It's nice to know you enjoyed this short. You might want to check out the movie it's based on. The Short-ears are the only owls I've had a chance to watch hunting. They seem to have certain traditional hunting grounds in the St. Louis metro area, so as long as I was plugged in to what the local birders were seeing, I knew where to go. You could probably find them in your area by calling the local Audubon chapter. I have a slew of owl movies up. When I first started filming birds, we had Great Horned Owls nesting in the woods near our house, and I followed the progress of one nestling. The male Great Horned is still here 17 years from our first sighting of him. His first mate was killed by a car. His second mate wanted a different nest site, and we haven't been able to find it. But I heard the pair of them calling late this afternoon. It's just so cool to know that they are out there in our woods - well, really, it's their woods. Few birds capture the imagination of people the way owls do. As I said in the Short-eared Owl movie, they stare straight ahead as if they could see into your very soul. And they always look cranky, so why do they appeal to us so much?

@@JoAlwoodBIRDSANDTHENSOME I will definitely look it up, but I'd bet I've already seen it. I've enjoyed all of your work Jo! and always happy to see another upload!!

Hey, it's been ages, Kitten. Nice to hear from you. And we have similar experiences with hawks. In fact, we were just looking at a Sharpie three days ago. They come in with such authority! Ours tend to drive prey toward all the windows on the back of the house. And sometimes the hawk ends up hitting those windows too. Because we have so many birds, we also get neighborhood cats visiting regularly. So, of course, they have a right to be edgy. Any one of us would be a nervous wreck after a single day of that existence.

@@kittenkorleone2918 I hope you are doing well yourself. I’ll be 83 next month, and I ought to quit this time consuming hobby, but I can’t bring myself to do it. You might understand why if you watch a movie I made last summer about how butterflies clap their wings to explode off a perch. I learned such interesting stuff.

We buy it because Wild Birds Unlimited, which invented bark butter, makes it with hot peppers so spicy that the squirrels will actually leave it alone. But it isn't hard to make - if you don't mind feeding a lot of squirrels too. Do you have plenty of mature trees? If you do have, they will usually show up, and you will know it if you have bark butter out. Otherwise they're so tiny and so well camouflaged that noticing them is just about impossible. The recipe is in the first comment on the full length movie from which this short was made. Here's the link kzbin.info/www/bejne/emXUnayknb17oLM I should also mention that the brown creeper has a starring role in my latest movie, about birds that can grip tree bark. Since you find this little hiccup of a bird so intriguing (as do I), I bet you would enjoy it. kzbin.info/www/bejne/g6Gahpeuf7uUsMk

@JoAlwoodBIRDSANDTHENSOME thank you so much! We have mature trees but not super close to the house. In the spring I'll have to find a quiet spot to sit and watch out for them.

@@ayackoski I wish you luck at finding the little buggers. You'll get a kick out of it if you succeed. Let me know if you have any luck.

Yes, indeed. You might recall that that is how I described nuthatches in my most recent movie.

@@quantumblur_3145 exactly so! I am the only blabby one in this movie. 🥴

I prefer the videos to shorts myself - too much of a hassle to fit action into that narrow space. But they can be fun, and I'm glad to hear that you like them too.

That is SO MUCH FUN to hear! Thanks for telling me.

@@Jchan4477 it is for me anyway. I think plenty of people could produce one short a week and one video a month, but I am deliberate to the point of nitpicky. But I have to add that it is all a labor of love. I get so engrossed sometimes that I wait until there’s almost an emergency before I will get up and go to the bathroom. 🥴

@@Rad_Radster_Experience hey there! I figured I would hear from you sooner or later. Actually, I’m not much for giggling, more like the occasional chuckle. But the thing that keeps me working hard at making movies is that I never tire of watching close-up footage of beautiful birds doing their thing- even if it’s clumsy and comical. So I guess the question now is: do those flap doodling birds make YOU giggle?

@JoAlwoodBIRDSANDTHENSOME Nope. They made me laugh! Something I really need right now and thank you for that!

