A European Starling
showing off his feather beauty. They can be overwhelming at times with their noise and numbers and behavior, but even Starlings can look cute. This one is drying off after a bath.
Mourning Doves
are so good with the couple photos. I swear they know what they are doing. They can be quite aggressive but always come across so serene in their photos.
The Rose-breasted Grosbeaks
have been coming steadily, but I haven’t seen any of their offspring yet. They must have a nest close by, a nest by spider webs, because this guy always has them on his head. The photo is partially blurry but I thought it was cool because it shows the red on the underside of the wings. The female is much more camouflaged but beautiful nevertheless. I love these birds.
Power stance.
I know it is a repetitive pose, but I love it because they all have so much individual character.
(MoDo, Rose-breasted Grosbeak, Blue jay, Grackle)
The Meow family
also seems to enjoy their time here. They are finding plenty of bugs and caterpillars, enjoy taking baths and judge you hard while sitting at the jelly trough.
The Orioles have returned!
After they arrived in large numbers in May, they soon seemed to disappear. Many people wondered where they went and if they would return. And yes, they do. They weren’t gone, they have been busy raising babies. Now they are back, enjoying the amenities of the “Ostdrossel spa” with all you can eat buffet and a huge pool. Soon enough, they will bring the babies too. I am always fascinated by the variety of their looks.
No Blue Jay babies yet,
but I spotted the first molting Blue Jay today. The birds are shedding their feathers and grow new ones. This is part of why I am happy to feed them also during the warm season, to help them staying healthy and looking pretty soon again. I also love the photos from molting time because they present cool insights into bird anatomy and give some really cool dramatic looks.
I guess nature listens
when I complain :D Yesterday, I saw two Hummingbirds again! Here is the male, showing off that beautiful ruby red throat. If you look closely, you can see that he has pollen on the beak too. My flowers aren’t really there yet, but it feels like things are finally picking up. I also saw a Cedar Waxwing on the bird bath twice in the last two days, and I hope it comes back and sticks around a bit more so there will be video. The internet issues with the live stream should be resolved now, too. Wohoo!
There are baby Robins
all over the yard right now, and they are so much fun to watch. They have a certain proud little man attitude that comes through in these photos too.
The Hummingbird situation this year
is so different from previous years. Usually, by now I would have regulars. Few, but still. This year, I am seeing very little Hummingbird activity at all. I don’t know if it is because of the big storm that happened when they migrated or because so many more people are home and putting feeders out, but I have been missing my hummers. Today, though, I have seen a female and a male! And the female was brave enough to go for the camera feeder. I hope they both return.
The nectar is fresh and the feeders are clean here - spread the word!
I am looking for the little surprises
when I go through the photos each day. There are many factors that determine who I might see. Time, placement of the camera and the kind of feed are some. Today, I played around a bit. And I got Mr. Meow, the Catbird who I now decided is my favorite bird this summer, a young Redwinged Blackbird whose markings I loved, and a House Wren that would refuse to be in focus or in full frame.
I haven't been posting many photos recently,
but that is just because this is basically what the feeders look like right now most of the time. The Starlings and their babies have taken over a bit. These “takeovers” happen each season, and they will mellow at some point too. And no matter what one thinks of Starlings (Europe and the US perceive them a bit differently), the interactions between the youngsters and the parents are funny to watch. They do sound a bit like haunted witches, though.
During nesting season,
the birds bring all kinds of food to the feeder too when they make quick stops on the way back to their babies. I always find those photos interesting because I get to see more of the insect diversity of my backyard.
These babies.
The Bluebird babies seem to be much more alert this year. Usually, once the parents bring them down to the yard, they sit on the cameras while the parent flies from the bowl to the baby to feed it for a couple of days. But these babies are jumping down on the bowl themselves on their second day in the yard. I have a very good feeling about them, and I still don’t know how many made it so far. But I am madly in love.
Times are bleak at the feeders
because everybody is taking care of the babies, but keeping that jelly feeder out there and filled can be rewarding. The Catbird is still a regular, which is absolutely wonderful, and this speckled Oriole is a daily guest at the jelly trough as well.
During nesting season,
I find it especially interesting what the birds bring to the feeder. It is like getting samples of the insects that are around in my yard. This year, things seem a bit more extreme, I don’t know if it is because of the cool spring or because of the rain or because of a quarantine-related lack of pesticide treatments in larger areas. We don’t spray our garden because we know there are lots of insect-eating birds. It can be tough, especially for me because my German body is still not really used to American mosquitoes, but it makes me feel better thinking about baby birds eating the spiders, worms and flies that their parents feed them (pictured are Grackles). And it is always somewhat satisfying to see a beak full of natural food.
There is still not much happening
but this curious and tired looking Wren checked out the camera yesterday. Unfortunately the bowl was empty, but I put it in the same spot today, maybe I’ll get a clearer picture.