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.
Calendar birds - February and March
The birds for February and March in my calendar are an adorable House Finch on a frosty morning and a Redwinged Blackbird against a dramatic sky. I loved the light in both of these photos, it created a cool mood and made the birds stick out nicely. My calendars are available in four different formats with customizable spines in my shop here: https://tinyurl.com/wa8jmt44
Bird activity is a little slow
due to the mild weather, so I am not getting many good photos. Things will pick up again in time but this is just as good of an opportunity to introduce the birds in my calendar for 2023. You can get the calendar here: tinyurl.com/5xd4tmzw. The year begins with a Dark-eyed Junco. Many call them snowbird around here because they appear in fall and leave in spring, being something like a sign that winter is truly coming. They are entertaining little birds that I learned to appreciate even more with video footage because it enabled me to hear them up close too. For the calendar, I went with a photo that shows one in the sun because I loved the pose, the light and the clarity. The alternative was a snow storm photo. I loved that too but it felt better to start the year on a positive note. Have a great Sunday!
Birds are still migrating,
bringing occasional fun visitors, like Grackles and Redwinged Blackbirds. The House Finch almost got me with his head marks, I thought it might be a Purple. But the stripes on the belly are a true sign for House.
Speaking of Redwinged Blackbirds - today, the promo sale for the calendar ends. There will be another one or two farther down the road but I haven’t made my mind up when.
2021 is coming to an end.
And what another odd one it was. The birds and you have kept me sane and happy, so I would like to take the opportunity to thank you all. I hope you come safe into the new year, hopefully the best we ever experienced. Love as much as you can, eat good food, don’t drive drunk and keep watching the birds. Here’s also the last bird from the Ostdrossel calendar, the wonderfully feisty Dr. Clara, the resident female Bluebird. She also had a bit of a rough year, and I hope 2022 will be a lot better for her. Guten Rutsch, as we say in German (“slide well into the new year”)!
The November bird
of the 2022 Ostdrossel calendar is a beautiful male Red-Bellied Woodpecker, and I chose the photo also because in it, you can see why they got their name. Yes, there is also a Red-headed Woodpecker, one of the most beautiful woodpeckers I have ever seen but only once had in my yard, but this is not it. Red-bellied Woodpeckers are regulars here, and we love them for their goofiness and beauty. You can get the calendar in several sizes here: https://www.createphotocalendars.com/Shop/ostdrossel. The promo sale is still going on until January 1. 2022.
I hope
that you all had a Christmas that was as fun as the one I had. There was no snow, which was a bit sad, and it felt like the birds were all having their very own gatherings, bird traffic is slow right now. So today is another good day to introduce who is in the calendar. October is the “furry birb”, one of the resident groundhogs. They are not at our house and they make us laugh, so we tolerate them. Since the year is ending soon, I have added another promo in the shop that begins tomorrow and is good until January 1. Check it out here: https://www.createphotocalendars.com/Shop/ostdrossel
The September bird
of the Ostdrossel calendar for 2022 is one of my favorite MoDo photos. This silly bird was posing like for an iconic painting. The light and leaves make the look perfect. It is hilarious and beautiful at the same time. The calendar is available in several sizes and you can get it here: https://www.createphotocalendars.com/Shop/ostdrossel. Have a great Tuesday!
The outside looks very pretty today,
we were gifted with snow over night! I am glad I got my little Santa Stop done yesterday (check the livestream to see it), and I love that there is more activity at the feeders today too, so hopefully there will be some fun new photos later. I still wanted to continue to introduce the calendar birds for 2022. I apologize for slacking a bit with that, but it has been busy. July and August are the months that burst with bird variety and baby birds. The July bird is the vibrantly looking and beautifully singing Baltimore Oriole, and August shows an adorable young Blue Jay. Be safe out there in the snow today!
If you are interested in getting an Ostdrossel calendar, you can get them here: https://www.createphotocalendars.com/Shop/ostdrossel
During these duller times,
I often think back on the year and more fun times, like June. June means that the Hummingbirds have arrived and the garden is coming along. I am still geeked out about Hummingbirds, they are so fascinating to me. So tiny, so fierce, so beautiful. And I love when I can lure them to the camera. The June bird of the Ostdrossel 2022 calendar is a Rubythroated Hummingbird, the only species we get here (apart from rare exceptions).
You can get a calendar here, they come in four sizes: https://www.createphotocalendars.com/Shop/ostdrossel
It's Friday, and that is a good day
to introduce the May bird of the Ostdrossel 2022 calendar. It is an American Robin, and I chose this bird and photo for May because it is my birthday month, and I am in love with the clarity and light here. You can almost see the trees awakening with all this fresh and vibrant green. The bird is sitting on a bowl with an orange half and a blob of grape jelly that I put out in spring. I do it for the Orioles mainly, but many other birds enjoy it as well. If you want to try it too, choose grape jelly as natural as possible. Mashed grapes will work too. American Robins are the state bird of Michigan, and while they usually leave my area late in fall, some will also spend the winter in the state. Come good into the weekend!