@@Rad_Radster_Experience reading this didn’t make me laugh, but it sure did bring a huge smile. You have my sympathy for the worry and tension you’re going through right now, and I’m so glad that the movie made you laugh.

@@Jchan4477 yeah, on the adorable scale, they are a 10.

@@a.m.v.6938 I thought I have answered you, so if this is the second reply, that’s why you’re getting two of them. It was fun to come up with the witty descriptions of this little hiccup covered in tree bark. I’m glad you enjoyed them.

My pleasure, believe me. (And I hope you also watched Part One, since you enjoyed Part Two so much.)

@@briandecker8403 you’re welcome, Brian. Funny thing is that when I picked this topic, I worried that I wouldn’t have enough to say - or that people would be interested. No reason to worry about either one, as it turns out. In fact, I had to divide the subject into two parts. (Part one posted Friday a week ago.)

@@JoAlwoodBIRDSANDTHENSOME The beauty of birds is that you can spend a lifetime learning about them and then find out that there are lifetimes more knowledge to go!

@@erosinable If I could have found an emoji taking a bow, I’d have put it up. Thank you.

@@user-hm5zb1qn6g and you brightened up my day with your comment. So you’re welcome. And thank you.

@@johnzurbriggen713 it’s nice to hear from someone who has observed these two species so closely. A couple of weeks ago, my husband and I had an almost heated discussion about a Cooper’s/sharpie we saw in the yard. They can be the very devil to tell apart.

@@lettymatias5572 Letty, I don’t know whether I am mixed up or you are. I put up part one of this last Friday a week ago. Is that what you’re thinking of? Anyway, you enjoyed both parts, and I’m glad to hear it. I really enjoyed making this pair.

@JoAlwoodBIRDSANDTHENSOME hahaha! Don't worry Jo, I'm the one who's mixed up...anyhow, loved both videos

@ I actually had a movie made and ready to publish that was both of these. I thought it might be too long to hold most people’s attention, so I showed it to my husband and my stepson. They both agreed that it was too long. I didn’t like to split them, but I guess it’s better that way. Anyway, I’m glad you liked them both.

@JoAlwoodBIRDSANDTHENSOME I always look forward to them

@ and I always know that I will hear from you. I thought this morning that I hadn’t heard from Letty yet.

How very odd! It's been bitter cold here in St. Louis, and the colder it got, the more frantic the bird activity at our feeders. Where are you? And how cold did it get?

The recipe is the top comment under my movie about birds on bark butter. (kzbin.info/www/bejne/d4SoaGWjpLV6hrc) the reason ours looks so nutritious is that it has a LOT of hot peppers in it. We gave up on making our own because we could never get it hot enough to deter the squirrels. Somehow the bark butter we buy at Wild Birds Unlimited IS hot enough. We were especially pleased this winter to have a Ruby-crowned Kinglet and a Yellow-bellied Sapsucker showing up every day. We are putting it up in the woods behind our house, so we ought to get a good variety. Do you have plenty of mature trees? That's what it takes to attract more than just Downys. Anyway, I hope you get to see some beauties. Enjoy!

@ thank you for your reply. I too use the WBU Bark Butter. I’ve actually put it out twice today as there are so many hungry birds. We don’t have too many mature trees where we can spread the bark butter. We live in the canyon about 25 minutes southwest of Taos. We have lots of sage bushes & juniper trees on the hillsides. Since I’ve started keeping track of the birds, in 2018, that visit our property I think we’ve had at least 130 different birds. It helps living next to the Rio Grande River too. I rely on the advice I’ve received from the staff at WBU over the years. Sadly hot pepper doesn’t deter the squirrels here, they’ll eat the dried chiles that people hang outside for decoration (ristras). I’ll go check out the video in your reply. Thanks again.

@@sarahnelson5177 that was a fun reply to read about. My husband keeps track of the species he sees in our yard every year, and he usually gets two around 120. I especially got a kick out of you having squirrels that actually eat hot peppers!

