I got to spend the weekend
with family in northern Michigan, visiting orchards and wineries and enjoying the spectacular show nature is putting on there. The colors of the trees are mesmerizing, I have never seen anything like it in person, and we had cloudy skies. But it is also nice to be back home. We are expecting our first signs of frost tonight, so I hope that more bird activity is upon us. Have a beautiful Sunday evening!
Fall is here!
I am sorry I haven’t posted here a lot, but things have been busy, and sometimes it is easier to write on social media. I am always watching the weather forecast, and early this week, it became clear that the last warm days were ahead of us, so I decided to use the nice weather to take out the pond and set up the heated bath. I take the liner out of the ground because I never found a good way to cover it completely and it is just easier this way. The timing was perfect, the weather took a real turn this week, and today temperatures are noticeably cooler. I have been collecting Black walnuts every day too, hulled and washed them and let them cure for later use. They make excellent bird food but are a bit hard to crack. Today, there were also the first pretty leaves showing, and I noticed why there is such little bird activity at the feeders - our garden is brimming with natural food.
It is still hot outside,
the crickets are belting their heart out, the glow bugs and bats are feasting, and we are having burgers for dinner. Soaking in all that's left of the summer. Happy Labor Day weekend!
Where there's bird seed,
there will also be critters, and the Chipmunks are one of my favorite. They just make me laugh. They are tough to get good photos of with my setup because they move so fast, but I got lucky with this one 😆.
Putting a cam on the ground
can yield lots of fun photos but it also means the camera is not critter proof. Here are some from the last couple of days. A Chipmunk, a Groundhog (proudly holding a rock as if it was a potato in one pic and being expressive in the other), and another adorable squirrel. I love the Groundhog teeth 😆
New livecam and life sign 🙂
Work has been a bit much these last couple of weeks, and I did not find enough time to go through photos. I have a little window here now so hopefully I can get some done. In the meantime, you can check out the camera that I set up temporarily by the leek blooms. The insects love them and there is a lot of activity going on. I am not sure how much of it the Birdsy AI will pick up but watching the stream alone is fun. And who knows, a Hummingbird may visit too! You can watch the livestream here: ostdrossel.com/livestream or on my channel on birdsy.com.
We are having a nice week
ahead of us with very mild temperatures that will wake up gardens and wildlife from their winter slumber, while migration still continues. This weekend, female and nonbreeding male Redwinged Blackbirds arrived here. The females look distinctively different but if you pay attention to some details like beak shape and some color hints, you can tell what they are. The Robins are also frolicking around, and I would not be surprised to see them starting to build nests this week. I may even consider setting up the pond, if work time permits.
Nestbox news: The spell is broken!
The Bluebirds must have seen my complaints, because yesterday, they finally started nesting season in the yard. It may have been that the grid I placed in there bothered her so much that she was hesitant (she did accept it last season though but maybe the first nest is different). I removed to see what would happen and added some pine needles, dried leaves and bark. Here you can see the male coming in to “clean up”, and then she comes in to start the nest with the first strategically placed twig. By the endof the day, she had built the nest you see in the second video. This feels like the fastest I have seen her build a first nest of the season.
I am so happy they finally started, as you know I was getting a bit nervous. Here’s to a happy and successful nesting season!
The garden
is getting soaked with heavy rains, and last night there was even a thunderstorm. Spring continues to march into the area. The Bluebirds have still not started their nest yet but with these temperatures, I am not too sad about it. And there continue to be little surprises every day. When I saw him, I was just wowed! I am not even sure I have read about that variety before. A rare blue-morph Cardinal! He was only here briefly last night and has not returned yet. And a Flicker has also found his way to the yard and loves the bark butter by the tree cam.
Two cuties to go into the weekend.
The Bluebirds are visiting every day but she has still not started to build yet. I recognize her by her furrowed brow. Her man is around a lot more but I hope when we go into April she will finally get to work on her nest. The Titmice were plenty and vocal today, and this one just cracked me up. Here’s to a great weekend!
I have been busy
with work but not a lot is going on either while the yard is getting ready for #spring. Temperatures are not there yet but it definitely sounds like spring. And I love that I am seeing more Robins! When the ground is frozen, they are happy for dried fruit like raisins (make sure to keep your dogs away!), mealworms or suet nuggets.
