New Sightings

 We all love seeing critters that are our first sightings, don't we?  I get so excited when a bird that is new to my yard makes an appearance.  Especially one that I thought only moved around at night!  Though he or she didn't stay for long, I managed to capture what I thought was a large hawk. Upon further observation and cropping in my photo,  I think we spotted an owl on the fence. 

 I was only able to take two photos from the dining room through the Florida room windows before he flew away.   So I apologize for the poor quality of the photo and the lack of a frontal view. Take notice of his head and the ears that look like a feline. Reading more about these owls I learned that though they prefer hunting at night but they will occasionally hunt during the day.   

Samuel reminded us that some folks call owls "flying cats."  I can really see the resemblance.  I do worry about our feathered friends when a mighty hunter visits.  Yesterday we had a very large hawk visit as well.  By the time I got to my camera he was off to find a meal somewhere else.  For that I was thankful!

After looking online for identification, I can only imagine this owl was a Great Horned Owl.  If any of you know different, I'd love to hear. 

When we were in Williamsburg we also saw a critter from our balcony.  There was a pond with a fountain that sounded so peaceful behind our unit.

 As you can imagine we enjoyed our tea and coffee and occasional meals on the balcony.  Grayden spotted a very large turtle swimming one afternoon.  Of course I had to take a picture the best I could from the third floor.

I cropped the photo in hopes of further identifying him.  I believe he is a Common Snapping Turtle.

The Common Snapping Turtle (Chelydra Serpentina) is seen in fresh waters in the USA down to Florida and up to Nova Scotia and out to the Rocky Mountains. 

He was quite large and a great swimmer.  Upon further reading about him, I learned he is basically harmless in the water, but on land can be quite combative with his beak like jaws.  In the water he is more likely to hide in the sediment of his habitat if approached. 

Most Common Snapping Turtles weigh up to 22 pounds at maturity.  Though in captivity, where they are overfed, they can weigh much more - up to 75 pounds!

Have you ever seen a Common Snapping Turtle?  This is a first for me, though not in our backyard.

Also we observed a rather interesting sad couple of Canada Geese that lived near this same pond.  They appeared to be a happy couple, but upon further observation one had a wing problem. 

 

The other goose limped with each step as he ate from the grassy area.

These two geese stayed close together and seemed to watch out for each other.  They never flew from this area.  We can only surmise that they felt safe here together.  No other geese flew into the pond, though many flew above in the evenings.  It was like their own little hideaway.  At least that's what I'm hoping.  I do know injured animals are vulnerable to predators.  We did not go near them to see if they had a nest as we know better than to do that as they can get quite aggressive if they feel their nest is in danger.  

I do hope for the best as these two make their way in the coming days. 

 

"I firmly believe that nature brings solace in all troubles." Anne Frank