The evenings are getting cooler
but the garden still thrives, and there are sill many many baby birds around. This is the time where I like to put a camera to the ground to try and capture some of the more camera-shy visitors. The Blue Jays are very entertaining and all over the yard, the Grackle youngster are getting teen feathers, the Redwinged Blackbirds are bringing their peachy-faced babies, there are still Grosbeaks around, and today, a teen Cardinal visited too. As always when a cam is on the ground, some furries have access too.
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)
The weather
has been interesting, with lots of rain and cooler temps after the hot and dry weeks. I am happy to see the lawn and garden grow, also because I know that all the baby birds that are growing everywhere are getting good nutrition from all the bugs and worms. After a bit of a hiatus the Orioles have returned in full force today, a good sign that their babies are getting bigger and ready to fledge. I loved seeing the very beautiful female Cardinal, the adorable baby Grack, and seeing the return of the most interesting Redbellied Woodpecker (in photo 2). Is it a boy? Is it a girl? The last photo is a regular male. It is the calm before baby birds are flooding the yard. Good times.
After the snowstorm last night,
we did not have any internet, but the sun was shining and everything looked beautiful. I pretty much put a coat over my PJs and put the photo cams out to capture some of that morning sun. The Grackles were shiny, and everybody else was happy to find food (Bluebird, Grackle, House Finch, Mourning Dove).
The weekend
was a lot of fun and felt like summer. The birds are all somewhat busy with nestbuilding and offspring, and things are a bit quieter right now. Except for the Starling babies, that is. Here are some of the current regulars, some are immature, some apparently feeding babies. (Grosbeak, Robin, Blue Jay, Grackle, Baltimore Oriole, MoDo, Hummer, another Blue Jay, a Redbellied Woodpecker and a sassy Finch couple)