Earlier today,
I heard and saw the first Grackle baby. They have a very cute distinctive call (a bit like “naag-naag”) that is completely different from the cursed sounds of baby Starlings. This must have been an early one though, the Grackles are still carrying food away by the beaksful. They supplement with stuff from the feeder but feed the babies mainly with all kinds of juicy insects from the garden, of which you can see a bit of a selection here. The other two photos were just a weird pose that I found too funny not to share.
Nestbox news: Oh yes!
Yesterday was the day, Gayle started her second brood, and added another egg this morning. As soon as the egg was laid, I put a Wren guard on the box to keep the tiny destroyers out of there. It is like a visor for the nextbox that hides the entrance hole from sight, so that the Wren does not see it and thus, will not explore it and destroy eggs or babies. Since the BB has an egg in the box, she is bonded with it and will overcome any possible fear of the guard. Only the BBs know that there is a nest there, so it gives a bit of safety. We will see how that goes. The BBs have one advantage - they have at least four of their first babies around that can possibly help to defend. The guard will stay on the box until the babies are about 5 days old. Then they are too big and heavy to be drug out by the Wren. And here is a pic of two of the first babies with Dad at the feeder!
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)
Gayle and Mr. Business
have been teaching their babies how to live and survive in the world, and they have started to bring them to the backyard. I have heard them begging and saw some glimpses but they are still keeping them up in the trees. Gayle has also started to build another nest yesterday. I hope to see the babies up close soon too.
I think it is safe to say
that the Grackles have babies now. I love this time of the year, because I get to see what crawls and lives in my backyard by the stuff the birds bring on their shopping trips for the young ones. I also saw a young Starling today.
The beginning of May,
my favorite month of the year, is also the point in time when the serviceberry blooms. And everybody comes to pose in front of it. (male Rosebreasted Grosbeak, Blue Jay, Grackle (‘tis the Count himself!), MoDo, female Redwinged Blackbird, female Rosebreasted Grosbeak)
Vitamin O to start the week!
We had the the first real thunderstorm and rain pour of the season. The yard’s vegetation has pretty much exploded and the bird songs have calmed down because many are busy building nests. Last week, I saw the first female Oriole (see first photo), and there is a good group of them visiting. It is funny to me how much they can differ in color. On of these is of course the Orchard Oriole, so it is generally darker.
Usually when the Orioles arrive,
I also get lucky to see an Orchard Oriole too. This year does not disappoint in that respect. He has been here for a couple of days now, he likes to chatter, and I hope he sticks around a bit and maybe brings the wife. Apart from the difference in color, Orchard Orioles are also smaller than Baltimore Orioles. Immature males are yellow with a distinctive black bib. I had one one year and always hope to see it again.
Happy Mother's Day!
It is a beautiful spring day here, and I hope you all get spoiled today. Thank you for all you do, you make this world a better place.
While migration is going on,
we might often see birds that can be a bit confusing to identify. They are the youngsters from last year and are still molting into their adult plumage or females that are usually more shy. In the last two days, I saw some of this in Rosebreasted Grosbeaks and Redwinged Blackbirds (the third picture is a female).
Grackles and rain
are a fantastic combo that makes a murky day worth the while. The textures and colors that the water causes make them look even more elegant and impressive than usual. For some reason, I am also very fond of them looking down. So here is a selection of “Downward Gracks”.
This is a transition time,
there is a lot of coming and going right now. Migratory birds are passing through on their way north and there may be fun surprises if you get lucky. Here are some current regulars. And a screenshow from a Yellow-Rumped Warbler. He visited today and was so well-camoed that the camera did not catch him. It was sheer luck that I checked.
Another week
with a suboptimal work-bird balance, but I managed to go through some photos. The weather has been too cold for my liking these last days too, and it felt a bit like all that spring feeling came to a temporary halt. Nevertheless, it is not just Goldfinches, MoDos and Grackles here anymore. Along with the Orioles, a male Rose-breasted Grosbeak has arrived, and yesterday, a female joined him. You can see nicely why they have their name - for their big, strong beaks. They love black oilers and can sit down at the feeder for a long time.
Happy Earth Day!
Nature is slowly waking up here, and I have started to do my daily walk around our perimenters to watch the budding progress on flowers, trees and bushes. Things are happening slower than last year, due to the recent cold snap, but spring is definitely here. The anticipation can sometimes lead to unrealistic expectations, and so I put out some orange halves for possible early arriving Orioles the other day. The House Finches were delighted, the Goldfinch not so much. I have my Hummingbird feeder out as well, and keep an eye on journeynorth.org to see when they are likely to arrive. We are trying to add more native plants to our garden every year, to make it into a bird paradise that benefits us humans too, and I cannot wait to dig in the dirt again.
During migration time
it is always fun to see the “winter world” clash with the “summer world”. Yesterday and today we have snow, but migration has started, and so they mingle. A flock of Cowbirds passed through the other day (the first photo shows a female), and the Juncos are still here, enjoying the snow and filling their bellies for the big trip up north. On Thursday, we are expecting truly springlike temperatures, and i have to say I am more than ready to say goodbye to winter for now. Gayle and Mr. Business will also have a much easier time to raise their babies (they are due to hatch on / around the 24th.)
With the weather basically
changing daily at the moment, there can be cool light moments against dramatic stormy skies. This was one moment, and the Redwinged Blackbird looked so lovely. He has a nice little spotty pattern going on in his wings too. With the RWBB, not all individuals look alike, the vibrance and size of the epaulets differs according to age and genetics. If you live within their range and see one with just a thin yellow line on the wing, chances are, it is still a RWBB, just with slightly less color.
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.
It's been a busy couple of days
but I finally managed to sit down and go through photos. Early spring is also Grack season, and I am sure you all have missed more photos of them, so here we go. These are several individual birds, some of them are more purple, others more blue/ green. One of them is a big male that is missing part of the lower beak. I think the first one is a female, and I would love to hear some expert thoughts on my theory that the females don’t have the bright eyes that the males have - if you zoom in you can see her eye is different from the rest of them (it might be bs but I am curious). Happy Tuesday, I hope it’s gracking!
Spring is in the air,
and there is no denying it, despite the frost, and the birds are starting to show up as couples. I saw Blue Jays gathering stuff, the Robins are becoming more defensive, the MoDos are snogging things up and the House Finches are getting romantic. So much to see, such nasty weather!
