autumnskullcap's Favorites

This is at least the third time this year I’ve found a juvenile Cooper’s hawk just chilling sitting in a pool of water. Why? No motion like usual “bird baths”. Are they just cooling down via the bare skin on their feet? Why don’t other birds seem to do this? Why has it been a juvenile each time? (It might just be one weirdo individual— all the sightings have been within a half mile).

Lifer! And first tricolor! I knew I could get one this year but I thought for sure it would be cruising in Big Cypress or Flamingo not flipped in my yard. It was absolutely unreal flipping my board and finally after two years seeing this thing. Nice aberrant head band too. Subadult (13"). Last two pics are a habitat shot and a pic of it drinking after the photo session, which I thought was kinda cool. Twitched and mock-struck kinda like a kingsnake which I did not know they did, and it actually bit once which I have never heard of a scarlet doing.

Drama. These guys all normally get along pretty well, but here a squirrel decided to start something and nearly got kicked in the head as reward. Moments later they were back to munching sunflower seeds side-by-side again.