Canada goslings image – SilverLining

This post is one of five that shows a variety of pictures I took on May 20th. The posts are all dated May 22, which is today -the day I’m posting.

Above is a mud and straw nest. Last year I found one on the other side of the pond. I think I’m going to do a little research and find out just what bird it is that creates this amazing structure. It is about six inches deep, rounded edged mud patty upon mud patty. The mud is held together with straw. And the cup of the nest is only a couple of inches deep.

Below is a red-bellied woodpecker. The woodpecker surprises me with its size. This bird is about nine inches long! I don’t know why my impression had always been that woodpeckers were petite birds.

Canada geese leave a trail of poop wherever they go. This reality bothers a lot of people. Where I live, their poop is on our walks, in the lawn, on and in the water of the pond. But I never complain because I love the goslings – whether it’s one little one taking a break from its eating and pooping or the whole gang under a parent’s watchful eye.

The Baltimore orioles arrived two weeks ago. Their lovely songs fill the trees and thicket on the far side of the pond. Sometimes, I catch a glimpse of their brilliant orange, as above, while other times they sit long enough for a portrait, as below. Both photos are of a male.The female (below) is not as brilliant an orange color, but she fans her tail feathers and calls to the male in their spring mating rituals. I don’t know what the sweet thing pictured below is! A friend is going to look at this picture and try to tell me. It’s such an ordinary looking bird that I should be able to identify it. But sometimes it’s the less ordinary that is easy to distinguish. I love the quality of this photo – the lines of the branches, the blue of the sky, the calm posture of the bird.
One day in early May, a female common grackle was singing her heart out, apparently to get the attention of a male, which she did. He arrived as she postured like a tea cup and stood perfectly still. He approached her and put her beak in his. I’m not sure if this is his way to claim her as his, or if he was simply silencing her!
The red-winged blackbird is fast at work, establishing relationships and nesting areas. It passes back and forth over the pond, stopping in favorite places – in the pond reeds, at the top of trees, or on an outer branch of a tree. Often, the image below is how the bird presents – a darting black bird with striking red at its shoulders.

I was caught by surprise one day in early May when six goslings paddled alongside a pair of Canada geese. But as it is May, the birthing season is upon us. Perhaps it’s the chilly and rainy weather that has me not quite believing we are this far into this phase of the season.

To convince me, an American robin sits patiently on her nest whenever I walk by. I am anxious to see her hatchlings. Already, I anticipate much frustration as I try to capture their picture against that milky sky behind the nest! I’ll be hoping for deep blue skies once they arrive!

Tag: Canada goslings image

Random Displays of Spring in New England

Springtime Birds in New England