Quoth The Raven:

"Let's build a nest". Sitting in the commuter lot in Brunswick today I saw what I at first glance took to be a bunch of crows flying around. When one of them flew by with a stick in its beak I took a closer look, especially when it flew underneath a nearby bridge. Crows don't normally build nests underneath bridges. Much to my delight I realized this was a pair of Ravens gearing up for Spring. One of them landed quite close and began gathering a few more twigs, so I was able to catch one of the pair flying near me. That big roman- nosed beak you can see in the picture is one of their distinguishing marks, along with being a good bit larger than a crow. I did see a crow make a pass at one of the Ravens, who ignored it. Ravens are normally found in more mountainous regions in Virginia but appear to be expanding their range a bit.

Getting There-

First Crocus of the year has appeared in the backyard on a warm (65 degrees) and windy day- a very small one. Winds up to 60mph are expected. Bird activity at the feeders is down. I noticed a Blue Jay flying off with an eggshell from the compost pile- that will get eaten and turned into an egg by the Jay, or at least add to the calcium part of the shell.

The Blue Jays took 11 seconds to land on the deck for their morning peanuts- the fastest time I've seen has been 8 seconds from the time the peanuts land.

Mr. & Mrs. Hairy

Not one but two Hairy Woodpeckers visiting the suet feeder this afternoon- looked like a pair. Very shy- but they stuck around long enough to get some through-the-window shots with the long lens. A Downy was feeding at the same time so they may have felt a little safer. Hopefully the pair will find enough to their liking around our yard that they'll find a place to stash an egg or two nearby.

Noticed a large patch of tiny violet colored crocus of some kind in bloom on Gallows Road today. There's a few lawns in that area that have hundreds of the same type in bloom in March.

A Warm Day

And a butterfly was out! This is a Mourning Cloak- they're known for appearing on warm Winter days. This was a really warm day- it hit 75 degrees at National Airport today. Those warm temps will depart tomorrow with the predicted 50-60mph winds. I plan on not standing underneath any dead trees on Saturday.

Light at the End of the Tunnel

I think this one is worth a thousand words.... from the front yard today.

Going Batty?

No, not really. Walking along the Hiker-Biker Trail on the west side of Huntley Meadows I saw the shadow of a leaf as it fell from the tree. The shadow got to a certain point and then made a 180 degree turn and fluttered back towards me. At that point I realized that this was no leaf- looked up and discovered a Red Bat flying up and down the trail. They're called a "Red" bat because they're a nice reddish brown color. A beautiful day here- I was sweating as I was walking down the trail, with the temperature at about 68 degrees. Marsh was mostly ice free, with Mallards, Pintails, Green-winged Teal, Hooded Mergansers, Canada Geese and a flock of Ring-billed Gulls out enjoying the sunshine. The teal were being a little vocal and chasing each other around- another observer and I thought at first we were hearing Spring Peepers but then realized it was the teal making noise at each other. About ten turtles out sunbathing at the edge of the marsh- I'm guessing mostly Painted turtles.

First Snowdrop in bloom in the front yard, Crocus are peeking out half an inch or so. Leftover snow melting fast.

Raptors and I-66

Spent the day around Front Royal and Winchester today. Nice to see good numbers of hawks while driving out and back on 66- Red-tailed & Red-shouldered, and our smallest member of the falcon family, Kestrels. They like the edges of the interstates because it's a good habitat for mice, voles, and grasshoppers (the Kestrels go after the hoppers in summer). Quite a few Red-shouldered Hawks here and there on the wires, seemingly outnumbering the Red-tailed Hawks . The easy way to tell the difference is the breast color- if it's whitish, sometimes with a darker band on the chest, it's a Red-tail. If the breast color is reddish it's usually a Red-shouldered (the pictured one is a Red-tailed- note the belly band). At one point looked to my left and saw two Red-tails sitting on some powerlines a few feet apart- a sign that courting has begun in anticipation of Spring. Also saw quite a few Kestrels, our smallest falcon.

An hour at Huntley Meadows and a New Visitor

Went down to Huntley Meadows today to drop a cable off for FMN use and spent an hour out on a very cold boardwalk. Very few people. Began with a flock of Song Sparrows foraging around at the beginning of the boardwalk, walking around on the ice. Further out towards the center of the marsh the usual flock of Ring-billed Gulls, a few Pintails (my favorite duck), a pair or two of Mallards, and lots of crows foraging around on the exposed mudflats. From the observation platform watched a Red-shouldered Hawk picking at a dead something (duck or goose) in the ice, surrounded by several crows. The crows were being fairly wary of the hawk, which finally tore off a good sized piece of whatever it was and flew off towards the treeline with it. Also in attendance in a tree near the beaver dam were another Red-shouldered and not too far away in the same tree a Red-tailed Hawk. As I was watching all of this going on every duck in the marsh suddenly took off in panicked flight- looking upwards the reason for that sailed by on a six-foot wingspread- an immature Bald Eagle. After spending a bit more time on the boardwalk I decided that I was cold enough for the day and headed back to the car.

As an additional bonus, got home and there was a Hairy Woodpecker at the feeder. These are a bit bigger and shyer than the Downies and not as easy to get a shot of. This was the second day in a row there's been one in the backyard.

This Looks Good

After a bit of melting in the last few days this was exposed- a Snowdrop! There's another one a few inches away.

Ugly Snow, Please Go Away?

After last weeks heavy wet snow fell, creating miles of traffic backups and leaving drivers cursing the weather, most people just want the snow to go away as fast as possible, especially the heaps of dirty gray stuff in the parking lots and next to the now-dry roads. I want the stuff still in the yard to go away slowly, preferably straight down into the ground. This is one of the things that replenishes our groundwater and gives the recently planted spring bulbs a nice drink. I'm wondering how the ones I had down in the basement will do- those had been in the small plot in front next to the driveway, and hadn't done very well due to the poor soil mix in the plot. I had dug all those bulbs up, put them in the basement, and replaced the soil with several bags of topsoil, some composted cow manure, and a good bit of the contents from the compost pile. The old bulbs went into the back yard where the Yoshino Cherry tree had been during one of the few warmer days we had in January. We'll see how the new bulbs that went into the front plot last Fall do- the perennials I put in there did very nicely, including a Columbine that was transplanted from the back yard. Last year after our 54 inches of snow the garden went wild- everything bloomed profusely.