Stoney Creek (Wintergreen) 3/25/12

All photos are © Marshall Faintich


Sometimes, rainy days can be good birding days. In between the bands of rain, there was some gray, but dry sky, so I headed over to the Allen Creek Nature Preserve to see what might be there. This report has lots of photos, but I think you will find them interesting.

My first stop was at Sawmill Creek pond # 3. There were two Canada Geese at the far end of the pond that were acting a bit strange, and I thought that I saw something moving in the brush behind them. It wasn't until I got home and processed the photos that I saw a Red-shouldered Hawk that was watching the geese.


Red-shouldered Hawk

On the path to the preserve I saw an interesting Yellow-rumped Warbler. It had dark patches on its breast - I assume that these are because of spring molt and not from hybridization.


Yellow-rumped Warbler

Deep in the preserve, I heard a lot of commotion. A Red-bellied Woodpecker was raiding the nest cavity of a pair of Downy Woodpeckers, and as much as they tried to defend their home, the Red-bellied Woodpecker would not budge. At one point, there was so much commotion that other birds stopped by to watch the battle.


The defense: Downy Woodpeckers


The offense: Red-bellied Woodpecker


The battlefield is set


Woodpecker Wars!


Woodpecker Wars!


Woodpecker Wars!


Woodpecker Wars!


Woodpecker Wars!


Woodpecker Wars!


Woodpecker Wars!


Woodpecker Wars!


Woodpecker Wars!


Enough already!

When I got home, I walked in my back yard to see if there might be a Red-shouldered Hawk in the nest I had found a few weeks ago. Sure enough, there was one sitting in the nest. I was able to get a few photos, but when I got too close, the hawk let me know to keep my distance.


Red-shouldered Hawk


Red-shouldered Hawk


"Back off, Varmit!"

With almost 400 photos to process, I decided to read my e-mail as the photos loaded into my computer. My neighbor Frits had just e-mailed me that an Eastern Screech Owl was in his Wood Duck box, so I headed over there to get a few more photos. What a day!


Eastern Screech Owl


Eastern Screech Owl



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