Wednesday, March 2, 2011

Small suet to go, please

Red-bellied Woodpecker
It's a beautiful afternoon, although still too chilly for our taste. We were just back from a short walk and saw this red-bellied woodpecker grabbing a meal to go. Usually we get pictures of them staying still, so we thought we'd post an action shot for a change.

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Blogger Unknown said...

That's a wonderful action photo. I have both the male and female feeding on suet in Voorhees, NJ.

My problem is the squirrels. No matter what I do they find a way to pick through the cage. Any suggestions?

March 4, 2011 at 12:57 AM  
Blogger Chris and Mike said...

Thanks for the comment. The squirrels have been impossible this winter! They destroyed one suet feeder already; the one specifically designed for only the birds able to hang upside down. One of them chewed all the way through the wood frame so the cage piece fell right out. They are also working their way through this feeder. Usually we use very very thin wire to extend between the hook at the branch and the feeder making it impossible for them to reach it. This year they are even more acrobatic than usual and shimmy down the wire to the suet. Putting a baffle over it didn't work either. Even using suet with just bugs and no seeds or peanuts which they supposedly don't like didn't stop them; they went for it anyway. Suggestions; no, but we can absolutely sympathize with your problem! Sometimes Chris throws ice cubes at them when she is really frustrated. They just come right back though.

March 4, 2011 at 7:00 AM  

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Tuesday, March 1, 2011

Return of the Beaver

Beaver 
Spring must be here. The man-made dam has not yet been fixed, so Lake Nelson is still a stream. This morning we spotted the beaver swimming up the stream. Perhaps he'll make a dam so we can enjoy the lake again.

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Chicken - Photo by Norm, Meriden, CT



This is Chickie, the chicken that adopted Chris's sister, Marilyn.  Chris has six siblings, and they all enjoy their backyard birds and other critters.  We don't have details on the species of Chickie, but in this case that's not what matters.  This is a small example of how having a blog can just simply be a fun way of sharing common interests and story telling and not worrying too much about technicalities.  For instance, Chris has no idea why this text is centering (she doesn't read code), but she's posting it anyway.  Mike is the technical brains behind our blog and does 99 percent of the posts, while Chris just stands around and tells him which pictures make her smile more.  The moral of this story: We're ready for spring migration - we're posting beavers and chickens!

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