Here we go :)
On this sunny Monday morning, Lagertha, the Bluebird lady, went into the nestbox and stayed there a bit longer than usual. I was hoping the day would finally have come, and I was right. Shortly before 9 in the morning, she laid a beautiful blue egg, starting a new clutch that will hopefully be successful. If things go normal, she will lay an egg per day from today until she is done with the clutch. During that time, she will only occasionally check on the eggs and not sit on them permanently. Once her clutch is completed (usually between 3 and 5 eggs), she will start incubating, meaning that she will sit on the eggs, warming them with her brood patch, a skin fold on her belly (you can see some sort of a “crevice” on many birds right now - that is where it is) and turning and moving them to incubate them evenly. She only starts incubating when her clutch is complete so that all chicks will hatch on the same day. Most of the times, that works perfectly, some times there are some that lag a bit behind.
Count Grackula hoodie now on Zazzle
Count Grackula can now be had on a hoodie in my Zazzle store. I am still waiting for the face masks to be approved, but hopefully that will happen soon.
EDIT: Hoodie should show up now, and they have a promo code that ends today where you get 40 % off. It is STAYFITHOMEZ.
Video: Bird identification - the Brownheaded Cowbird
This is the time where many people see these birds and wonder what the heck they are.
Well, this is a Brownheaded Cowbird, either a female or a young adult. Many people dislike them for their nesting habits (they lay eggs in other birds’ nests so that they raise their babies) but this is how they evolved. They used to follow cattle and never settled anywhere to nest. Now that humans are destroying habitat, not as many herds wander around, and the Cowbirds come to our backyards (it is of course more complex than that, but that is the gist). It is their survival strategy, and other birds have found ways to survive nevertheless. Cardinals for example have several broods, and usually only the first one seems to be affected. (This was recorded with a Birdsy camera.)
I am still waiting
for Lagertha, the Bluebird lady, to lay her eggs. she is still prepping the nest, and I wonder if she holds out because of the snow. Ragnar, her partner, is patrolling the yard and making sure there are enough mealworms there to feed him and his future family.
The cold temperatures
have also brought the Downy Woodpeckers out. Usually, I barely ever see them right now, since I had to take the nut cylinders and suet in because of the Starlings. This is why it is a nice treat to see them checking out the camera bowls. This male (recognizable as such because of the red spot on the head) has been coming a lot today. I have heard Flickers call (and seen one too) recently too, but haven’t heard any drumming yet, and I always wonder where these guys are nesting.
The odd Grack
is still here, and I love that I now have two Grackles that I can clearly ID. The Count being one, with his white necklace, and then this oddball. In this photo, the feathers at the beak base also appear brownish. And you can see well how his eyes are “sprinkled”. I am very fascinated with this bird.
What weird weather.
One day you want to walk around in a t-shirt outside, the next day it is snowing. But I guess that is April. Snow days always mean good traffic at the feeders too. While I have prepared the Oriole and Hummingbird feeders because there are reports that at least the latter are already in Michigan (journeynorth.org is a fine ressource for that), I have yet to see or hear any of the two. The Finches, however, are having the time of their lives right now. The House Finches are flirting, the Goldfinches are fighting, and in between, they sit down for a peaceful snack. I loved this House Finch, He is so wonderfully round.
Bird pins in the shop!
There are now pins available in my Redbubble shop. You can either click HERE, or the link to the shop or the short cuts on the home page on here. I also linked the sticker shortcuts to the pages that show all available products for a bird. This should make it easier to navigate the Redbubble shop. Constructive feedback is welcome.
Video: The evolution of a mohawk
A quick hello! I have been extremely busy in the last few days and did not have a lot of time for bird pics, but things should be better now :) Have a great day!
Video: She's got a voice!
Lagertha the Bluebird lady came in the early morning and could not stop singing. She has been very busy in the nest and still is trying to make it comfy. Ragnar, her partner, has been bringing feathers into the box occasionally, and I always wonder if that is something like gift-giving amongst them.
The King of the Yard
is constantly serenading his chosen beauty at the moment, especially in the early morning and evening hours. Since traffic is down because of the stay at home order, every morning sounds like Sunday morning at the moment, and it is an absolute delight to wake up to a Cardinal singing.
Downy Woodpeckers
always look so gentle and elegant, but they move in a way that made me jokingly give them the nickname “hostage birb” because they move as if their feet are tied. It is funny to see them lowering themselves down a pole and jump to a suet cake or seed cylinder. I have neither out right now because the Starlings like them too much and I don’t want them to linger. So the Downies have to come to the feeder cam.
Video: Lagertha comes for breakfast
And here we have Lagertha again (I guess the male should now be Ragnar, not Rick because I am not really sure if he is the same.) As you can see, she looks a bit different than Ilsa, and also eats in a different manner. And the only thing she fears is that peanut addict. Lagertha is now busy preparing the nest, so I am thinking there will be new eggs soon. In that sense - happy Easter to all of you, celebrating or not.
Video: Starlings trying to get into nestbox
My second nestbox has a small entrance hole that would only fit Chickadees or Wrens but has a door slab that woodpeckers could modify in their own style. Now that nesting season is beginning, Starlings are also showing interest. They can’t get in, but you can hear how much they wanted to. I am trying a new camera solution in there and I am excited to see what the season brings with this box.
Pretty bird backs
It is time for another edition of pretty bird backs. Here we have a Robin with fabulous epaulets, a Blue Jay, a Goldfinch, a Grackle and a female Bluebird.
Meet Lagertha
She seems to have won the BB lady fight the other day, and is definitely a different one. There is a male hanging around with her as well. She has started to bring nesting material into the box and tried to bury the four eggs that have been in there, so after careful consideration, I have removed the four eggs that have been in the box before. The first ones had been laid at the end of March, and not been incubated. The Gilbertson box is on the small side and can only be opened from the top. If the four abandoned eggs would have sat under a new nest with babies and got crushed, the contents could have seeped into the nest, luring in insects, and a nest change would not have been easy. I try to interfere as little as possible with the nestbox, which works well with the camera. This is also how I was able to see what was going on in the nest. You have to always make sure that things are what they look like before you act if you face a situation like that. It is illegal to remove native bird eggs from an active nest.
Extra love fluff
The backyard is brimming with the songs of flirting birds, and everybody also shows their best in front of the camera. As always, the MoDos are masters of the game. It has cooled down quite a bit in recent days, which adds some extra love fluff.
Happy Easter weekend!
I hope there will be some faces that look as happy as this Blue Jay’s with his peanut prize.
Cheep transformation...
Cheep transformation…
…is almost complete. Perfect timing for Easter.
The Count is back!
The Count is back!
Somehow I thought any Grackle can be Count Grackula, but then I saw this face, and I knew. So the Count is the gorgeous guy with the white “pearl necklace”.