A reader sent me two pictures of birds that he took at Aubrey Spring Ranch on Loving Creek, near the Nature Conservancy’s exquisite Silver Creek Preserve.
White pelican (Pelecanus erythrorhynchos):
Sandhill crane (Grus canadensis):
Two birds
May 2, 2013 • 1:52 pm
Beautiful
Black stork webcamera 2013
in Estonia
We have sandhill cranes locally. Their call is one of those great calls of the wild. They are so big and “old-looking”. They pass thorugh in large flocks, flying high, but we also have had resident pairs that clearly were nesting locally over the last few years. Not sure if they have been raising broods or not: If so, it’s out of sight.
We have also had a large resurgence in the last few years of: Mink and beavers.
The mink seem to have wiped out (the once ubiquitous) opossums. And the coyotes have severely depressed the red fox population. The beavers are showing up as regular road-kills. And I suspect they will become a nuisance to drainage around here soon. (We barely live above the local “sea” (pond system) level around here.)
When I was a kid (1970s) in the same town:
– No opossums
– No mink
– No cardinals
– Very few foxes
– Never saw a coyote
– No beavers within a 100-150 miles
About 10 years ago (+30 years):
– Opossums everywhere
– No mink
– Cardinals everywhere
– Many foxes
– Very few coyotes
– No beavers with 20 miles
Now (+40 years):
– Opossums gone
– Loads of mink
– Cardinals everywhere
– Very few foxes
– Tons of coyotes
– Tons of beavers