Happy National Bird Day
A new visitor this morning... The Birdsy AI identified and recorded the clip. I was in a meeting and only saw it later in my Birdsy account. What a magnificent bird! Apparently it is a she, a Sharp-shinned. And she left hungry.
A word about Birdsy... I have been using their cameras since 2019, and I love the convenience of using a camera that is AI driven rather than unsing motion detection. My photo setup is motion activated, and it takes me a lot of time and computer storage to handle and edit the photos. I have used security cams to get close to wildlife before too, but I found it very time-consuming to sift through the footage to see if they captured anything fun. The cool thing with Birdsy is that the AI is trained on wildlife and captures exactly that so you do not end up with tons of “empty” videos. You also don’t have to install emulators or wonky software in order to watch your clips or livestream. With Birdsy, you get an app as well as an online account in which all your videos are saved and sorted by ID and date. And you can share your clips and livestream with others or embed it on your website, like I am doing here as well. In my opinion, nothing beats the convenience of this system as opposed to trail cams or security cams. No SD cards needed, and you are not tied to a setup like the gadgety smart feeders that seem to be all the rage now. You can build your own setup. Check it out on their website birdsy.com. I am streaming there too 😊
Another week
with mediocre bird activity has passed but there was a lot of sunshine, and it was nice to see the trees do their best to make everything glow before we now get into cooler temperatures. The Goldfinches have returned, now with more drab winter plumage, and the Blue Jays were ruling feeders.
In other news, Birdsy has cameras for pre-order available again, and for the first time will also be available in the UK. I use Birdsy cameras for videos and livestreaming. You can check out their offer on their website birdsy.com.
Last but not least - I seem to only sell calendars when they are on sale this year, so they will be on sale again next week. Come good into the weekend!
Back for fall
After a week of battling with Covid, I have finally taken the jelly down and set up this little feeder again. The yard has been very quiet, almost eerily so. I am also waiting for a bird food delivery, so I sacrificed some untreated hazelnuts from my baking stash and look who came 😍 I haven't seen a Titmouse in months. I think this is going to be a nice fall.
Summer is well under way,
and the garden is going crazy this year. The Blue Jays had a really good nesting season, and their youngsters are all around right now. In my efforts to capture baby birds, I also get some critters, and this squirrel was especially cheeky. Live streams will be down for the next couple of days for maintenance but back late Tuesday.
New livecam and life sign 🙂
Work has been a bit much these last couple of weeks, and I did not find enough time to go through photos. I have a little window here now so hopefully I can get some done. In the meantime, you can check out the camera that I set up temporarily by the leek blooms. The insects love them and there is a lot of activity going on. I am not sure how much of it the Birdsy AI will pick up but watching the stream alone is fun. And who knows, a Hummingbird may visit too! You can watch the livestream here: ostdrossel.com/livestream or on my channel on birdsy.com.
Video: a new visitor
It is always funny to me how seemingly stunned hawks look to find nobody at the scene yet hearing all the scolding from the trees. At first I thought this young Cooper’s Hawk would take a bath, but nope. It has been very dry here, so maybe it will come back for more. Such a beautiful bird. (I know the lens is dirty, there are birds bathing all day and I go out to clean it with vinegar constantly.)
Video: Hatch day for the Robins!
The Robins started hatching today! Mom and Dad share feeding and diaper duties, and they are such fresh parents that they still seem to be unsure how to do it. You can see Dad bringing some food and Mom wanting to feed it to the baby but then letting him do it when he seemingly insists. She's eating the diaper instead. You can watch this cam live here in my livestream section and on my Birdsy channel.
Video: The salad bar
I got a lettuce flower pot on sale this weekend, and made a little salad bar for the Groundhog family that lives under the shed. We still need to patch some parts of the veggie fence, and I hope that and the copious amounts of clover and dandelion on our lawn will keep them busy. Mom explored first, but the babies later came by themselves.
Video: Baby Blue!
The Bluebird couple has been bringing their babies from brood 1 that they raised in a different spot down to the backyard recently to introduce them to feeders and bath. The female is spending a lot of time in the box but I don’t think she is done laying yet. As of this morning, she has four eggs. This was an early morning scene at the pond, first she comes in, then a baby. You can hear the others faintly in the background. It is kind of neat to have them here without all the worry during their nesting.
Video: FOY Grack baby!