@@sarahnelson5177 I forgot to say that I gave you the link to that movie so that you would have the bark butter recipe.

@ the birds, ducks and wildlife provide wonderful entertainment. We are both fortunate to have large varieties. I even saw a Roadrunner around noon today down our dirt road. That’s a special treat for us.

It's a treat to hear from you every once in a while, especially if you're going to tell me how much you like my movies. Thanks for commenting. Oh and by the way, I looked at some of your artwork--very appealing. I'd be tempted to buy it too if we weren't such minimalists. We have already put up as much artwork as we are willing to display.

@@JoAlwoodBIRDSANDTHENSOME Thank you Jo! that's nice of you to say.

I ... wouldn't know which one to root for. Those Titmice are so adorable. It's a win/win for you, regardless. Let me know who takes the box. It's nice to know you loved the video. I was proud of myself for noticing the difference in the flat or arched feet and understanding their significance. As always, I enjoy hearing from you.

I especially appreciate it when someone lets me know which lines in the script grabbed him, so thanks, Henry, for starting your comment the way you did. Your mention of enjoying our flat footed friends hopping got me to wondering whether you watched them in part one of the series. If not, hop to it, so to speak. 😉

@@geraldinefields1730 as always, Geraldine, you are most welcome.

@@user-qr8ki8ue4i what a sweet compliment! These videos are indeed a lot of labor, but it’s labor. I love, especially when I hear from someone like you who appreciates them. Thanks for commenting.

As for learning, something new with each video, you and me both. I especially had fun making this one because I had bought my first camera that would do super slomo a couple of months before shooting this footage. My new found ability to show birds in flight thrilled me. It still does - witness the sapsucker flight shots in my latest video. Anyway, enjoy watching the Fab four as they visit your tray feeder. I hope you can also hear them.

@@quantumblur_3145 ha ha ha. I like your explanation of matter better than the conventional scientific wisdom.

I didn't notice either that woodpeckers back down a tree until someone pointed it out to me. It has been a bitter cold January, and I get your longing for spring. But I appreciate winter because the birds come in such numbers to what we feed them. But our part of the world has been a solid sheet of ice for at least a couple of weeks. At my age, my balance sucks too much for me to attempt getting outside. I chafed at knowing that a Flicker was on the bark butter, and I couldn't get down to the woods to film it. On the other hand, a mockingbird has been dominating our cylinder feeder right outside a window. I have some fun footage of that which will show up in a movie pretty soon.

Thanks. I do try always to offer solid info. (And I like to know that it's appreciated.

Thanks. I pride myself in hiring only top talent to star in my movies. 😉

@JoAlwoodBIRDSANDTHENSOME Lol You do a fine job, Jo! ❤️

@ 😊

Thanks for all that praise. I've been gunning for David Attenborough's job for several years now, but so far, he's blissfully unaware of the challenge. As for the nuthatch: YES! Two or three years ago, I did a movie about the Fab Four: nuthatches, Downys, chickadees, and Titmice that flock together in winter. You might like to check that one out.

@JoAlwoodBIRDSANDTHENSOME I'll have to watch that. I get all those birds everyday at my flat feeder. It's nailed to the outside widow frame of my bedroom. I watch them up close everyday,. It's kool I'm from PA.

​@@GunnyKeithIt's hard to say, which of the four species is the most adorable. But I think you'll get a kick out of that movie. (And you will find that some of the nuthatch footage in this one was cannibalized from that movie. It's not easy to get shots of the nuthatch scampering up and down a trunk, and I decided not to duplicate that effort.) I ought to warn you, though, that it's 12 minutes long. kzbin.info/www/bejne/aHvHY62Bo8mpfrc

Glad to hear that. (And you have my blessing to share it. 😁)

@@tadharsh678 what to do? Enjoy the action is what I would suggest. A Mockingbird found us when the cold spell hit a couple of weeks ago. We have a cylinder feeder of nuts and berries. He owns it! In fact, he drives other birds away from the peanut feeder 10 feet away even though he doesn’t eat peanuts! There’s not a thing we can do about it except laugh.