Nestbox news: Doing the shuffle
The Bluebirds have been doing a lot of nestbox visits to inspect and clean up recently. This year's couple is named Johnny and June, and here you can see her doing her little shuffle for the first time this season. She has not actively started building yet but given that last year she begun March 1, we may be close to that.
I am again using the 6 inch diameter PVC box that I made last year. The little grid you see on the bottom is just the lid of a suet cage on which I bent the corners to fit. It is in there to elevate the nest from the bottom to help with ventilation and also to help prevent harm from Blowfly larvae (they hide in the bottom of a nest and only come out at night to feast on the babies. The female is usually aerating the nest, and in my thinking, the larvae will fall down and end up on the floor underneath the grid from where they cannot climb up to the babies.)
Also - a happy Women’s Day to all on this March 8th.
Another ice storm today,
but the spring migrants keep coming. Here's a very weather-battled Cowbird.
Let's hope the power lines stay put!
Extreme weather days
always make for some good birdwatching, and the feeders were buzzing at times yesterday despite the freezing rain. The light was murky, but this just kind of makes their colors pop. Here are some of the visitors. Top left to bottom right: American Goldfinch, Eastern Bluebird, Blue Jay, House Finch, Redbellied Woodpecker, Northern Cardinal.
Winter is back,
this time with an ice storm that covered everything in frozen magic over night. I find it beautiful and fascinating but I am also aware that it can be hazardous. Nevertheless, I was excited to venture out this morning with the big cam to explore everything (because this does not happen often). Here are some of the trees, and a frosted feeder, as well as a hilarious food fight at the high in demand tree cam.
It is a true February,
even if it sounded a lot like spring this morning with Redwinged Blackbirds singing. We are currently experiencing an ice storm, and I hope the powerlines stay put. Activity is still somewhat slow but this lovely lady came to the camera. The boxes and tripods were all covered in ice, and I do not envy anybody who has to drive tomorrow. Be safe and stay warm!
Video: Early visit
The BBs were back early today and came visiting all throughout the day too. Here, the male goes in to inspect and the female peeks in. Having a cam in the box made me love them even more, it is so cool to listen to their conversations. As I said earlier this week, I added a suet cage to the floor. This has two reasons, one is that it will lift the nest a little bit, improving ventilation from below, and two it may help in case of a Blowfly larvae infestation. The larvae can fall down underneath the nest and if a nest change is needed, I can pull a nest a lot easier from this top-opening box and replace it. I added the pine needles and some dry wood pieces because they like to take things in and out before they start, and it give the box a bit more patina. It has been used for three broods but I am sure it still has a bit of a “new” feel to it.
And so it begins...
In the last couple of days, the Bluebirds have been back to check out the nestbox. I have taken out the "winter padding" of pine needles the other day and just left a tiny layer along with some dried wood crumbs. This is a larger than normal box (like a Gilbertson but with 6 instead of 4 inches in diameter, which helps the babies to get stronger for the first flight because there is more space for wing practice), so I like to help her a little bit to get it going for the first one. I do think nesting season has still some time to go, we are expecing colder temps again, but it was so lovely to see them do their thing. Last year, she started building on March 1. Nesting season is one of my favorites, and I am very excited for spring.
Livestream PSA
I have several Birdsy cameras in my yard that I am livestreaming in different spots. The main bath/ pond in the summer can be watched here on my website but also on BirdsyTV. The Tree cam and the green bath cam are livestreaming on that website as well, I am going to post links below. You can give my channels and cams and also videos a like there too. The website will eventually grow but there are already several cams public there. My own livecams change throughout the year, I may move them around, activate and deactivate per my needs. But here is how you find them:
1. Ostdrossel pond channel: https://birdsy.com/l/355115274eb4873b and ostdrossel.com/livestream
2. Ostdrossel3 channel (tree cam and shed cam and sometimes a third one): https://birdsy.com/c/Ostdrossel3
Activity will ramp up in the coming weeks with migration starting, so there may be lots of fun stuff to see. Check it out if you like
Happy Groundhog Day!
Apparently, there will be at least six more weeks of winter. This is fine by me, I get to wear all my knitted stuff and make more! I do hope that there will be more sunshine than in January, it just makes the cold more bearable. The local resident is happily snoozing in his apartment under the shed but here are some glimpses from the previous years.
