Posted in Autumn, Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, Winter, tagged Agelaius phoeniceus, American Sweetgum, Canon 7D, female Red-winged Blackbird, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, red-winged blackbird, sweetgum balls, Sweetgum Tree, Tamron 150-600mm, Woodbridge VA on December 22, 2023| Leave a Comment »
A female Red-winged Blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus) lifted her head as I approached her last week at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, but then went back to work extracting seeds from the spiky sweetgum balls. The seedpods were so numerous that they reminded me of a well-decorated Christmas tree festooned with hanging ornaments.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, Winter, tagged American Goldfinch, American Sweetgum, Canon 7D, goldfinch, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Spinus tristis, sweetgum balls, Sweetgum Tree, Tamron 150-600mm, Woodbridge VA on December 15, 2022| 8 Comments »
As the weather grows colder, many sources of food begin to disappear and wild creatures have to work harder to find sustenance. On Tuesday I spotted a small flock of American Goldfinches (Spinus tristis) that were busily extracting seeds from the spiky balls hanging from an American Sweetgum tree.
Earlier this month I did a posting that featured a Carolina Chickadee that was also extracting seeds. In that case, the chickadee was actually hanging from the suspended seed balls. The goldfinches seemed to be taking a somewhat safer approach and were clinging to the branches and twisted their bodies to maneuver into the proper position.
As you can see from the first two photos, we finally had a sunny day after a seemingly endless streak of gray days. The bright blue sky really made the yellow feathers of the goldfinches pop—bright colors like these really help to lift my spirits. The final photo seems to have more a wintery feel to it, although it was taken at about the same time as the other two images. It is amazing how a different angle and different lighting can produce images with different vibes.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Autumn, Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged American Sweetgum, Canon 7D, Carolina Chickadee, chickadee, Liquidambar styraciflua, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Poecile carolinensis, Sweetgum, Sweetgum Tree, Tamron 150-600mm, Woodbridge VA on December 5, 2022| 6 Comments »
I generally have trouble identifying trees, but one that I can often pick out is an American Sweetgum tree (Liquidambar styraciflua), thanks to its distinctive spiky balls. At certain times of the year the ground in various part of Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge is carpeted with the spiky seedpods, making walking a bit uncomfortable.
Last Friday I watched a Carolina Chickadee as it extracted seeds from some of the spiky sweetgum balls still hanging from the tree branches. The chickadee would hang from its claws from one of the balls and thrust its beak into the center of the ball. Sometimes the long stem of the ball would sway a bit, but I never saw one give way—either the stem is really strong or the chickadee is really light (or both).
The chickadee was high in the tree, but I managed to capture this cool shot of the little bird in action.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Mike Powell 