In the Hood

The presence of Pileated Woodpeckers is easy to detect thanks to the amount of noise they make while foraging for bugs. Last week I was really excited to see my first juvenile Pileated perched in an Oak in my yard. 

Dad was in a nearby tree looking for something to eat.

He then delivered a meal to his patiently waiting youngster.

Unfortunately my photo came out exceptionally terrible, but it was a cool interaction to observe (so I shared it anyway).

My neighbors have a Red-shouldered Hawk's nest in their yard. The three juveniles that fledged the nest still remain close by. The parents continue to bring food to the young hawks.

This in an adult (not sure if its one of the parents) that frequents my yard. It isn't very shy and will land in the yard when we are nearby.

Note to self: walk quickly when passing an Osprey in this position (yes, he is aiming for you).

One day on my way home for work, I passed this Osprey enjoying his dinner in the company of a Great Horned Owl:) I counted 7 decoy owls on this particular dock...they appear to have made friends with the neighborhood birds though.

Snakes are a very important part of the local food chain. The rodents feed the snakes; the snakes feed the raptors. I recent saw this Red Rat Snake, also known as a Corn Snake, slithering through the grass. I laid in the grass as the snake traveled toward me, then right on past me. If you look closely at the snake's eye, you can see the reflection of the sky.

And what goes great with a relaxing, outdoor Sunday breakfast...

...did you guess watching a Yellow Rat Snake land with a loud thud on the nearby cement boat ramp as it fell from a Palm tree clutching a rat that was fighting for its life. Well, that didn't happen during my breakfast, but it did during my neighbor's who preceded to call me over as I worked in the yard. I then watched the snake have its Sunday breakfast.

Interesting to see how quickly the snake swallowed the large rat.

A final wave goodbye...

And the snake was off. I was glad I had already eaten!