Oooooo! Scary!!!!!

Now there are some scary Halloween decorations:

(discreetly taken as I walked down our street...yeah, we actually live near these weirdos)

Okay! Okay! You got me...I'M SCARED !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Our current assistance to the economy

Backstory:
A month ago, Geoff's car, a 1998 Saturn, died a quiet death. Needed a whole new engine to the tune of $3000. Well, since the car isn't even worth $1000, we bid it a fond farewell. It brought Isabelle and Lorelei home from the hospital, it took us many many places. Rest in peace.

We have been going on one car. RAPTOR programs, getting Lorelei to school, trying not to need to be two places at once. No matter how we slice it, we need to be a two-car family.

May I now introduce the newest member of the Williams' household.....
Drumroll.......................




A 2006 Subaru Forester. (I asked Lorelei to be my car Model, and she did the cutest "Ta-Da" pose.)
I have wanted a Subaru for years. Good gas mileage, reliable, just enough car for me. It has all that I want and nothing I don't.
I have never owned a car this new. Geoff has had one brand-new car before, but this is really really new for me.

And I love the color...it's called Garnet. (which happens to be my birthstone, by the way)

I didn't get a good side view photo, so here's one I swiped off the Net:


You are all going to love this.
Drive Magazine is a publication from Subaru. And this was the cover that greeted us as we sat down with the salesman:

If that's not a sign, I don't know what is.

More pictures tomorrow...I ran out of daylight, then had to go to RAPTOR to package mice and rats.

I was all set

I was all set to do a quick post about....


...this red-tailed hawk I saw at Lake Isabella...




...and this rather vivid wall at a program yesterday....(Wow. That's...really....something...anyone feel like KABOOMING?)


But a quick romp in the back yard with the dogs led me to this...really fantastic bug.

A wheel bug, to be exact.

I first learned about these really cool bugs from Nina's blog. I always wanted to find one in our yard, because it seems that whatever she has in her yard, we have in ours. I was starting to take it personally that we didn't have any wheel bugs.
And halleluia, we do.
They are so BIG. I thought it was a leaf.

And it was devouring a yellow jacket. Yeeeeeee-eeessss.


I was completely enthralled with it. It's one of the good guys...taking care of Japanese beetles and other pests. I was nearly nose to nose with the thing, and then I had the thought, "Hmm. Do they fly?" Getting the mental image of me running like a mad woman, screaming and tearing off my shirt as I bolt across the yard made me take a few steps back.
Then I noticed a smell. Hmmm....did I step in dog poo or is this bug annoyed with me?
Researching them, I learned that they have two scent-sacs that it everts from its anus when annoyed. Oh boy.
Totally click on the pictures. It's really a beautiful bug.

Here and there, this and that

Nothing exciting is afoot around here, but I have snapped a few good pictures lately.
***

Someone please tell my dog she needs to relax:

"Zzzzzzz...........snort......Zzzzzz...."


"Talk to the paw."





The last scene of Charlotte's Web is being reenacted on our front door:

Tiny, perfect little predators.


But zoom in and it's kinda nightmarish. Feel anything crawly on your neck right now?


Oh, here's some fun news. RAPTOR, Inc. has a new program bird:

A female American Kestrel. Kestrels are one of the few raptors you can sex by color. Males have pretty blue-gray wings, and females are rusty and barred all the way across.
A very relaxed bird, at least as far as kestrels are concerned. A usually spazzy species, this lady is nowhere near as nuts at Steel.

Hmm. I guess this one needs a name, too? Anyone have any ideas?
She was our kestrel foster mom last year. She came in during the nesting season (blind in one eye) and was still hormonal enough to be able to brood and feed some orphans we had. She decided not to assist us this year. So now she has her spiffy jesses and will soon be on our permit.

Let's just soak in that face....

That's a fairly adorable bird right there.

Sticking to what I know

The yearly migration to Cape May draws nigh. Since shorebirds and sparrows are not my strong suit, we will focus on hawk IDs.

*observe my blatant ignoring of last post*

When you see a bird of prey, what is usually the situation?
1. Perching
2. Flying away


We will go through some of the more common birds, with all the views.

