Tag: Turkey Vulture

Tuesday (13-October-2020) — New Jersey

Autumn Backyard Nature in New Jersey.

The flock of feisty Pine Siskin descended on the birdfeeders in the morning. Then all of a sudden the birds disappeared. I noticed a Cooper’s Hawk perched on a tree in the backyard. After the hawk left, some of the local birds (Mourning Dove, Black-capped Chickadee, White-breasted Nuthatch, House Finch, and a few Pine Siskins) returned to the birdfeeders. Also in the afternoon a number of Turkey Vultures and Black Vultures found a dead critter.


Pine Siskins at the Birdfeeders. Individual images in the slideshow are available in my PhotoShelter Gallery.


Cooper’s Hawk. Individual images in the slideshow are available in my PhotoShelter Gallery.


Afternoon at the Birdfeeders. Individual images in the slideshow are available in my PhotoShelter Gallery.


Turkey and Black Vultures. Individual images in the slideshow are available in my PhotoShelter Gallery.

Daily Electric Energy Used (36.2 kWh) from Sense. Daily Solar Electric Energy Produced (20.7 kWh) from Sense and SolSystems. Sun and clouds. Geothermal HVAC system off. A deficit of 15.5 kWh.

Thursday (10-September-2020) — New Jersey

Summertime Backyard Nature in New Jersey.

Afternoon at the Birdfeeders: Mourning Dove, Ruby-throated Hummingbird, Red-bellied Woodpecker, Blue Jay, American Crow, Black-capped Chickadee, Tufted Titmouse, Gray Catbird, Song Sparrow, and Northern Cardinal.


Afternoon at the Birdfeeders. Individual images in the slideshow are available in my PhotoShelter Gallery.

Contact me if you are interested in a Time-lapse Video of the Morning or Afternoon session at the Birdfeeders. My setup for the birdfeeder images is a Nikon D850 camera and 200 mm f/2 VR lens set to take one image every 5 seconds over a 5 hour period (~3600 images). The new time-lapse video format is 720p (1080 x 720 pixels) and 1 frame/second. The length of the video is about 1 hour in a 1 GB MP4 file. The previous time-lapse videos of the birdfeeders were at 12 frames/second, and to be honest were too fast to identify the birds.

I wondered why there were periods of time when all of the birds at the feeder disappeared. Then I saw a Bald Eagle in a tree. First time I have seen a Bald Eagle in my backyard. Soon after a bunch of American Crows started harassing the Bald Eagle causing it to fly away. A bit later, I saw a Cooper’s Hawk in the same tree that the Bald Eagle had been perched. As before, a bunch of American Crows started harassing the Cooper’s Hawk causing it to fly away. Finally, some Turkey Vultures showed up.


Bald Eagle. Individual images in the slideshow are available in my PhotoShelter Gallery.

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American Crow. Image taken with a Leica SL2 camera and Sigma 100-400 mm f/5-6.3 DG DN lens. (David J Mathre)


Cooper’s Hawk. Individual images in the slideshow are available in my PhotoShelter Gallery.

I also noticed an Eastern Chipmunk under my birdfeeders. A new resident in the neighborhood. It appears to have a tick above its nose.


Eastern Chipmunk. Individual images in the slideshow are available in my PhotoShelter Gallery.

Daily Electric Energy Used (54.2 kWh) from Sense. Daily Solar Electric Energy Produced (35.1 kWh) from Sense and SolSystems. Lots of clouds. A deficit of 19.1 kWh.

Tuesday (14-July-2020) — New Jersey

Summertime Backyard Nature in New Jersey.

I admit I am not spending as much time watching the birds or wildflowers while the butterflies and clearwing moths are present. The only bird for the day was a Turkey Vulture soaring while I was working in the yard. I also found a single Tiger Lily flower. Every year I think the deer ate them all, and then one out of the 250 bulbs planted three years ago will pop up. I also noticed some different Larkspur flowers in the wildflower meadow.

Turkey Vulture. Image taken with a Nikon N1V3 camera and 70-300 mm VR lens (DAVID J MATHRE)
Turkey Vulture. Image taken with a Nikon N1V3 camera and 70-300 mm VR lens (DAVID J MATHRE)


Flowers of the Day. Individual images from this slide show can be viewed at my PhotoShelter Gallery.

