I'm seeing lots of small birds feasting on viburnum berries and seed heads.

But today I saw something interesting! Can anyone tell me what these birds are? Turkey vultures? A squirrel had been hit by a car. As you can see, these birds cleaned up every bit of it! And they were not at all afraid of the car. They didn't move one inch to let us pass!

They look like crows maybe? We have a ton of them in this area, particularly in the winter. They bully away the smaller birds.

Jackdaw maybe?

Oh, crow or jackdaw might work. I was surprised at their size.

The white feet and legs peg them as black vultures to me. Becoming more plentiful in Mid Atlantic and they do stand their ground

I think MariposaMaid got it. Vultures are huge and creepy up close.
Crows will sit right by moving cars too.

Very cool. I wonder how they find roadkill among the miles and miles of roadways they fly over.

My understanding is that black vultures soar the thermals along with other birds of prey and follow their lead to road kill. Black vultures then chase off the others. From high up, they can scan miles in any direction . In fact many stake out certain sections of roadway were fresh kill is most likely. Roadway looks the same except for that black spot or gagle of crows...

I had not thought of vultures visiting our suburban roads, but yes that must be what they are! The beaks on them are really something--not a bird I want to get into a tussle with!

Sally, the other day I was driving home from Leesburg and a crow was working some roadkill about one foot from the center line. As I approached it stepped over onto the double yellow line and I passed only 10 or 12 inches from the unfazed bird. It struck me that the bird realized that the double yellow line was a "safety zone".

Smart bird!

Very cool!

Reminds me of this smart group of crows in Japan that use traffic to crack their nuts!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?...

great story, David; great video ssg! Crows are 'wild' more ways than one

OMG - I am home from work today, not feeling too great again, but that isn't the news. I have my laptop set up at a small table in the turret of my bedroom - windows all around me and great views of the pond. My eye caught the flight of a huge bird and then as I was looking a second one followed it - pretty sure they were bald eagles!!!

WOW! Terri, you have built a sanctuary for wildlife!

I saw eagle flybys twice before - once while I was sitting on the dock and another time when I was walking the woodland trails, but it has been a couple of years. Gosh I love it here.

What an amazing sight!

Aspenhill are there fish in your pond? Right about now is nest and egg laying time for eagles. Maybe you can spot a nest now that most leaves are down. Lol . not as easy to spot as squirrel nests even though much larger. Also, eagles keep to a pattern and timing in their days so look for them from same spot tomorrow, etc. Wonderful thrill! Hope you feel better soon

Yes there are fish in the pond - bass, blue gill, crappy, catfish. Stocked it with rainbow trout years ago, but those were never catch and release when they were caught - too good fresh on the grill LOL. I would be thrilled if they nested here but I think it was probably just a flyby. I'll keep my eye out though.

A few months ago Mike and his brother spotted wood ducks at the pond. The ducks hung around for a bit and then were gone. I started doing a bit of internet googling to see how to entice them to come and stay, and found that the habitat here is ideal for providing nest boxes. Found how to construction instructions and Richard built three of them. We spent most of yesterday afternoon putting them out on metal poles around the pond. Now it is a wait and see game to see if they come back to nest.