The Common Loon

We normally see loons on our lake in late March or early April. This one arrived on March 28, and was gone by the next day. Sometimes they will spend up to a week on the lake and we may see two to four at one time. The Common Loon is about 24' long with a 58" wing span. In the winter their backs have a dark color while in the summer their backs are characterized by a cross-banded plumage of black and white. This banding is just becoming evident on this loon. The Common Loon is known for his deep dives, feeding mostly on fish. This one was swimming just off our dock so Joe went down to the dock to get a picture. The loon apparently saw Joe coming and dove under the water and reappeared out at the end of our cove, over 100 yards away when a picture was finally taken. On rare occasions we will hear the Common Loon give his call which sounds like a yodel-laugh, but these calls are mostly saved for the summer months when they reside in Canada.

Nest Building - 101

Spring must have arrived at last. We have seen squirrels all winter, but normally with a walnut in their mouth heading back to their winter home. Today (March 28, 2008) though, we have seen a squirrel make repeated trips into an oak tree located outside our kitchen window. He proceeded to bite off small branches with leaves still intact and make his way back to some tree where he is building a nest for his mate.

After several trips to the oak tree, the squirrel switched to a wild cherry tree where he stripped off some bark from a dead limb. He has quite a mouth full. Apparently the bark will be used to hold the oak branches together as he builds the nest- a very clever squirrel.

Our Barred Owl Revisited

Shortly after sunset on a calm evening in March, the distinctive calls of a Barred Owl carry across a forested hillside in north eastern Ohio. Its mate responds, initiating an eerie duet composed of traditional calls (8 notes) and various deep-throaty notes. These Barred Owls are courting and will shortly start the process of raising their young. Their nest site has already been selected, most likely a cavity within a hollow tree. Most clutches are raised in March and hatch by mid-April. We have been hearing these mating calls most every day, but finding the owls is another matter due to the thick growth of trees near our house and the owl's coloring blends in with the bark and limbs of the trees. To spot one is a rare treat, but to see the pair might be considered a miracle.

Song of Solomon 2:16 My beloved is mine, and I am his; he feeds me among the lilies.

Soul Mates

This has to be one of the rarest pictures we (or possibly anyone) have taken - a pair of Barred Owls sharing the same branch about 15 feet from where we were standing in the back of our house. We believe the owl on the right is the male. He had been sitting on this same limb for about 6 hours. The female was probably sitting on their nest until she decided to join her mate. The female (on the left) arrived and stayed for about 2 minutes and then flew down the hill in the back of our house towards the lake. After about 20 minutes she returned and again landed on the same branch next to her mate. This time, she only stayed for about a minute when she again flew down the hill and landed in a tree by the lake. The male must have gotten the message this time as he also flew down to the same tree. They were there for about 3-4 minutes when they both flew out of our range of sight.

Migratory Ducks

Migratory ducks like to stop off on our lake on their way to the northern U.S. or southern Canada. They normally are here for a day or two and then leave the lake to their next stop on their way north, We have found that migratory ducks like to migrate away from the dam or shoreline when we approach them to take a picture. Some of the time we are able to get pictures before they get too far away, but in a lot of the instances their rear ends are about all we get in the picture. In other cases, they are too far away to see any details of of their color, size, and other distinguishing features which makes photography impractical. However, we are able to get some pictures of these ducks and other birds to share with those who are observing this site. You can left click on each picture to enlarge it to the full screen of your computer monitor which will help the make the features more discernible.

Ring-Necked Bay Ducks

Bay Ducks commonly winter in protected coastal bays and river mouths. These Ring-Necked Ducks are more confined to fresh water than other Bay Ducks. In the summer they spend their time around the northern Great Lakes of the U.S. and southwestern Canada. The male Ring-Necked Duck is in the foreground and two females are in the lead. These ducks are about 12" in length and have a wingspan of 28".

Redhead Bay Duck

The Redhead Bay Duck likes ponds an lakes in the winter and then heads for Western Canada for the summer. The male, shown here, has a large round head, light bill, dark breast, and is white underneath. These ducks are about 14.5" in length and have a wing span of 33".

A Pair of Redhead Bay Ducks

A pair of Redhead Bay Ducks enjoying a calm swim in our lake. The female is in the lead and has a round head like her mate (bringing up the rear), but she lacks the brilliant plumage that he has on his head.

Canadian Geese and Bufflehead Ducks

This pictures show a lineup of Canadian Geese in the background and a Bufflehead Duck coming in for a "three point landing" (two feet and a tail) to join a line of three other Bufflehead Ducks in the foreground.

