We are in the middle
of typical April weather chaos, with a tornado watch today and thunderstorms the other night, and it sometimes feels like the change or air pressure just whips all the male birds into more of a frenzy. The Redwinged Blackbirds are competing vocally as well as visibly, and I love how they are somewhat goofy but also super elegant.
Woodpeckers are regulars here
but in the winter, some of them have made themselves rare. Now, the males are coming out and visit more frequently (apparently they love the sunshine as much as I do). Here are a Red-bellied Woodpecker and a Downy Woodpecker. Downy Woodpeckers look very similar to Hairy Woodpeckers, but they are noticeably smaller and have a shorter beak (there are other ID features but these are the most obvious). The Redbellied is named so for his red patch on the belly. There is also a Redheaded Woodpecker, but I only had one one time here. I love Woodpeckers and am happy to have them around.
Here is
the goddess of the snack drawer. Mourning Doves are smart, even if they might not appear so. My 20-25 know when and where the best food is. And they are vain. I have a love-hate relationship with them. Love for their goofiness and beauty, hate for their voracious appetite and feeder dominance (yes, they can be very aggro). But they truly do some of the best portraits. Happy Friday!
And...
things are going to get a little busy here for me and you probably as well in the next couple of days, so I wanted to take a minute to wish you all a merry Christmas / Fröhliche Weihnachten and a wonderful holiday time. Hopefully, you will bathe in presents and food and love as much as a MoDo 😜 I am thankful for all of you.
Another stormy day here
in Michigan, and I decided to not put out cameras on a tripod because of it. Instead, I put them on the ground. I would still love more Junco footage, and Cardinals too but the weather has been so weird and erratic that things are just super duper boring. However, here are a hilariously “shy” squirrel and a Goldfinch with lots of stuff blown towards him/ her. Come good into Friday!
Slow feeder times
are a good time to experiment a bit, especially since now there is still lush vegetation everywhere. So I put the camera back on the ground. The curious looks always make me giggle.
Videos: late summer life at the community pool
There is still not a lot happening at the moment so I am thankful even for little scenes.
I love Nasturtium and this year, it grows like crazy all over the yard (but also in a fenced-off section in my veggie garden). I often gather some for salads or just to eat plain. It has a peppery flavor. I am surprised to see that the groundhog likes it too, but it also looks like it has to take a big sip right after 😜 Once again, I know they are destructive but they just crack me up.
Happy Friday!
Robins are some of the best bathers around, and I thought it was so funny how these two made way for the young Flicker. I never see Flickers at my feeders so I always love it when they pop up at the bath.
Since there are plenty of them around
right now, here is another gallery of the blue screemers. Young and old, molting and not, individuals or groups. It feels like they are watching when I come out because as soon as I step away from a refill, they will be on the feeder. The babies are just so wonderfully goofy at that young age.
(Top row: adults, middle row: two young, a parent on the left and a baby on the right in the middle, baby, bottom row: all young ones (the photo in the middle captured Blue Jay spirit perfectly)
Every evening,
when the sun starts going down and things calm down a bit, a Cardinal party starts. I have counted up to six adult individuals and several babies in the last few weeks. They are still pretty camera shy, but now that feeder traffic is getting a bit more normal, this beautiful female came to the bowl yesterday. It is my quest each year around this time to capture photos or video of the most adorable babies but so far I have not been very lucky.
The Red-winged Blackbird,
always ready to pop an artery 😆 There have been plenty of them this year, and they also seem to have had a really good bredding season. I see lots of babies all around the yard, and they also love the pond. Some of them are molting, but in their heads, they still look as impressive and gorgeous as ever 😊
Nestbox update - House Wren
After no adult bird came to feed the Wren babies for almost 24 hours, we thought and pondered all day and then took them out the nestbox and brought them to a rehabber (Wild Wings in Hazel Park, they will be happy about donations, it is how they finance their good work). They were nine days old yesterday, not ready to fledge. The day before, the parent had fed them almost every 5 to 10 minutes, then suddenly nothing. The camera takes videos when there is motion or sound. It did not malfunction and I checked the clips as well as the livestream regularly to make sure. I did not want to see the babies die in the box, and I think waiting until the next morning would have sealed their destiny.
