1/2/2008 Observations

- The New Year has come in with a bang.....Cold this AM...around 12 F in the mountain properties...and a dusting of snow. Windy...gusts up to 25+ mph.

- Cold expected for a couple of days, and then more seasonal by the weekend. We have had some rain lately, but many cities across the Southeast, particularly in central and north Georgia, and Alabama, finished 2007 with record rainfall deficits.... the driest year on record. Here we finished 2007 about 15-16" below normal.

- Spotted a flock of Sandhill Cranes yesterday...soaring far overhead in their traditional V. These noisy birds seemed to be just floating aimlessly in the currents, and seemed to be headed in no particular direction. They did not seem to mind the cold temperatures and very windy conditions.

- I have noted the Common Flicker, The Tufted Titmouse, Carolina Chickadee, Red-Bellied Woodpecker, White Breasted Nuthatch, Hairy Woodpecker, Pileated Woodpecker, Cardinal, and even the Eastern Bluebird on/near the feeders lately. This is the time of year the birds particularly appreciate a feeding station. The Bluebirds are usually insect eaters and their presence on the feeders is quite interesting.

- I seem to see the American Kestrel (Falco sparverius) everywhere these days, particularly on power lines overlooking roadside fields. This small (about the size of a Blue Jay) falcon is common here but its close relative the Merlin (Falco columbarious) I have seen only once, that in 2004.

- The deer shown in the attached photo, the ones with my cabin as the backdrop, seemed to welcome me home late PM recently. There were four deer in my front yard, one of them unseen until after the photos were taken, within 5' of my front porch. These does seemed unalarmed, even after I had went inside and closed the door, they were still standing in the tall grass just south of my pile of fire wood. Somehow they seem to know..... when one means no harm, or when one's heart may be full of guile.

- The other attached photo is of a doe and two yearlings that I have seen numerous times while on the bike or hiking. This photo was taken from a vehicle about one mile southeast of my cabin.

- I saw a Coyote (Canis latrans) dead beside the road two days ago. I cannot imagine how these cunning, elusive, and athletic creatures get hit by a vehicle!