Our Coastal Getaway was over, October had arrived, and my mom and I had resumed our regular morning walks.
And I guess the best birding isn’t just by the coast–sometimes it’s in the dead ash tree in your front yard.
One of our most gorgeous deciduous trees was this ash, but unfortunately, the invasive Emerald Ash Borer has not spared it. This year it had about two leaves left, and the branches have started to fall off bit by bit.
Apparently, there’s a possibility that every ash tree in CT could be dead within a decade
It used to be full of birds when it was leafed out, and you could always count on a Red-eyed Vireo song coming from somewhere deep in the foliage.
Now it’s just a skeleton, and it’s only a matter of time until the town takes it down. The only upside to the situation is that it has started attracting a whole new set of birds.
On October 2, I came home from my walk and spotted a Pileated Woodpecker trying to find a tasty morsel under the bark. The next day a Red-shouldered Hawk decided it was a good resting spot, and it’s attracted vultures as well.
Despite the fact that Red-shouldered Hawks are probably the raptor I spot the most around here, this was the first time I’d gotten a chance to really get a good shot of an adult in all its rusty splendor.
And I’m glad that this tree still gets to support life even as it dies.
