Happy National Hummingbird Day!
To honor this special occasion, I have switched the livestream to the hummer station today. The feeder has been busy all morning, so I hope we get to see some activity. Have a beautiful Saturday!
Someone's getting pudgy!
I noticed that the Hummingbirds that came to the Birdsy feeder just quickly checked things out and never sat down. It was as if they couldn’t figure out the feeder. I thought it might be because they are not used to the insect guards, so I have removed them now and try to keep the nectar level low so the wasps cannot reach in. This seems to have worked - this little guy sat right down for two minutes.
Video: Hummer sampling jelly
A young Rubythroated came this morning to sample the grape jelly. As you can see, he keeps a watchful eye at the yellow jackets. Them and other insects like hornets always appear around the end of August and can be annoying around the nectar and jelly feeders. I am trying to keep the feeders extra clean and avoid going there too much so I don’t get stung. And I am secretly hoping that the Orioles will start to migrate so I can take the jelly feeder in…
Video: molting Hummer
I have mounted one of the Birdsy cameras by the Hummingbird feeder again. Now that the Orioles are slowly starting to migrate, Hummingbird activity might increase a bit for a couple of weeks. This one appears to be molting on the head.
International livestream summit with WildlifeKate from the UK!
Wildlife Kate is a fellow Birdsy user and has some wonderful camera setups in the UK. We agreed to share each other’s livestreams for a bit so everybody can learn more about and enjoy European and American birds. Her waterhole was built out of an old, recycled tire. It was planted up and covered with soil and plants. It is well used by a variety of birds and mammals, including several kinds of Tits, European Robins, Blackbirds, Pigeons, Nuthatches, Bullfinches, Woodpeckers, Chaffinches etc… You can check out her website here and the livestream here. Below is a montage of what you can see at the waterhole.
Video: little rockstar in the morning
Young Cardinals are so shy and skittish and well camouflaged that it is hard to take photos of them. However, they are not so shy around the Birdsy cam, and I love that it allows me to see these cuties up close finally :D
Video: Nightly pond visitor
The pond has been there for a while now, but there are still fun surprises like A FROG! 😁 It feels good to know that we created a habitat. I hope he is hungry!
Video: More Cardinal babies!
Much to my delight, the Cardinals in my yard seem to have at least three babies! I have seen all three together, but here is the male from this morning and the two females from last night, getting fed by Dad at the pond. I just love them so much, and as I said yesterday, they are really hard to take photos of, so it makes me extra happy to see them explore in a more natural setting than just by a pile of seeds. Keep an eye on the livestream, it is very hot today, they might just pay a visit.
Video: Cardinal siblings!
As you know, I saw a Cardi girl being fed by papa the other day, and then there was also a couple feeding a Cowbird baby. But yesterday, this adorable sibling couple showed up at the bird bath. First she comes in, then her brother joins. They are so very hard to take photos of because they are very skittish and so well camouflaged. I especially love the males with the red coming in in the most adventurous ways. Their beak color changes to the typical red when they are one year old. (Yes, the lens is dirty and they are out of focus but I still love this video, so I wanted to share.)
Video: Orchard Oriole
Orchard Orioles are the smaller relatives of the Baltimore Orioles. They have a very short nesting season, and I usually only see them passing through. I am assuming that the males at least have already begun their migration south. There was a young adult in the spring, maybe a female or youngster will show up now as well?
Video: two young Blue Jays
These two came for an early breakfast in the morning sun. They are making an announcement call but then went about it pretty peacefully.
Video: Rose-breasted Grosbeak family at the bath
This was so cute this morning. Papa Grosbeak is taking his son to the pool and feeding him. And then both bathe. I made a little platform area by the waterfall for the smaller birds, and the babies seem to like it to get a first feel for the pool. There are so many baby birds around at the moment, it should be fun to watch the livestream for the next couple of days. I promise I will try to keep up with wiping the splash shield.
Video: baby Robin getting fed by the pool
The pond is closed for maintenance today, but here is a scene from yesterday to hold you over. This Robin baby is fairly new, the residents around here recently have had another clutch. It reminded me of old times when we went to the public pool or lake and then, still cold from the swim, got wrapped into a towel and received a snack from mom. Fries were extra special but cookies were awesome too.
Video: baby Oriole and Blue Jay
The yard is full of baby Orioles today, and like other bird parents, also theirs seem to love "parking" them at the bird bath. This one was brave, went in and stood it's ground against a big Blue Jay.
Video: Grackle parent feeding baby
Grackles are very devoted parents. This Dad is making sure that the baby gets food that it can stomach, cracking seeds before he feeds it. The youngsters seem big enough to do it by themselves but right now, you can watch them running through the yard following the parents wherever they go with an open beak and fluttering wings. So cute. This was captured with the Birdsy cam. They are on Kickstarter now, and you can get one here: https://birdsy-ai-records-and-ids.kckb.st/190e5d15
Video: King of the Yard at the bath
A royal bath in the evening light, and the King of the Yard went all by himself.
Video: female Rubythroated Hummingbird
This little Rubythroated Hummingbird lady showed up in the evening yesterday. She seems to have some difficulty with the insect guards that I put over the ports, so I took these off today to help her getting used to it. It also looks like she has some spider webs on her tail, so hopefully she is building a nest somewhere.
Video: Mr. Flicker takes a bath.
This morning, a Northern Flicker came to the bird bath. I think they are one of the most beautiful birds around here but they never come to my feeders - they prefer drilling the lawn for ants. So I was delighted to watch him. With his short woodpecker legs, he seemed to have some issues with the pebbles, but he still made it work. I hope he comes back. (The male can be distinguished from the female by his “mustache”. The female doesn’t have that.)
Video: Wilhelm von Grack is back!
Wilhelm von Grack is back 😁 He has grown quite a bit since I saw him last, and here he watches a Redwinged Blackbird bathe. I was wondering why I only saw one Grackle baby and then none anymore, so I am happy to see him back. I hope this means more baby birds are in the pipeline now.
