Thursday, August 07, 2008

Updates of all sorts!

by the numbers...

1. Last night, I heard a very eerie-sounding call from the wooded hillside across the road: an Eastern Screech Owl! WOO-HOO! A new yardbird! I'd seen these sweet little owls before, both in Texas and here, but I'd never heard that call. If you've not heard a screech owl before, give it a listen--spooooky! (my owl did both the A song and the B song found on that link)

2. Some Joan Baez fans--and new visitors to the bloggy!--must have been playing with the google yesterday, as Joan has moved into a commanding lead with 45 votes for best female singer! I need to go over to the YouTubes (as opposed to the "series of tubes") and listen to her sing.

3. I saw a huge flock of red-winged blackbirds moving north over our valley last evening. I'd noticed that you can no longer hear the "oh-ka-lee!" calls on the marsh as well, though on Sunday there were still a few RWBLs hanging around being territorial. Are they starting to migrate? Why would they go north?

4. Found two froggies in the yard last night but didn't have my camera: a Southern leopard frog (beautiful!) and a tiny little reddish frog that I couldn't ID. Might've been a baby spring peeper?

6 comments:

Lynne at Hasty Brook said...

Lucky you- I've never seen or heard a screech owl.

NCmountainwoman said...

I recall a very frightening time as a 5 (or so) year old. I heard the B song for the first time and I was absolutely convinced there was a woman crying deep in the forest. I couldn't convince my parents about the woman. In fact, they LAUGHED at me and told me it was only an owl. Having heard owls before, I was convinced they were lying and I felt terrible. I remember trying to cover my ears with the pillow in order to drown out the fearful sound.

And the B song of the screech owl makes me uneasy to this day.

Thanks, Delia. You're better than a therapist, and a whole lot cheaper.

John B. said...

I think that after they are done breeding, blackbirds disperse from their nesting areas and congregate in large flocks for the fall and winter. They then travel together for roosting and foraging. So the flock you saw may not have been migration, but simply heading for its roosting area or moving from one feeding area to another.

KGMom said...

I noticed that Joan Baez is surging into the lead. Revise your opinion!

Fran said...

My my such adventures!!

dguzman said...

Lynne--they're sweet little guys! And that call--wow. Eerie.

NCMtnWoman--I would probably have felt the same way as you as a kid. And they laughed? So cruel! Have you heard barn owls? Holy crap, if I heard that screaming in the night, I'd probably cry and then pee myself.

John--like gangs! Nogoodniks!

KGMom--she's kicking ass!

FranIam--if only you were here to share them!