I am a May child,
so naturally, the calendar bird of May is something I can identify with or find particularly fun, and this time, with the regulars, it is a MoDo. The June bird is a juvenile Rosebreasted Grosbeak. I love the mix of patterns and colors that are going on with this one while the baby plumage is still there but the adult one is coming through. (The red on his beak is grape jelly.)
There are bird babies
all over the yard right now. The Chickadees and Bluebirds have fledged (I have posted videos on all my social media platforms and Youtube and may make a separate post here soon too), and it is the most wonderful yet funny to listen to when outside. Most of them you can see at the pond livestream (babies of Orioles, Grosbeaks, Robins, Grackles, Starlings love to hang out there), and the others are starting to find the feeders. Today the first baby Blue Jay visited, along with a cute Grack. You can tell them by behavior and cuteness but also by their unusually colored gapes, the soft edges of the beaks. I love the color combinations of these youngsters! A funny Grosbeak and MoDo shot in the middle. Have a lovely 4th of July weekend and be easy on the fireworks - I cannot imagine all the young wildlife being super thrilled about it.
It has been a while
since I posted some photos but things have been rather quiet with so many birds nesting right now. But the light is nice and the backyard looks green and I am excited about all that’s coming up. Here are a few from the last couple of days. I had to move the cams around a bit to avoid direct sunlight, so there are some fun different backgrounds. (male Redbellied Woodpecker, Grackle, male Bluebird, female Rosebreasted Grosbeak, juvenile Starling, male Rosebreasted Grosbeak, Baltimore Oriole, Blue Jay)
Rosebreasted Grosbeaks
are wonderful summer guests. I love their melodic songs and their mellow attitude. They are generally not one for lots of poses, they just sit down and chow down, but these portraits were fun because you see a bit more of their personality. To me, they always look a bit like they just woke up 😆
Guessing from the local birding groups,
Michigan is bursting with Orioles and Hummingbirds but I have not seen either yet. I think the Orioles are soon to arrive but given recent years, I am not counting on a lot of hummer activitiy anytime soon. I did hear the House Wren sing today, and Grosbeaks are around. Here is one of them, and two weird occurances from this week - a Grack with an injured beak and a MoDo with an egg stuck to its leg. We are all confused here! Happy weekend!
The process
of choosing photos for my calendars is always a bit of a thing I love and hate. On the one hand, it is fun to revisit the year but on the other hand it is very hard to narrow a selection down. Usually what I do is go through older posts of the year and copy the ones I may consider into a special subfolder and then wittle things down.
Of these four, the immature male Rosebreasted Grosbeak and the Bluebird made the cut - they are April and May. The Grackle is an alternative I considered for March. I love Grackles in the rain but somehow I landed on the RWBB instead. The second Grosbeak I loved because of the slightly different coloring. It appears to be a female but I also see a tiny red dot on the fold in the belly and the vibrant yellow is a bit unusual. The photo is from May (the Serviceberry is blooming), and since I wanted the Bluebird for May (my birthday month), the Grosbeak was out.
You can find my calendars here.
Rosebreasted Grosbeaks
are seasonal visitors in Michigan. they arrive in May and leave in the middle of the Midwestern summer. I love these birds because they are beautiful but also because of their character. They remind me a bit of an old dog or kitty. They will come, sit down and eat. And nothing will really bother them, not even a thunderstorm. They are another bird where all individuals look alike from afar, but nope. Look at this diversity!
While migration is going on,
we might often see birds that can be a bit confusing to identify. They are the youngsters from last year and are still molting into their adult plumage or females that are usually more shy. In the last two days, I saw some of this in Rosebreasted Grosbeaks and Redwinged Blackbirds (the third picture is a female).
Video: Another lovely migratory surprise
Rosebreasted Grosbeaks come here in spring, stay during summer and raise their babies, and usually leave my area pretty early, like in August. Today, these two showed up, a young female and male. The female comes in first, she has the yellow “armpits”, then the male comes in, with red “armpits” and a bit onf the red bib showing too. I hope they have safe travels! Come good into Monday!
Couples.
I always find it fascinating to see the differences in the appearance of birds. Here is a little selection.
(top two rows: Rose-breasted Grosbeak, Red-bellied Woodpecker, Northern Cardinal, Red-winged Blackbird - ladies in row 1, gents in row 2
third row: Mourning Doves and House Finches, they wanted to be in the same photo with their partners :D)
This beautiful lady
was new at the feeders today. She is a Rose-breasted Grosbeak, and I find it funny how she had a fabulous portrait on her first day while the male was messing up, being not properly in the frame. I love these birds, they have a calming and badass presence at the same time. I have seen them sitting on the feeder through tunderstorms, gobbling away calmly. Welcome back, beauties!
Rose-breasted Grosbeaks
are one of the birds that come to spend spring and summer here, so this is the bird of June in my calendar. I love these guys. They look quite impressive with the big beak and red bib, but they are one of the calmest birds at the feeders. They will eat through a thunderstorm, their babies make the cutest little noises when they beg for food, they get along with everybody, and when they are excited, they will make the squeak of a rubber ducky.
My calendars are available here at ostdrossel.com or here.
Video: Evening Grosbeak
WOHOOOO!!! This is an Evening Grosbeak, and the first male of this species that I ever knowingly had in my yard. (I had a female in 2018). They are having an irruption year, and everybody around me seemingly got them for weeks now, just not me. I am so happy right now, and I hope he brings his family 😀
Teenagers!
The yard is full of teenage birds, so here is a little gallery. In order of appearance: Baltimore Oriole, Rose-breasted Grosbeak, Common Grackle, European Starling, Red-winged Blackbird, Blue Jay and Red-bellied Woodpecker.
This Grosbeak lady
is as good with her beak stick as I am with lip stick. Or maybe she is just trying to distract from the little molt around her eye.
The Rose-breasted Grosbeaks
seem to be very into mulberries and grape jelly. I loved how they sat together for a quick photo.
Video: Rose-breasted Grosbeak family at the bath
This was so cute this morning. Papa Grosbeak is taking his son to the pool and feeding him. And then both bathe. I made a little platform area by the waterfall for the smaller birds, and the babies seem to like it to get a first feel for the pool. There are so many baby birds around at the moment, it should be fun to watch the livestream for the next couple of days. I promise I will try to keep up with wiping the splash shield.
Bruuuce
had some good eyebrows last night. The Rose-breasted Grosbeaks are also bringing their babies near the feeders now, I can hear their cute little whiny noises in the trees. I always found it funny how a bird that looks so impressive has the most adorable little sounds when it is begging. The complete opposite of a European Starling.
Power stance.
I know it is a repetitive pose, but I love it because they all have so much individual character.
(MoDo, Rose-breasted Grosbeak, Blue jay, Grackle)
