Moths in the Neighbourhood

As I continue to explore my neighbourhood during this pandemic, I am seeing many insect species.  So many, in fact, that I will do separate posts for moths, butterflies, dragonflies and damselflies, and miscellaneous others.  

You will notice that I may identify an insect with the modifier "possible".  This indicates a case where I have submitted the photo to iNaturalist for identification but have not had a confirmation yet.  I'll update the post as information comes in.

Here are the moths I have seen:

Possible Clover Looper Moth (Caenurgina crassiuscula)

American Dagger Moth (acronicta americana)

Eight-spotted Forester Moth (alypia octomaculata)

Virginia Tiger Moth (Spilosoma virginica)

Grass Veneer Moth (Genus: crambus)

Possible Soft-lined Wave Moth (scopula inductata)

Lesser Maple Spanworm Moth

(macaria pustularia)

Grape Plume Moth (geina periscelidactylus)

Three More Videos of the Hawk Nestlings

For another look at the nestlings, here are three new "Cooper's Hawk with nestlings" videos:

Video 1 - click here. 

 One nestling preens and at the end another little head pops up and yawns. (31 seconds)

Video 2 - click here.

Nestlings jostle about in the nest on a windy day. I see at least three distinct heads and maybe a fourth? (21 seconds)

Video 3 - click here.

Parent feeds the nestlings. (24 seconds)

A New Cooper's Hawk Family

If you are a regular reader of this blog you know that a pair of Cooper's Hawks took up residence in a cemetery here in Saint-Laurent. 

After occupying a nest high in a conifer, they abandoned it, and several days later, started building a new one in a deciduous tree in another area of the cemetery.  I have been monitoring their activities ever since I first spotted them and to my delight, they have successfully hatched out nestlings.  

Here are a few photos and a very short video.   

This nest and these hardy birds have weathered two strong wind/rain storms and a construction crew working on a building only a few meters from the tree!

Note: captions are below each photo.  You can enlarge a photo by clicking on it.

Starting the process!

A portrait of a handsome bird!

How cute is that little face?!

One nestling is on the left and there is a partial view of another on the far right.

Sitting in the nest!

Baby and parent.

To see a 25 second video, click here.

Stay tuned!

To See A Mockingbird (And Cousins)

During recent decades, the Mockingbird has gradually expanded its range northward.  I have rarely seen one though and so the other morning when I approached my neighbourhood birding site, I was astonished to see one in full view.  It perched on a tree stump and then flew to a mowed field where it ran back and forth like a roadrunner.  Then it flew into a berry bearing bush and I managed a shot.

The next day I heard singing in a tree adjacent to that field and it was clearly a mimicking song.  I was sure the Mockingbird was the source so it was to my surprise that I found out it was a Brown Thrasher that was singing!  This is a "cousin" to the Mockingbird and although I have seen a few, I have never heard one sing.

That same day, as I progressed down my usual path towards a small grove of trees, I heard another mimicking song.  Ok, so was this the Mockingbird or the Thrasher?  Neither!  It was another "cousin" - the Catbird. They all belong to the family "Mimidae".

Here are the three cousins:

Northern Mockingbird

Brown Thrasher

Below is a 40 second video of this Thrasher singing:

Gray Catbird

Below is a 40 second video of the Catbird singing (he is well hidden in the bushes but you'll see a glimpse of movement towards the end):