This week,
the Blue Jay, Grosbeak and Oriole babies have started to come out, creating a beautifully chaotic symphony and fun behavior to watch. All babies seem to love the pond, so it is worth checking out the stream.
It was hard narrowing things down, so I am posting a larger selection here and smaller numbers on social media. I hope you enjoy the fluffy cuteness of these baby birds. (species names in ALT text)
Another busy week has passed,
and I was finally able to solve my computer issues by upgrading. And I took some time for photos too. There are still no hummingbirds, which is a bummer, but I am still keeping up hope. The baby birds are pretty much ruling the backyard, and it is tough to find good shots because they have that toddler energy 😆
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.
Spring and summer
are my favorite seasons because it always feels like something new happens or visits every day. July is a major baby bird month, and just like in previous years, we had loads and loads of Blue Jays. I love baby Blue Jays because they are wonderfully adorable in looks as well as behavior. For the calendar, I started thinking about July with the beautiful sunny photo of the adult, lured by the vibrancy and detail. But then I looked at photos of the youngsters. All three are cute and quite typical but I found the “mohawk” one the most interesting to look at, so that was the choice for July. The calendars are on sale starting today (once approved by the website) and continue until Sunday. Get yours here.
There are still
lots of young birds around, and the majority of them are Blue Jays. Many of them are hopping around by themselves already, but there are also still some that beg the parents for food. Others have already learned how to look judgy into the camera. And of course there is Frazzle. Doing what everyone else is doing except for growing head feathers. Such a cute little stinker.
Nestbox news: Everybody is thriving
The temperatures are very lovely at the moment, not too hot, not too cool. The garden is visibly regaining juice and strength, and the Bluebird babies are thriving. I was so happy to see that the fourth egg hatched yesterday in the morning too. I hope with only four, the runt will quickly catch up. Also, believe it or not, I am still fascinated and enamoured watching this whole process even if it is the third time this season. Bluebirds are just so charming and entertaining. Here it looks like Gayle does not really like Mr. Business to come in and feed the babies. But at the same time, she is also quickly following him when he leaves. He does get his alone time with te babies too, though.
Nestbox news: Welcome, brood 3!
I suspected that hatching would happen soon when I saw some marks on the eggs late yesterday. And this morning at around 6, the babies started hatching. This is brood 3 for Gayle and Mr. Business. The babies from the second clutch are also still around and I wonder if maybe this time they will help raising the babies. The Wren guard is still in place even if I have not heard a Wren in forever. We had awful heat here in the last couple of days but today, it broke, and I actually ave the windows open. Here’s to a smooth rest of August.
Update August 10 - this morning, the last baby hatched as well.
hatching Eastern Bluebirds in nestbox
Videos: Babies, babies, babies!
Apart from the Blue Jays and Grackles, there are also young Robins, Woodpeckers and Cardinals. They are still curious and will visit all the feeders to see what is offered. Sometimes, this results in little dominance fights, like with the Robin and Canado here. The Robin has particularly pretty markings too.
The last video is not a bird, but an Opossum mommy that regularly shows up at night. And it looks like her belly pouch is full of little ones! She has quite the waddle going on, and I hope the babies will soon climb out there to get on her back. Well, and that she comes for a visit then too.
As you know, I am using Birdsy cameras around my yard to record feeders and the bird bath. Their website birdsy.com is the headquarters of BirdsyTV, a platform where Birdsy users can share their videos and live cams from their accounts. I have several channels there too and you can also find these videos there. I love visiting the site to check out other people’s setups, get entertained and inspired. And it is fun to see birds from Europe too! Check it out if you have the time.
At times right now
it feels like there are only Blue Jays around. They have a lot of young, as always, and they are exploring every corner of the yard, excitedly exclaiming and begging the parents for food. They are utterly adorable, and I love their enthusiastic personality. Here are a couple of them, plus an adult. One of the babies is very recognizable because it is missing head feathers. Maybe it got attacked somehow. We call him Frazzle because that is how he comes across. He is our favorite right now (he is in the third and fourth photo).
Nestbox news: What a whirlwind!
The last couple of days have been a whirlwind, mostly for the Wren babies. At some point yesterday I noticed the babies were constantly screaming but I did not see a parent feeding them. I went through the videos and did not see them there. As I was doing yard work I kept an eye on things. Then in late afternoon, a baby fell out of the box. I contacted a rehabber for advice and eventually took them all out of there. I put them in a box with tissue while I tried to figure out where to bring them. There are few rehabbers in the area and I also heard that due to Avian flu, many are not taking birds in at this time. Wild Wings in Detroit agreed to take them, all I needed was a ride. (They accept donations.) Now I did have a camera team from Local 4 over here today, and since they went back to Detroit anyways, they agreed to bring them in. I am so glad they are safe now and super thankful for the wonderful Local 4 team. This was a turbulent couple of hours. Local 4 came for a little segment that will air in September, I will let you know closer to the date.
In other news, Gayle laid her second egg this morning. The Wren guard is on even though I am not sure I still need it with the adult wrens gone. I have no idea what happened to them, they never returned to the box.