Red Bellied Woodpecker

The Red Bellied Woodpecker is a member of the Ladder-Backed Family of Woodpeckers. The Red Bellied is characterized by a red cap and hind neck, a touch of red on its lower stomach, and of course the ladder back. The male (shown here) has more red on its neck than does the female. They enjoy the suet like the Downy and Hairy Woodpeckers.

Hairy Woodpecker

The Hairy Woodpecker is of medium size, length of 7.5" compared to the Downy Woodpecker which is about 5.25" in length. Their markings are quite similar and the Downy has been described as a miniature Hairy. The Hairy Woodpecker comes to our suet feeders on a regular throughout the winter months.

I will praise You, O Lord, with my whole heart; I will tell of all your marvelous works. Psalm 9:1

A Pair of Juncos

The Slate-colored Junco spends the winter looking for seeds that the other birds drop from the bird feeders. Occasionally they will get on the bird feeders. The top view is a female which is light gray in color while the male (bottom view) is somewhat darker. These little birds are about 5" long. They are also known as "Snow Birds".

Downy Woodpecker

During our great snow storm of March 8 & 9, 2008 we ran out of suet for the birds that come to our bird feeders. We bought two dozen "cakes" in the fall plus having 3 cakes left over from last year. So, we made a batch using a special recipe which included oats, peanut butter, seeds, cornmeal, crushed egg shells, and bacon grease. We pressed the mixture into one of the plastic containers from those we had purchased to act as a mold and then put this into the freezer for about an hour so that the suet cake would be solid. The birds seemed to like it just as well as the commerial variety as evidenced by this Downy Woodpecker on one of the feeders. It looks like it is getting ready to take a big bite.

The Bufflehead Duck

One of the smaller ducks we see each year is the Bufflehead Duck which is about 10" long with a wing span of 24". This is a male with the characteristic large white patch on its puffy greenish head. The female has a small white cheek patch of white. While most ducks run along the water's surface to take off, this diving duck is able to enter flight without running first. This picture taken from shore is a typical view - the birds and ducks start swimming away from shore as they sense someone approaching.

The American Coot

The American Coot is a small migratory bird that visits our lake. It is about 12" long and has a wing span of 25". It is characterized by the dark plumage which contrasts with the short, stubby white bill and also white markings underneath the short tail (not visible in this view). They are fun to watch feed as they as they dive with an upward jump before submerging to feed beneath the water's surface.

Our Barred Owl

Can You Turn Your Head This Far?

A Quick Nap Before The Night Hunt

The Barred Owl

One of our favorite birds to watch is the Barred Owl. We can hear him call, a hoot of 8 times, usually in the late afternoon. However, he is very difficult to spot in the trees surrounding our house. We finally saw him in one of the trees on Tuesday, March 4, 2008 and were able to take a couple of pictures before it got too dark. Two days later on March 6, 2008, at 7:00 a.m. we were surprised to see our friend sitting on a branch about 15' from the back of our house. He spent most of the day on the same branch just looking around - maybe scoping out the territory for his night-time feeding. He went from this one branch to the railing on our lower deck and finally into the blue spruce just off the deck, where he was until evening came. The Barred Owl is about 17" in height and has a wing span of 44".

There shall the great owl make her nest,and lay, and hatch, and gather under her shadow--Isaiah 34:15

A Doe and Her Yearling

This doe is taking care of her yearling. This is a video taken from our kitchen window.

"He makes me as surefooted as a deer, leading me safely along the mountain heights." Psalm 18:33

Deer Tracks In The Snow

This picture was taken on Sunday after our great snow of Friday and Saturday . This was in the front yard next to where a deer had gone through earlier in the day. We were watching the deer walk down the hill to the lake and the snow was up to their knees.

March, 2008 Snow Storm

A little more snow had accumulated at the end of our driveway thanks to the snowplow clearing the road going by our house. Joe used the tractor to clear the driveway down next to the garage where it is somewhat level, but the snow was too heavy as he started up the hill for the tractor to push it off the driveway even with chains on the tires. So he had to shovel most of the snow. He did some on Saturday and finished it up on Sunday. We haven't been out in the car since Friday so hopefully we can make it up the hill today, Monday.

Tundra Swans

We get a lot of migratory birds at our lake. These tundra swans came through on February 27, 2008. It is unusual to get this large a flock; we normally see 4 or 5, but this day we counted 15. They were here for one day and then went on their way. They are sharing this spot with the Canadian Geese (in the foreground) where one of the swans is in the water with the geese and the rest of the swans are standing on the ice.

Isaiah 1:18 --"Though your sins are like scarlet, They shall be as white as snow; Though they are red like crimson, They shall be as wool."

Our State Bird - The Cardinal

This picture was taken from our great-room looking toward the lake.