It is always fun
to see young birds learn and explore, and the size does really not matter with that. I have a big desk, and there is a kitty bed on there because she likes to nap while I work hard to earn bird seed money. At some point I noticed that she was watching something outside, and it was the funniest little scene. A young hawk (I am guessing Cooper’s) was sitting right there, on a gutter pipe that the chipmunks and squirrels love. Turns out, there was a Red Squirrel in there, waiting to leave. The hawk kept a watchful eye and tried to figure the situation out. At one point, the squirrel made a run for a big tree. The hawk went after it, so the squirrel ran back to the pipe and the cat and mouse game continued. I do love the squirrels too, so at some point I just knocked on the window and he took off, as well as the squirrel. Light is a bit murky in that corner and I had to use the Canon, so it’s not all perfect.
Videos: Babies, babies, babies!
Apart from the Blue Jays and Grackles, there are also young Robins, Woodpeckers and Cardinals. They are still curious and will visit all the feeders to see what is offered. Sometimes, this results in little dominance fights, like with the Robin and Canado here. The Robin has particularly pretty markings too.
The last video is not a bird, but an Opossum mommy that regularly shows up at night. And it looks like her belly pouch is full of little ones! She has quite the waddle going on, and I hope the babies will soon climb out there to get on her back. Well, and that she comes for a visit then too.
As you know, I am using Birdsy cameras around my yard to record feeders and the bird bath. Their website birdsy.com is the headquarters of BirdsyTV, a platform where Birdsy users can share their videos and live cams from their accounts. I have several channels there too and you can also find these videos there. I love visiting the site to check out other people’s setups, get entertained and inspired. And it is fun to see birds from Europe too! Check it out if you have the time.
I have been
on a much needed little break from the everyday and my computer and spent the weekend with family in the beautiful north of Michigan. There is an abundance of wildlife there, and lots of birds. I brought my cameras along but the birds there are not used to them and declined to check them out. So I decided to relax and listen. The Merlin app is a great little tool to explore your surroundings in regards to bird song. Here is my list from six minutes yesterday morning, my attempt to take a photo of the Chestnut-sided Warbler, one of the many Cedar Waxwings, and some of the unfeathered creatures. Here’s to a great Monday and week!
The furries
are also quite active, now that all the plants are lush and the flowers start to bloom. This weekend, we also saw a young Groundhog (the one here is Forrest, the big guy), as well as a bunny and some toads. There is a mole digging tunnels all over the backyard too.
Video: Surprise night visitor!
Yesterday in the evening, I decided to put some peanut butter on the branch to see if anybody would come to check it out during the night. We have several species of squirrels in Michigan, and this is one of them - a Flying squirrel. These guys look like straight out of an animation movie, and they are so elusive and fast that it is hard to spot them, let alone capture them on film or photo. This is not perfect but still a lot of fun to watch, and only the second time I saw one in my yard.
I hope
that you all had a Christmas that was as fun as the one I had. There was no snow, which was a bit sad, and it felt like the birds were all having their very own gatherings, bird traffic is slow right now. So today is another good day to introduce who is in the calendar. October is the “furry birb”, one of the resident groundhogs. They are not at our house and they make us laugh, so we tolerate them. Since the year is ending soon, I have added another promo in the shop that begins tomorrow and is good until January 1. Check it out here: https://www.createphotocalendars.com/Shop/ostdrossel
Another stormy day here
in Michigan, and I decided to not put out cameras on a tripod because of it. Instead, I put them on the ground. I would still love more Junco footage, and Cardinals too but the weather has been so weird and erratic that things are just super duper boring. However, here are a hilariously “shy” squirrel and a Goldfinch with lots of stuff blown towards him/ her. Come good into Friday!
Video: Last but not least,
Herr von Bödefeld finally made another showing too 😍 I always feel so bad for opossums in the winter and want to make them little possum mittens. By the way, if you find little compact pellets in your feeders in the mornings, you might have an opossum coming around to feed. They munch on the seeds and then make a compact pellet out of the hulls and spit that out. It is not poop!
