Hunters and Gatherers

William Wise Photo Nature Notes is a wildlife, birding and nature photography blog documenting the beauty, design and wonder of God’s creation. -- "What a wildly wonderful world, God! You made it all, with Wisdom at Your side, made earth overflow with your wonderful creations." Psalms 104 The Message

Northern Mockingbird, Mimus polyglottos, a common songbird thrush of the southeastern United States. Looking for crickets and spiders on freshly mowed dormant bermuda grass lawn. The Northern Mockingbird frequently gives a `wing flash` display, where it half or fully opens its wings in jerky intermediate steps, showing off the big white patches. No one knows why it does this, but it may startle insects, making them easier to catch. The northern mockingbird is the only mockingbird commonly found in North America. Photographed in early spring in Athens, Georgia, USA

Genesis 41:35 And let them gather all the food of those good years that come...

Sunday, 3:23 PM – It’s a normal, overcast March afternoon in my backyard. Northern Mockingbirds flutter across the lawn flashing white wing bars to scare up an insect snack. Dark-eyed Juncos hop below the bird feeders checking each empty husk for a missed seed. A couple of Eastern Chipmunks dart from hole to hole to gather the black-oil sunflower seeds that fall from the Cardinal’s mouths. All of the usual birds and critters are here doing what they do; gathering, eating, and drinking.
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​On a sudden, with a dive as quick as a lightning flash, a Red-tailed Hawk scatters all of the birds at the feeder. In a fluttering fury, all the little birds take wing and disappear. But the hawk did not come up with empty talons. The amazing raptor, or bird-of-prey, within the blink of an eye, seized upon a small chipmunk and quickly carried it off. The little chipmunk didn’t suspect a thing. It was so fast, the scene was long over before it registered in my mind and had I even thought of picking up my camera. Just another day of hunting and gathering in the great, wide natural world. 

​Athens, Clarke County, Georgia
Showers 90% likely, high 57°
Rain tonight, low 44°
Sunrise 7:49 AM, sunset 7:38 PM
Day length: 11 hours, 48 minutes

Red-tailed Hawk; Clarke County, Georgia

A Northern Mockingbird resumes his gathering of bugs after the threat resides

Northern Mockingbird, Mimus polyglottos, a common songbird thrush of the southeastern United States. Looking for crickets and spiders on freshly mowed dormant bermuda grass lawn. The Northern Mockingbird frequently gives a `wing flash` display, where it half or fully opens its wings in jerky intermediate steps, showing off the big white patches. No one knows why it does this, but it may startle insects, making them easier to catch. The northern mockingbird is the only mockingbird commonly found in North America. Photographed in early spring in Athens, Georgia, USA