Picture me grinning as I read your comment. In fact, when I chose this topic, I worried that nobody would watch because ... Who cares? Well, loyal fans like you, but it's not a topic with wide appeal. Oh well. I gotta do what I think is worth doing--knowing that people like you are going to enjoy it. Part 2 goes up tomorrow!

@@sarahnelson5177 it sounds like you are having at least as much fun with birds on bark butter as we are. Of course, here in Missouri we never get the Ladder-backed Woodpecker, but we’ve had a male Yellow-bellied Sapsucker hanging around here all winter on that bark butter - at least as often as the Downy. If you watch part two, which will post tomorrow afternoon, you will see a lot of of that one and several shots of the Ruby-crowned Kinglet, which has also been here all winter - very unusual in St. Louis. Is he about the cutest little thing ever?! You might like to take a look at the movie I made about one in the fall of 2023. And I’m probably going to make a short about him being here this winter, perhaps for this coming Sunday. Anyway, thanks for commenting. I enjoyed reading what you had to say.

Have I got a solution for you! I didn't film this on my phone, and if you click on the link to the movie along the bottom of the screen, the movie will pop up and you can see all of the action. I agree with you that showing action in shorts is frustrating. It can just about drive me crazy trying to fit an action shot into the narrow confines of a short. But usually, my shorts are derived from three or four minute movies that you can watch just by clicking. And by the way, thanks for starting your comment by saying that you love my videos.

@ Ah, you’re an angel. I didn’t even know it was a short - I rarely open them. Thank you!

I'm just glad you said something, because the movie is a lot better than the short.

Ha ha ha. I really did laugh out loud at that. In fact, if I can think of a way to incorporate it in the script for part two, I'll use it - with your blessing, I hope.

Thanks. I just went to your page and watched the Marsh Harrier. What gorgeous, crisp, interesting footage!

I missed this one too!! And I'm glad I happened across it because it's sweet to know that you have found a way around their feeding the birds rule. ENJOY!!! (We found that the trouble with making our own bark butter is that they squirrels devour it. We tried putting hot peppers into it, but even that didn't work. Wild Birds Unlimited makes their hot enough to deter the squirrels. )

@ Squirrels! Oh, Ms. Jo…Squirrels! No offense, but here we nicknamed them “Rats with pretty tails.” Goodness! “Twins” with the lovely “Sterlings.” I simply gave up, and “joined” them both, when feeding my beloved Ohioan Birds. 🤦🏻🤷🏻‍♀️😂💝

@@WellaWally65 Well then, go for it! I've also heard that squirrels are just rats with good PR. But they are entertaining. And hungry! Having them around is like having your fridge invaded by a flock of teenage boys.

I wish you also a happy, healthy 2025.Somehow I missed this comment when you posted it--which gives me a chance to remind you that Part Two goes up tomorrow.

@ Awww! Don’t worry Dearest Ms. Jo! It happens to me, too. Thank you for letting me know about the other one! I will be on the lookout. God bless you, friend!

Thanks, Jason. Was it the info that grabbed you? The footage? I hope you'll stick around for part two this Friday because it's got both those factors aplenty.

Cages to go around the feeders.

Hey, Rad. I'm glad you got such a kick out of this one. And since part two will concentrate on the tree bark huggers, you'll get to see more of them, zipping up, down, and sideways. Now, if you'll excuse me, I've gotta get busy on part two.

@JoAlwoodBIRDSANDTHENSOME I have a suggestion, it be really great if you did a little documentary on how you got started doing these nature videos. You wouldn't have to put yourself on camera if you didn't want to, you could just use footage of nature scenes you already have with a voiceover. Just a thought. Anyhow, have a great rest of the day! 🌞🐧🕊️🐦

@@Rad_Radster_Experience Actually, I have occasionally found myself explaining the story to people because it's kind of funny. So that's two intriguing suggestions from you. 👏