No adult bird has returned to the nestbox since. There are strong little birds and I hope they make it. Birds have a rough life, and unfortunately it happens that baby birds lose their parent/s too soon. The good thing is that there are licensed rehabbers who will take them in and care for them until they are ready to fledge.
I hope I get some updates. Be well, Wren babies ❤️
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)
Dr. Clara and Mandrake
and me have had a rough couple of days. After they sucessfully fledged four babies, the couple disappeared as usual to show the babies the world. They did come back occasionally to feed and check on the box. One day, however, a House Sparrow took a liking to the box. This was a first, it has never happened in five years. I use a Gilbertson box, which they usually do not like, with fishing line around the entrance, and the sparrow spooker also was still up. Shooing and spooking the sparrow did not deter him and his lady. One day, I was not home for one hour, and the sparrows had started a nest in the Bluebird box. House sparrows are invasive to the US and can have negative effects on the breeding success of native species like the Bluebirds. I will not let them nest in my boxes.
Eventually, I took the Gilbertson down. After one day, the sparrows moved on. I was very upset about this whole situation and decided to be proactive. I researched and built another box, a slotted style called Troyer. The slot and its relatively small volume are something that HOSP are usually not fond of. The slot lets in lots of light, and they like it dark and deep. The slot opening also enables the female to escape if a House sparrow should go in there to attack her. I also updated the camera in the same step. Now the BBs have brought their baby (it looks like possibly one one of the four has survived this far) to the backyard yesterday, and they have been checking out the new box already too. I hope this all works out, I did not like changing things like that mid-season but I did not want to keep the old box up that the sparrows ended up liking. This is a weird spring.
For more information on how to help Bluebirds and other native cavity nesting birds, check out sialis.org.
Happy Tuesday
with a little gallery of the current “staff”. I love that also this year, there is a Grack with a blue sheen that looks different than the usual more purple ones. The Goldfinches are beginning to look very funny, the Titmice seem to be staying for the season, and Peanut the Redbellied Woodpecker is showing why this species is named so.
(Redbellied Woodpecker, Grackle, Grackle, Mourning Dove, Goldfinch, Cardinal, Blue Jay, Redwinged Blackbird, Tufted Titmouse)
Women are worthy
to be celebrated every day, but since today is the official International Women’s Day, I would like to take the opportunity to send my love to all women out there! You are beautiful, important and loved, and I am glad to have so many sisters on this planet. I hope you all get a bit spoiled today, by others or yourself. I started the day with cake, which is never a bad thing ☺️🎂👑
The BB family of this year
has gotten their name too now. Meet Dr. Clara and Mandrake. At the moment, they are both frolicking around the nestbox, bringing stuff in (her) and taking things out (him). They do keep a steady eye on it and are ready to fiercely defend if another bird comes close. Here’s to a good nesting season!
If you are thinking
about how to spend this weekend... The Great Backyard Bird Count is going on! And you can share your data and contribute to science! I always thought this was super cool. Find all the info here: https://www.birdcount.org/
Happy Feed the Birds Day!
Apparently, since 2016, February 3rd is the designated Feed The Birds Day. Here to wish everybody a great one is Hazel, the Red-bellied Woodpecker.
The BBs
are also called “Bluebird of happiness”. They have been visiting steadily but usually use the caged feeder (it excludes Starlings that go bonkers for mealworms). The BBs stay here year round, and they usually go for some nibbles and sips and also make sure the nestbox is still there. They go in, sit on the roof and take some of the grass out that I put in there for the roosting Woodpecker. Have a happy Wednesday!
July is full of sunshine,
which can be rare during the winter. The July bird in my calendar is another bird that visits here only for the warm season, the Baltimore Oriole. They love grape jelly and oranges, and I love their songs and the effect seeing them has on my mood (I also call them vitamin O).
You can get an Ostdrossel calendar here at ostdrossel.com or here.