My calendars are available here: https://www.createphotocalendars.com/Shop/ostdrossel
The month of April
in the 2022 Ostdrossel calendar is graced with a gorgeous Common Grackle. If you have followed me for a bit, you will know that I have a special love for these glorious birds. This I think is not Count Grackula but he is part of the family. They are seasonal visitors here, coming in spring, raising their babies and then moving south once it gets colder. They are smart, fierce, impressive and absolutely stunning.
The calendars come in several sizes. There is a link on my main page but you can also click here: Calendar shop.
And here
is the March bird of the 2022 Ostdrossel calender, a harbinger of spring, but also the announcer of a 10 day special sale of the calendars - a Redwinged Blackbird. I love these guys when they look sleek and relaxed but I always get a kick out of their puffed up state. Here, you can also see what gave them their name - the gorgeous red “epaulets”. You can find the calendars in three sizes in my shop here: https://www.createphotocalendars.com/Shop/ostdrossel
The selfie-expert
was back today to take a pic with a House Finch 😁 I think he is improving his skills, too! If you are still thinking about getting an Ostdrossel calendar, I recommend to check my shop from Nov 19 to 29 for a special promotion where calendars are a bit more affordable. You can find the shop here: https://www.createphotocalendars.com/Shop/ostdrossel
And since it is Thursday,
here is another bird from the 2022 Ostdrossel calendar. The month of February is represented by Queen Red Eyebrow, a female Cardinal. I love this photo because it is so dramatic and wintery. In the back behind her head you can see a Blue Jay.
I occasionally get asked about prints of my photos. Generally I am not a big fan of selling prints, because not all photos will look good printed in every size or for every purpose and I want to avoid disappointment. However, all the photos in my calendar could probably be framed too. I have the large one here with me, and I can tell you they look great. You can get the calendar here: https://www.createphotocalendars.com/Shop/ostdrossel
Happy Friday!
Today, I will continue with the introduction of the birds of this year’s calendar with the bird of January, a Dark-eyed Junco. Juncos, also nicknamed “snowbird”, are only visiting my area in the cold season, they stay from about November until April. This makes them harbingers of winter but also of spring in a way. They are hardy little birds that come in an astounding variety of color, depending on region as well as gender. They usually forage on the ground, looking for seed by scratching with both feet at the same time, which looks rather funny. They also sound like tiny laser guns, and their pink beaks make them extra adorable. The one in the photo has a little brown in the feathers, which makes it a bit special because my usual variety is a dark slate gray with a while belly. Come good into the weekend!
You can find the 2022 Ostdrossel calendar here: https://www.createphotocalendars.com/Shop/ostdrossel
The weather
has been gloomy and wet these last couple of days, and there is still not a lot going on. So I am taking this time to introduce the birds of this year’s calendar a bit over the course of the next days / weeks. The title photo this year shows a Cardinal couple. As one can also see from the sparse vegetation in the back, this was taken in spring. Cardinals are in my yard throughout the year but in spring they start appearing together more often because mating season begins. Part of their courting ritual is that the male is feeding the female. It kind of looks like they are kissing, and is always wonderful to behold. This photo was part of a series in which he fed her several times. I love how pretty they both look, it is no comparison to the rough molty look at the end of the season. Come good into the weekend!
The Ostdrossel 2022 calendars are available here.
The 2022 calendar is here!
Hello, dear followers, I proudly present the 2022 Ostdrossel calendar. I have to admid that it was tough to go through the photos of the year to narrow the selection down but I think it worked out nicely in the end. There is an early bird special going on for the next couple of days, too. I will introduce the monthly species in the coming weeks as well.
They come in three formats and four sizes. There is a rectangle wall calendar in two sizes, a 12 x 12 wall calendar and a desk calendar. Only the wall calendars have the species names on the back.
Link to shop: https://www.createphotocalendars.com/Shop/ostdrossel
(Please note, all orders are made on demand and handled by that website.)
Have a beautiful Monday and week!
Every person
that feeds birds at one point will encounter one situation. The critters will find out that there is food, and they will try to get to those goodies. There is a number of ways to keep the bird food budget tight - with the help of squirrel-proof feeders or foods - but some also enjoy watching these entertaining rodents. This one looked so adorable that I decided to include it in the calendar this year. Meet the September “bird”.
You can get an Ostdrossel calendar here on ostdrossel.com or here.
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.