RosemaryAs we humans sat feeling tension due to the season, little Rosemary seemed to be doing the same, having retreated up a white pine to just sit.
Tension was also in the air for a fledgling male pileated woodpecker. Sharp-shinned hawks are coming through, and one that made many passes at blue jays and this young woodpecker was perched high in a tree sitting very still as if looking for movement. The pileated had voiced loud calls of distress while being chased but then tried a different strategy. With the hawk sitting high above, the woodpecker sat low and quiet and still on the shaded side of a white pine. He had been chased enough. Then the hawk broke the suspense when it saw a blue jay, tried for it, missed, and flew far off. The woodpecker and blue jays returned to normal.
A new bird made an appearance at the feeder yesterday and today. We had never seen one here in 25 years of recording (since 1995). It was a male scarlet tanager, this one in fall yellowish plumage, and he was nice enough to sit next to a male goldfinch to show their difference in size. I hope it comes back in red plumage next year.
 Goldfinch and Scarlet Tanager |
 Pileated Woodpecker Juvenile |
 Sharp-shinned hawk |
Thank you for all you do.
Lynn Rogers, Biologist, Wildlife Research Institute and North American Bear Center