WINGSCAPES

Thief! Thief!

While we do not make any representations of Wingscapes products as a home security devices, we do admit that they can be very handy in shining the light of truth upon some wildlife-related backyard thefts – late night raids to the family pet’s food dish perhaps, or even missing Koi from the garden fish pond. 

Joe from Long Island, New York recently uploaded this image of the latter that he recorded with his BirdCam; just such a fish thief caught in the act. Great Blue Herons are well known pilferers of prize Koi and other popular pond fish. Thanks to the BirdCam, this one has now been caught red-handed… well, red-beaked at least.

Tawny Downy Woodpecker

Every so often an image is uploaded to the Wingscapes Photo Gallery that makes us stop and scratch our heads. Such was the recent reaction to this picture of a Downy Woodpecker uploaded by Chris from Madison, Connecticut.

   

Rather than sporting the black and white feathers that are a hallmark of this as well as many other North American woodpecker species, this little Downy looks as though it has been soaking in a tub full of tea. While darker plumaged subspecies of both Downy and Hairy Woodpeckers are common in the west, this one more likely may be affected by a genetic condition that produces more than the usual amount of melanin in its feathers, making them in this case a tawny brown instead of white.

"Kissing" Cardinals

When it comes to birds that best symbolize Valentine’s Day, it’s hard to do better than the Northern Cardinal. Not only is the color of the male the vibrant red color associated with the holiday, but the behavior of male and female cardinals in courtship can’t help but bring to mind thoughts of romance.

Take these two cardinals uploaded to the Wingscapes Photo Gallery by Ray from Dallas, Texas for example. While they appear to be kissing, the male is actually feeding seeds to the female; a practice thought to convey to her that he will be a good provider while she is sitting on the nest incubating their young.

BREAKING NEWS! Birdchick BirdCamming in Panama

Team Wingscapes has recently learned that the famous Birdchick is presently at Canopy Tower in Panama with a Wingscapes BirdCam. She’s set up the BirdCam at one of the resort’s feeding stations and, true to her highly social media style, is actively blogging, Facebook sharing, and Tweeting pictures of the birds - such as this oropendula - recorded there by the BirdCam.

Birdchick’s photos from her journey, both BirdCam-recorded and otherwise, have been electronically flowing at a generous rate through her Birdchick blog, her Facebook page, and her Twitter feed. Following all is recommended for everyone interested is seeing the spectacular wildlife that can be found in Panama.