Tag Archives: Blue Jay

Nature in a Minute: Whose woods these are…

On January 1, 2019, Robert Frost’s Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening entered into the public domain and I have been pondering the lines from that poem, especially

Whose woods these are…

Robert Frost, 1923

as I take people on programs through the wildlife sanctuary – like high school photography students, develop STEAM curriculum inspired by our natural world, and continue to learn about our amazing natural world right here in Canton. Whose woods are these…

A Great-horned Owl has taken up residence in our pine grove.

As I quietly walked through our wildlife sanctuary, through a grove of tall, spindly white pines and oaks looking for the aforementioned great-horned owl, a white-tail flashed and a “herd” of deer bounded away my foot steps. My attention was draw to a quieter, subtle sound of faintly rustling leaves and breaking twigs gave away the location of a no longer resting coyote.

Coyote, January 8, 2019

Here is a video from our trail camera of four white-tailed deer bounding across the pine grove late one afternoon this new year.

Four deer bounding through the pine grove

Here is a trail camera video from the past week of a single coyote a little past dawn moving through the pine grove.

Coyote in the pine groove

Since the New Year, our wildlife sanctuary has been bursting with activity fueled by an eruption of pine cones. Each day there is a cacophony of squirrels, both red and grey, and seed eating birds, like red-breasted and white-breasted nuthatches, brown creepers, tufted titmouse, black-capped chickadees, and more. The ground is covered with pine cones, including this pile near a vernal pool on the property.

A cache of pine cones. January 8, 2019.

A red squirrel moved frenetically – both eating pine seeds and remaining vigilant for predators – like the coyote and great horned owl that have both taken up residence in the pine grove.

A red squirrel frenetically collects and eats pine seeds

As a raptor hunted near by and blue jay’s mobbed the bird, a grey squirrel hung tightly to the trunk of a tree and tried to blend in until the danger passed. Whose woods are these…

Robert Frost reading Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening

Selected artwork from Taking Flight: our juried youth bird art exhibition (Part V)

We are extremely excited to display a selection of art from our first annual juried youth bird art exhibition. This annual exhibition is open to any children and young adults age 4 to 18 years old. All selected entries will be on display at the Museum of American Bird Art from September 23 to December 11th. Entries for our second annual exhibition will open in early 2017.

Sage Lemieux, Toucan, Age 11

Sage Lemieux, Age 11

Sage Lemieux, Age 11

Bird Pooping, Neva Hobbs, Age 5

Neva_Age4

Eastern Bluebird, Jamie Davis, Age 13

“The Eastern Bluebird is one of my favorite birds of New England, because I have watched it and fed it and nurtured the nest boxes in our yard and at the Community Gardens in our town. This year Mama and I were invited to be nest box monitors at an old cranberry bog in our town. The Cape Cod Bird Club has 45 nest boxes there, occupied by Eastern Bluebirds, and we take our turn checking on them. I have loved seeing the various stages of growth in the Bluebirds, inspired by Julie Zickfoose’s new book, Baby Birds. I was thrilled a few winters ago to see Eastern Bluebirds in our yard and to watch the males and females at our feeders and bird bath. The males are my favorite color, a kind of Cerulean blue, with the females just slightly duller in color, but not in interest or intelligence. I chose a medium of watercolor for the bluebird because I loved the Cerulean Blue.”

Jamie Davis, Age 13

Jamie Davis, Age 13

White-Throated Needletail, Joseph Jewett, Age 8

“The white-throated needletail is a rare and endangered species. It is a favorite of many birdwatchers because it is one of the fastest birds in the world. In 2013, a needletail got struck by the spinning blades of a wind turbine in the United Kingdom while anxious birdwatchers looked on. My drawing includes a needletail, an airplane, and a wind turbine. It symbolizes the negative impact that modern technologies can have on birds but also how birds have inspired new technologies that create community and help to protect the environment. When I grow up, I want to design turbines that can harvest huge amounts of energy from the wind while keeping birds, bats, and even bugs safe.”

Joseph Jewett, Age 8

Joseph Jewett, Age 8

Gabrielle Ross, Blue Jay Family, Age 7

“I love blue Jays. They are so pretty. I have a family of blue jays in my yard.
Their mom brings the babies food to eat.”

Gabby Ross, Age 7

Gabby Ross, Age 7