it's a female Reed Bunting.

Way to go BC and Doodle...yes, it is a Reed Bunting, not sure the gender but it's a Juvie.

Had a lovely boat ride on the Mary Jemison & saw many herons & an egret. I talked w/ the Captain afterwards & he didn't know about the falcons or that a eyas had been named Jemison after Mary Jemison . He was very interested & I gave him my favorite photo of Jemison on top of NB w/ wings spread - he was thrilled. So it was a great day & anytime I can tell someone about falcons is awesome 

Way to go! Glad you had fun and passed on some news about the falcons. 

 NO one can stare down a mum. That is specially true when the mum is a peregrine falcon nesting in a planterbox outside an apartment window.

The falcons have been just outside photographer Robyn Hills’ kitchen at Moffat Beach for more than a month. And three bouncing baby balls of fluff hatched about a week ago.

But mum, christened Emily by Robyn and her husband Ross Harrison, watches everything and everyone like a ... errm ... hawk.

“You can’t outstare her,� Robyn said last night.

“She’s serious.

“She can give you quite a glare.�

All the same, Emily and her partner Frederick seem largely unconcerned about humans so close by.

Robyn said Frederick arrived each morning with breakfast – which was often a small bird – and Emily took off with the meal. He usually sat close to the nest until Emily returned to feed the eyasses (chicks).

Robyn expects the falcons to stay for several more weeks.


 
Wow, a falcon family in a planter! I really would "never leave the house"!

[Original]

Thank you all for the wonderful Birthday wishes.  You's are the best  

P.S. MAK and Carol,  I think it was one of the Original Monarchs.
Here's a shot I captured that day  

Oh, goodness!  Lou's been at it again?   

Oh my....imagine that? I love the pic though. Thanks Dana, good catch! 

Actually, I just finished working on a new Rfalconcam feature that will be unveiled in January.

That's sick making us wait that long! 4 months???

A beautiful Eagle for sure, and that BEAK!!! Thanks Bobbie.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uhtgsAXmz7U&feature=player_embedded#! I don't mind heights but this is INSANE!!! 

Our neighborhood is basically a woodland, and the Pileateds have been regulars in our back yard.  They were a bit scarce in the summer, but have started showing up daily once again. This is one of the juveniles who's just come into his adult plumage.

(love them, they are so cute). Hope they stay around for a while. Thanks Jim.

Archer last seen Oct 11 of last year????

Yup, that's when he left for parts unknown. Let's see if he stays or goes this year.

Beauty lands at nest
and so does Archer

Archer left, Beauty stays.

DONNA! Way to go re Queen and My Friend Freddie!  bguitar

Did you ever see their performance at Live Aid back in the mid 80s? A stunner!!

On TV....Of course! Excellent!

OK Ok Bobbie, yes, this is a Chough. Nothing said about Red or Yellow...just Chough. Good job guys! Ok and now for today's

Who am I?

Not another LBJ! I knew I should expect a tough one after a "chough" one...

LOL Bobbie!

Oh, hurrah re sending it to Jeff, Donna. I'm glad you think he might appreciate it. My best regards to him in the Kingdom of Snow... and penguins.

He's loving every minute of it there. Last year he met Sir David Attenborough, who will it be this year!

I am sooooo impressed! You know, Sir David has to be around 80 and he continues to inspire new generations, just as he did in his first series "Life on Earth". He is definitely on my invitation list for that Imaginary Dinner Party! (So far, I have Sir David, Freddie Mercury and Tim Robbins... they all say they will get back to me, tho Freddie is finding it a tad difficult...)

I always found Freddie Mercury to be fascinating, right down to his BIG teeth. Queen has always been my Favorite group. My daughter, although young when he died, cried her little heart out. I miss his flamboyancy!

OK Ok Bobbie, yes, this is a Chough. Nothing said about Red or Yellow...just Chough. Good job guys! Ok and now for today's

Who am I?

Most of you have probably not seen the pileated woodpecker up close, but almost every woodland in Central New York is home to one pair of these attractive birds.

 We have a pair in the 50 acres of woods we own, but they seldom come to our feeder. We do see one now and then.
 They feed on carpenter ants in winter. These ants bore into the tree at ground level or below. They dig tunnels up through the trees.

The pileated woodpecker taps the trunk with its strong bill and then listens for the ants moving about inside.
 The best clue that a pileated woodpecker is in the vicinity is a tree with large, oblong holes. The hole is usually longer vertically and surrounded by a rim of bare wood, about an inch wide. There usually will be five or six such holes in the trunk and a pile of chips on the ground that is 3 to 6 inches deep.
 A lot of research was done at the laboratory of Ornithology at Cornell University on this woodpecker by Southgate Hoyt and his wife Sally, who both published scientific papers of studies conducted in 1938 through 1942 .

 They also had a large outdoor cage with a captive female pileated woodpecker which could be observed every day.
 In eating large insects such as beetle larvae, caterpillars and large beetles, the pileated grasps the food between the mandibles and it is swallowed by tossing the head back and then manipulating the food with the tongue.

 The tongue can be extended about 3½inches beyond the tip of the bill to reach deep into a tunnel made by the ants.
 The saliva is sticky and ants can be withdrawn from their hiding places. The woodpecker can use hard blows with its bill to split off long pieces of wood which it can toss over its shoulder to the ground.