a video poem

OWL: Feeding fest (video)

    If you are new to this blog, welcome. If you are an old friend, welcome once more.
   Mrs. Ace, a screech owl, has been sitting on five eggs for a few weeks ...  

Click "Continue reading..." for an amazing owl video and more about the owls this spring...

   
    I went on a salamander walk at the Tenafly Nature Center last evening and saw a few spotted salamanders -- about five inches long with yellow dots.

   The walk, for center members and their families, was led by staff naturalist Debora Davidson, who was very informative and very good with the youngsters. 

   We saw several salamanders at the center's vernal pool, and I made a minute-long video of a salamander being released, to the delight of the youngsters.

   The kids were having so much fun that one adult said ruefully, "It stinks to grow up."

   Here is the link to my story on vernal pools.

For those who want to see how the Ace family developed last year, as well as a timeline, I put together this index   of posts.

  It also includes posts on wood ducks, red-shouldered hawks and some nice writing.

  Holler if any of the links are broken.

  Click "Continue reading..."

    I took this video with the digital recorder on Saturday night. I ran the recorder for six hours and came up with this 30-second video. 
   Mrs. Ace flew out around 2 a.m. and return over an hour later with this morsel.
   You can hear her "drum" loudly during the brief clip, and you can see her two eggs quite clearly.

I awoke early this morning to find two screech eggs and a dead little critter.
  Since it was almost dawn, I realized Mrs. Ace might be returning soon.
  She did. She looked into the box, hopped in, made a little drumming call, then flew out again.
  The video takes about a minute and a half.
  Sorry, no flashy mandolin music by the amazing Hunger Mountain Boys this time around.

OWL: The story thus far

    If you are new to this blog, welcome. If you are an old friend, welcome once more.
   Mrs. Ace, a screech owl, has been sitting on five eggs for a few weeks ...  

Click "Continue reading..." for an amazing owl video and more about the owls this spring...

Salamander evening w/video

   
    I went on a salamander walk at the Tenafly Nature Center last evening and saw a few spotted salamanders -- about five inches long with yellow dots.

   The walk, for center members and their families, was led by staff naturalist Debora Davidson, who was very informative and very good with the youngsters. 

   We saw several salamanders at the center's vernal pool, and I made a minute-long video of a salamander being released, to the delight of the youngsters.

   The kids were having so much fun that one adult said ruefully, "It stinks to grow up."

   Here is the link to my story on vernal pools.

SPRING 2007: The owl archive

For those who want to see how the Ace family developed last year, as well as a timeline, I put together this index   of posts.

  It also includes posts on wood ducks, red-shouldered hawks and some nice writing.

  Holler if any of the links are broken.

  Click "Continue reading..."

VIDEO: Mrs. Ace with mouse

    I took this video with the digital recorder on Saturday night. I ran the recorder for six hours and came up with this 30-second video. 
   Mrs. Ace flew out around 2 a.m. and return over an hour later with this morsel.
   You can hear her "drum" loudly during the brief clip, and you can see her two eggs quite clearly.

OWL: Two eggs now (with video)

I awoke early this morning to find two screech eggs and a dead little critter.
  Since it was almost dawn, I realized Mrs. Ace might be returning soon.
  She did. She looked into the box, hopped in, made a little drumming call, then flew out again.
  The video takes about a minute and a half.
  Sorry, no flashy mandolin music by the amazing Hunger Mountain Boys this time around.