I am sorry for not posting more frequently
right now, but work is busy and there is also not really a ton going on bird-wise. Nature is amazing right now and providing a lot of food to birds and wildlife. It is a bumper crop year for Black Walnuts and acorns here, and I am excited to see what that means for the winter bird population. Here is a view into the current regulars, furried and feathered. Also, since it is Thursday - check out the Ostdrossel calendars!
Video: Thirsty bun
Good morning! The yard is still slim pickings when it comes to birds but there was a thirsty bunny at the pond last night that I thought people might enjoy. It is still very mild out and I think I will give the pond one more thorough cleaning before I close it for the season.
Two days ago, there were Bluebirds at the Gilbertson box, and I heard them yesterday in the morning too. This made me incredibly happy because they have been absent since the Wren destroyed their eggs earlier this summer. I hope they will start sticking around again, I miss seeing these lovelies. Have a wonderful Wednesday!
The 2022 calendar is here!
Hello, dear followers, I proudly present the 2022 Ostdrossel calendar. I have to admid that it was tough to go through the photos of the year to narrow the selection down but I think it worked out nicely in the end. There is an early bird special going on for the next couple of days, too. I will introduce the monthly species in the coming weeks as well.
They come in three formats and four sizes. There is a rectangle wall calendar in two sizes, a 12 x 12 wall calendar and a desk calendar. Only the wall calendars have the species names on the back.
Link to shop: https://www.createphotocalendars.com/Shop/ostdrossel
(Please note, all orders are made on demand and handled by that website.)
Have a beautiful Monday and week!
Video: Look who it is!
In the last weeks and months, I mostly saw skunks and raccoons in the night recordings, but look who was back last night, happily running into the frame 😁 Herr von Bödefeld! I love Opossums and always feel lucky to have them visiting my yard. And I hope this one returns for some more muncher videos.
And when the camera is on the ground,
non-winged creatures also find their way there. And this Groundhog seems to have had a blast 😆 Get something fun to eat and come good into the weekend!
Videos: late summer life at the community pool
There is still not a lot happening at the moment so I am thankful even for little scenes.
I love Nasturtium and this year, it grows like crazy all over the yard (but also in a fenced-off section in my veggie garden). I often gather some for salads or just to eat plain. It has a peppery flavor. I am surprised to see that the groundhog likes it too, but it also looks like it has to take a big sip right after 😜 Once again, I know they are destructive but they just crack me up.
Happy Friday!
Robins are some of the best bathers around, and I thought it was so funny how these two made way for the young Flicker. I never see Flickers at my feeders so I always love it when they pop up at the bath.
Last but not least...
A nut connoisseur 😆
(This is the Groundhog. I often get comments about what kind of fancy food the birds are getting here, so… I think the company that sells this mix buys stuff that fell to the ground in places that package nuts for human consumption, which is why sometimes there are more fancy nuts in there. I am a birder on a budget and would never buy snacky nuts to feed them to the birds or animals.)
Videos: Critter cam!
It’s been a busy work week and there was little time for photo editing, but here are two videos to hold you over. I have always loved seeing what the Birdsy Cam recorded at night but of course it is especially fun when something more unusual shows up. This week, the Flying Squirrel came over again (last showing on cam was last October!), and two frogs were practising the famous Lift Scene from Dirty Dancing in the pond 😆
I am processing photos as we speak and will post some in the next two days. Friday is finally here! Have a great one!
This is my one side...
And this is my otter side. This Groundhog seems way too happy with himself 😆
Video: Not the Nasturtium!
We plant a little flower patch each year around the bird bath, and this year, the nasturtiums are plenty. I was so happy because I love using them in the kitchen, but I guess others like them too 😆 (I know that groundhogs can damage gardens and sheds, but we have one every year and the house and garden are still standing.)