Red-shouldered hawk:
Perching, front>>>

Look for all that orange. (Immature: dark brown vertical streaking)

Perching, back>>>

Black and white banded tail, scalloped back.

Flying away>>>
(unashamedly stolen from Kyle's blog)













Their wings kind of remind me of checkerboards.


Red-tailed hawk:
Perching, back>>>>>

Red tail....red tail....red tail....
(Immature: Brown striped tail)

Perching, front>>>

Dark belly band on a pale front.
*Word about red-tailed hawk plumage...this is the most variable hawk in North America. They can be very pale, all the way through the spectrum to very dark. There are four light morphs and three dark morphs. Lighter birds have a pale "V" on their backs that can be seen while perched.

Flying away>>>
(stolen from Kyle, again)













When you see a large hawk flying overhead, and can't see the color of the tail, look at the underside for dark crescents at the wrists...red-tailed.

Cooper's Hawk:
Perching, back>>>

Dark cap, dark gray back, long long tail.
Word about Cooper's vs. Sharp-shinned: Size is a good indicator, but tough in the field (and a female Sharpie and a male Coop are about the same size).
Sharpies have a dark "hood"....Coops have a "cap".
Coop's tails are rounded, Sharpie's are squared.

Perching, front>>>

Pale chest with orange barring. Long long tail.

Flying over>>>

I love this shot (got it as I surprised a Coop as I came around the corner of the house).
A typical accipiter silhouette. Short wings, long tail.


Other birds of prey, in flight>>>

Broad-winged hawk:














Look for that wide white band on a otherwise dark tail. And a crisp dark outline of the wings.

Rough-legged hawk:

The black "windows" on the wrist are distinctive.
They will "kite" and hover while hunting. Great photo ops.



Osprey fly with crooked wings. They keep their wings bent at the elbow (drooping "hands").
And they are huge. Hard to mis-ID an osprey.
The dark areas under their wings remind me of a Tiny Tim crutch.



Well. I feel better. Gotta look at the bright side. Because it's...well...brighter.

Because I'm tired of debating sparrows

Thanks to Lynne, Kathi, Donald and John for trying to ID that sparrow from the previous post. I still say that it wasn't a chipping sparrow. Chipping sparrows are about the size of a chickadee. This was BIGGER. I respect opinions from others who know more than me, but I have to stand by my own opinion. I still don't know what it is...but I know what I know.
It's enough to never ever ID a sparrow on this blog again.
More views of the damn thing:



I'll say this...looks like Lynne is picking up OODLES of good sparrow ID tips this weekend!


To put our focus somewhere else....a video of Earl, our Resident Turkey Vulture:

A post with cute birds to keep me from having an aneurysm

I'm multi-tasking here...watching the debate and trying to blog.
I can't think of any witty stuff because I am trying not to blow an artery watching Sarah Palin try to keep up with Joe Biden. Does anyone else just hate her?
I hate that McGrandpa chose a woman just because she's a woman. Does he think he can wave a chick in front of us and we will lose our minds and run out to vote for her?
I hate the bit about her being able to see Russia from her front porch. I grew up in Indiana, and you can see Kentucky from the riverbank. Does that mean I would have made a good general in the Civil War?
I hate all the men out there who "ooh" and "ahh" about her. So, you think T & A makes a good vice-president? Then write me on the ballot. I've got "T" out to here.


Geez...I need some birds and stuff.

This morning, a wall of clouds crept up the street. I didn't realize it until I uploaded it, but there's an optical illusion going on. Looks like the world is slightly concave.


Breath in the blue of a blue jay.....


And the perkiness of a titmouse...


Ooo....a red-shouldered hawk on the neighbor's roof.

No band, so this is either a resident adult or a new adult. (All the chicks in the area are banded, at least we think they are)

I'm not sure about this one yet (sent an email to Kathi, the Sparrow Queen, to help)
Looks like a Field Sparrow...but it was in my yard. That would be a first.

(that dark area on the breast is just ruffled feathers...he had been preening and fluffing)
UPDATE: Kathi confirmed it. A Field Sparrow. New yard bird!

God, the debate is still going on.
Breath in....find your happy place.....