The Scarlett Tanager

This is one of the prettiest birds in the state next to a few I have already mentioned. There were two outside D and A in Red Hill, Alabama before I went to the restaurant. The bird is as red as a cardinal but has  dark wings and tail feathers. The female is olive green and yellowish. The bird is in Passiformes order....

The bird sings a few phrases that's like a robin's song..according to the cornell site about birds I went to. The bird lives on berries and is higher in trees than most birds. I notice cardinals and other small birds usually venture lower..these are less seen because they are higher up in the trees.

If you would like to go further than this post... you might want to view the resources below. The picture of the male tanager is found at wikimedia commons which is creative commons.... that resource listing also is below.


All About Birds: Scarlet Tanager
http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Scarlet_Tanager/id

Wikipedia: Scarlet Tanager
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scarlet_Tanager

Outdoor Alabama

http://www.outdooralabama.com/watchable-wildlife/what/Birds/passerines/Scarlett.cfm

More Spring Pictures From The Yard

Two Native Phone Photos

I don't have instagram that completely sends your photos straight from the internet, I just have an LG 500g that will take photos and send them to your email. I waited all day for this photo after I took a walk and found two beautiful tulips that had fallen from the tree. There are two huge ones behind our house. Tulip Poplars are east coast thrivers and they are great lumber trees. They grow quickly and they make nice furniture. The first picture is of a small grass flower that grows also through the Southeastern United States. It comes up along with the grass in March/April/May. They made a beautiful addition to the side of my home!

Acer rubrum L. Soft Maple

The Red Maple entry I found at Flora Alabama online. The tree's Latin name is Acer Rubrum L. It is otherwise known as the Soft Maple, Red Maple, Swamp Maple and Water Maple. I have found they are in some of my neighbor's yards. The trees are indigenous to this part of the country and can be found up as far as Ontario according to another source... The tree is flowering during the spring of the year. The leaves are three pointed and the flowering part has two seeds on each side with insect wing like pedals that move downward. The tree is also flaming bisexual because it has flowers that are male too. The male flowers are small and spurry looking. Don't go chopping your tree down because it's bisexual. Plants are that way in bidirectional modes. The insect like flower holds the seeds that cultivates, the male flower introduces you to springtime in a different way, before the seedlings appear. These maples need lots of water if you plant them in your yard. The Red Maple quits maturing up to 80 years. The tree is a lovely site to your landscape and will grow well if you live in a well nourished area.

Resources:

Flora Alabama: Red Maple Acer Rubrum

Wikipedia  Acer Rubrum L.

Hazel Alder (Alnus Serrulata)

Hazel Alder (Alnus Serrulata) photo found at Wikipedia 

 Hazel Alder is a bush that I found on Floraalabama.org. I checked my county  which is Elmore and found this neat plant. The plant which I found interesting was it has these small cone like things on it. The plant has these beautiful large leaves with intricate lines through them and they change very differently. In the winter the fruit looks like these little pine cones. Previously they were little catskills and before all that in the springtime they have small flowers that bloom looking like pussy willows.

The Hazel Alders are usually around swamps and wet places. The plant is amazing as far as science is considered. I would go into more details about it but I found great resources that are awesome you'll like!

Resources:

http://people.duke.edu/~cwcook/trees/alse.html

 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alnus_serrulata

http://www.floraofalabama.org/Plant.aspx?id=1151

Red Tailed Hawk In Alabama

I was looking out the window and noticed this bird suspend in mid air just gliding on a breeze. There were many other birds around, but this one caught my attention over the other ones.  It was a Red Tailed Hawk otherwise known as a Chicken Hawk.
The hawk's classification is Buteo jamaicensis  and resides in Alabama and Florida.

The Red Tail Hawk's tail was visible underneath the large wings. The 43 to 57 inches according to it's entry on Wikipedia.

The hawk doesn't fully mature until he or she is about three years old. The female is larger than the male, and the raptors mate for life. They are excellent hunters like their cousin the falcon and mostly go for chickens. Their main pestulance is getting into farmers' chicken houses. They are very beautiful to see in flight as you can see by the picture above.


Resources:

 Red Tailed Hawk  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red-tailed_Hawk

 Red Tailed Hawk In Alabama
http://www.outdooralabama.com/watchable-wildlife/what/Birds/ospreys/rth.cfm

Flowers On My Cellphone Continued!