Very early this morning, the first baby Grack appeared at the pond. The parents seem to like "parking" the babies there while they forage, and it always reminds me of childhood days at a public swimming pool or lake, with lots of swimming and the occasional snack. The bird you can hear in the back is a Baltimore Oriole.
Video: Robins sharing duties
The Robins have three eggs now, and since the female did not lay another today, I am assuming that the clutch is complete. It is very interesting to watch them do their thing in the apple tree. The female sits on the nest most of the day, turning the eggs to incubate them evenly. Whenever she leaves, the male stands guard on the edge of the nest. I am livestreaming this nest on here and also in my birdsy.com channel.
The garden
is getting soaked with heavy rains, and last night there was even a thunderstorm. Spring continues to march into the area. The Bluebirds have still not started their nest yet but with these temperatures, I am not too sad about it. And there continue to be little surprises every day. When I saw him, I was just wowed! I am not even sure I have read about that variety before. A rare blue-morph Cardinal! He was only here briefly last night and has not returned yet. And a Flicker has also found his way to the yard and loves the bark butter by the tree cam.
Winter is back,
this time with an ice storm that covered everything in frozen magic over night. I find it beautiful and fascinating but I am also aware that it can be hazardous. Nevertheless, I was excited to venture out this morning with the big cam to explore everything (because this does not happen often). Here are some of the trees, and a frosted feeder, as well as a hilarious food fight at the high in demand tree cam.
It is so easy
to get used to certain things and then feel bummed when they suddenly stop working. I’ve used my Birdsy cams since 2019 now, and when they had a server maintenance yesterday, it was awkward to not see what is going on in the yard. Interruptions happen occasionally but I guess it is extra hard when there is nothing else going on and you are thirsty for excitement 😜 Today, everything is back in order again, and you can watch my (mostly uneventful) streams here and over at birdsy.com. Activity is still low except for some finches, MoDos and a group of Starlings that comes several times a day to check feeders and destroy the bird baths. A hawk has been trying to hunt here too. I am slowly planning spring setups and enjoy spending a little less on bird seed. And the occasional action-packed Starling portrait.
Video: Miami Vice in the house!
I find Cedar Waxwings fascinating, they are so beautiful with their cool Miami Vice look. They never visit my feeders and only show up in groups at certain times of the year, so I think I am extra excited to see them. I admit we also planted a lot of native bushes and plants to attract them so I would have photo opportunities, but everything is still small. Anyways, please enjoy this group at the bath.
Video: I put a little station
with nesting material on the chestnut tree to see if anybody would take some. Activity has been low on this camera, but the other day I saw something interesting. A female Cowbird came to inspect the material. She must have thought it was a nest. Brownheaded Cowbirds are so-called brood parasites. They lay their eggs in other birds’ nests and let them raise their young. Later in the season, the whole family will flock and migrate together. This was recorded with one of my Birdsy cameras. They are having a Memorial Day Sale right now too, go and check it out at birdsy.com.
Video: Duelling Gracks!
Love is in the air, and the Grackles compete for the females by puffing up and stretching themselves. This was a fun scene to watch today, seeing two males showing off in front of a female. It lasted quite a bit and I only made minor edits. Sound on for full enjoyment!
Video: I guess I was
a bit too optimistic about spring… Or actually not. It’s been close to freezing these last couple of days, and today we got this. Gayle is probably happy in her nestbox, and the Juncos are having a blast. On Thursday, we are expecting much milder temperatures. I have added this camera to the livestream page, too.
Trying out new feeders
is a lot of fun to me, and one of the perks of having a bit more exposure is that sometimes I get sent some to try. When Kingsyard contacted me, I checked out their spread and decided to give it a try. And I have to say, these are so much fun. They sent me three. All of them are well-made and sturdy, and two of them I really loved with the Birdsy cam. One is the most adorable little house, perfect maybe as a gift, the second one is a super nice feeder that keeps the seeds dry in wet weather and will go into permanent rotation here, and the wooden platform is also great, and it even comes with a pole mount. They sell on Amazon and are also present on social media, and they are easy on the wallet. Thanks, Kingsyard!
Video: The Juncos
are loving the branch cam, and yesterday they were very active, taking turns at the peanut butter in a manner that reminded me a lot of the Soul Train line. You can see males as well as females, which have more brown hues and are a bit more slender. One of the things I love about the Birdsy camera is that thanks to it, I now also know what seemingly “silent” birds sound like, and Juncos are very vocal, as can especially ne heard in the second video.