Blue Jays are
one of these birds where seemingly all individuals look pretty much alike. However, that is not true, and since they apparently had a good breeding season, there are lots of babies around right now and it is fun to look at all the different varieties they come in. So many colors, patterns and textures. The youngest ones have slightly curly feathers but the markings in the face can differ regardless of age. The red stuff on some of them is Mulberry juice.
Baby birds!
In the last couple of days, the air has filled with more squeaks and begging calls. The Blue Jay babies have fledged, as well as Orioles, Redwinged Blackbirds, more Doves and Grackles. Not pictured but also seen were a Redbellied Woodpecker baby and a young Cardinal. All of them also seem to love the pond, so there is lots of fun stuff happening there. It is wonderful to see them explore things and follow the parents around. (Oriole, Mourning Dove, Blue Jay, Grackle, Blue Jay, Redwinged Blackbird)
Nestbox news: Good things need time
Four of the five Bluebird babies of the second brood have fledged over the last couple of days. The runt is still in the box, but hopefully, he will leave today, too. He has grown a lot, practises the wings and is taken care of by the parents. Here is a little clip of the middle three leaving. They all did late in the day, including the first one, and I did not manage to take photos of their first flight. The box is stained with mulberry, a poop sac left a smear on the lens and there are blowfly larvae in the nest too. I cannot wait to clean the box.
I spent a lot of time waiting for the fledge, and spent an entire day away from the computer, which was actually nice. There are new pictures coming but I need a bit of time to go through them.
Update: The runt took a glorious first flight this morning, the box is cleaned and maintained (I added a little mesh on the bottom to keep the nest slighly above the ground so blowfly larvae have it harder) and I rehung it in hopes for a third brood.
Baby birds
are adorable not just because of their mostly cute looks but also because of the noises they make and how they behave, especially after they fledged. I have heard baby Orioles yesterday, I heard and saw a glimpse of a baby Blue Jay but other than that, everybody seems to still be in the nest. Except for the Grackles. The parents often “park” them by the pond and go to find food. The babies are playing with things in and around the water, take baths and in between get fed. And some of the more brave ones join the parents at the feeder bowls. They already have the sincere look of the adults but with added cuteness.
Nestbox news: The wreturn of the little terror
I have’t posted an update in a bit, so today is a good day. The babies are now 11 / 12 days old. Their eyes are open and their feathers are coming in, They grow by the minute thanks to Gayle and Mr. Business feeding them pretty much constantly. I was surprised to see them even feeding them mulberries but I was glad to see it too because the weather has been very hot and the mulberries I guess provide lots of moisture. When the last baby was 7 days old, I took the Wren guard off the box. It is recommended to take it off between day 5 and 10 after hatching. Then, the babies are big and heavy enough so that the Wren does not pose a threat anymore. Well, and yesterday, the Wren returned to check out the box. I edited the video a bit to make it shorter, but the Wren pretty much got in, tried to poke the babies and on the second try actually tried to yank one out. Thankfully, the baby was big enough so there was no way the Wren could finish the deed. The Wren in the other box has laid egg 2 by now. I hope that somehow between the Bluebirds fledging and Gayle starting nest 3, the Wren brood will keep them so busy that they don’t venture out again to check for nests. I will of course attach the Wren guard again too and hope it does it’s magic a second time.
Nestbox news: Day 4
A happy Father’s Day to all dads and father figures out there, including my own, a happy Juneteenth to everybody, and some nestbox news. The babies are now 4 days old. The weather has cooled down to lovely temperatures, the parents are finding lots of food in our garden, and things look great. I will keep the Wren guard up until day 7, just to be on the safe side. I am so happy this works.
The BB babies
are now confident enough to fly around the yard by themselves and also visit the feeders. There is at least one male (you can tell by him already having more blue feathers than the girls). Gayle has laid her fourth egg today, and so far, the Wren guard seems to work too. The next couple of weeks will be fun with loads of babies coming to the backyard.
Nestbox news: Oh yes!
Yesterday was the day, Gayle started her second brood, and added another egg this morning. As soon as the egg was laid, I put a Wren guard on the box to keep the tiny destroyers out of there. It is like a visor for the nextbox that hides the entrance hole from sight, so that the Wren does not see it and thus, will not explore it and destroy eggs or babies. Since the BB has an egg in the box, she is bonded with it and will overcome any possible fear of the guard. Only the BBs know that there is a nest there, so it gives a bit of safety. We will see how that goes. The BBs have one advantage - they have at least four of their first babies around that can possibly help to defend. The guard will stay on the box until the babies are about 5 days old. Then they are too big and heavy to be drug out by the Wren. And here is a pic of two of the first babies with Dad at the feeder!
Gayle and Mr. Business
have been teaching their babies how to live and survive in the world, and they have started to bring them to the backyard. I have heard them begging and saw some glimpses but they are still keeping them up in the trees. Gayle has also started to build another nest yesterday. I hope to see the babies up close soon too.