I didn’t see the Monarch or Eastern Swallowtail Butterfly today. The Clearwing moths were present in the Bee-Balm/Lemon-Mint wildflower meadow along with many Bumblebees. I think that there are two types of Clearwing Moths working the flowers. The Clearwing Hummingbird moth (Hemaris thysbe) which is the larger of the two, and has light-colored front legs; and The Clearwing Snowberry moth (Hemaris diffinis) which is smaller, and has dark/black colored front legs. I will be spending the next few days trying out different camera and lens combinations to figure out the best kit is to capture images of the Clearwing moths.


Clearwing Hummingbird Moths (Hemaris thysbe) of the Day. Individual images from this slide show can be viewed at my PhotoShelter Gallery.


Clearwing Snowberry Moths (Hemaris diffinis) of the Day. Individual images from this slide show can be viewed at my PhotoShelter Gallery.

NOTE: IF YOU ARE HAVING PROBLEMS VIEWING THE SLIDE SHOWS PLEASE TRY A DIFFERENT BROWSER AND LET ME KNOW WHICH BROWSER YOU ARE USING. THANKS!!!

Daily Electric Energy Used (54.4 kWh) from Sense. Daily Solar Electric Energy Produced (77.7 kWh) from Sense and SolSystems. Sun and a few clouds. A surplus of 23.3 kWh.

Saturday (04-July-2020) — New Jersey

Summertime Backyard Nature in New Jersey.

Birds of the Day: Turkey Vulture, Black Vulture, American Goldfinch, Northern Cardinal, Blue Jay, Black-capped Chickadee, Song Sparrow, and Mourning Dove.


Backyard Summer Birds of the Day. Individual images in the slideshow can be viewed at my PhotoShelter Gallery.

Flowers of the Day: Poppies (Red, Pink, Icelandic), Black-eyed Susan, Moth Mullein, Blanket Flower, Larkspur, Foxglove, Spiderwort, Bergamot, Horsemint, Lemon-Mint, Bee Balm, Monarda, Mexican Hat, Teazel


Summertime Flowers of the Day. Individual images in the slideshow can be viewed at my PhotoShelter Gallery.


Summertime Flowers of the Day. Individual images in the slideshow can be viewed at my PhotoShelter Gallery.


Summertime Flowers of the Day. Individual images in the slideshow can be viewed at my PhotoShelter Gallery.


Summertime Flowers of the Day. Individual images in the slideshow can be viewed at my PhotoShelter Gallery.

Daily Electric Energy Used (61.7 kWh) from Sense. Daily Solar Electric Energy Produced (60.9 kWh) from Sense and SolSystems. Mixed clouds and some sun. A deficit of 0.8 kWh. Power glitch in the morning stopped data collection on the Sense Monitor until it was rebooted. The daily numbers are guesstimates.


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Monday (29-June-2020) — New Jersey

Early Summertime Backyard Nature in New Jersey.

Birds of the Day: Blue Jay, Gray Catbird, Northern Cardinal, Tufted Titmouse, House Finch, American Goldfinch, and Turkey Vulture.


Summer Birds of the Day. Individual images in the slideshow can be viewed at my PhotoShelter Gallery.

Flowers of the Day: Purple Allium, Red Poppy, Blanket Flower, Teasel, Four O’Clock, Garlic Scapes, Delphinium, Larkspur, Garlic Scapes, Black-eyed Susan, Sunflower, Pink Poppy, and Foxglove.


Summer Flowers of the Day (portrait). Individual images in the slideshow can be viewed at my PhotoShelter Gallery.


Summer Flowers of the Day (landscape). Individual images in the slideshow can be viewed at my PhotoShelter Gallery.

Critters of the Day: Squirrel, Spots the Fawn, Rabbits, and Red Fox. This was the first time since last winter that I have seen Rabbits in the backyard. Within five minutes, the Red Fox showed up and the Rabbits disappeared.


Critters (mammals) of the Day. Individual images in the slideshow can be viewed at my PhotoShelter Gallery.

Daily Electric Energy Used (66.0 kWh) from Sense. Daily Solar Electric Energy Produced (83.9 kWh) from Sense and SolSystems. Lots of Sun. A surplus of 17.9 kWh.


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