The Catbird was back
for more grape jelly. Apart from the meows that he produces, I think his appearance also resembles that of a Chartreux cat. He looks so elegant, and I am happy that he graced the yard with his presence this year.
Another first today!
A young male Orchard Oriole. For comparison, the dark one is the full-grown adult. The yellow one is one that hatched last summer, and I am excited because I never had one in my yard. The female is more shy, seemingly, I have never seen one, but I hope they are nesting somewhere close.
Redwinged Blackbird glory
The first two photos I think are the same guy, a young adult. I love the markings on him. The last one seems to have gone to bird hypnotist academy. I am willing to fulfill all of his wishes.
I keep moving the camera around
to find interesting spots, and now this is becoming more fun because the vegetation is finally starting to fill in. Close to the ground, sometimes the funniest little things happen. Like Peanut, the woodpecker, bringing a straw (this is a joke, it is his tongue ;) ). The Nuthatch looked quite pleased, then there is a young male Rosebreasted Grosbeak who looks wonderful with the dots, and a Titmouse that has been coming lately.
There is a lot going on
in the yard, and I feel like everybody is having babies. The Grackles are collecting food like there is no tomorrow. Preferred are sunflower hearts (that is what the “bird with teeth” had in the old photo) and earth worms. I love it when they check by the camera after hunting before they bring the bounty to the nest.
Today was a great birding day
despite the really really bad weather, or maybe because of it. There were so many photos… For tonight, just this one, more in the morning. The Gray (I got the spelling wrong earlier) hung around all day and checked out all the feeders and made me all giddy.
Video: Rubythroated Hummingbird lady
I saw several hummingbirds today, and it finally warmed up as the day progressed, and I think we finally have some real spring coming here in Michigan. This must be the latest spring start I ever experienced, and as a May child, I cannot even begin to express how excited I am. I decided to name her Martha, after my wonderful niece who was named after my fantastic and resilient great grandma.
Video: FOY Grey Catbird
Grey Catbirds are also migratory visitors to my yard. They are named so because their call resembles that of a cat. They love insects and will also go for grape jelly. Which this one actually did this morning too. He checked in before 7 AM, and if it wasn’t for the Birdsy camera, I would probably never have seen him, which makes this little video extra nice. I hope he comes back!
Times are wild
and oddities are happening. We just have to keep our eyes open. I have seen this young Mourning Dove at the bird bath cam, but it was always too shy to check out the feeder cam. Today it came, in all its awkward teen glory. It will grow into the beak. I love him/ her/ it.
Video: FOY Rubythroated Hummingbird
Today finally was the day where I saw my first Rubythroated Hummingbird of the season. Usually, I see them around the beginning of May, and I was impatiently waiting. We are having another night frost tonight but I hope this is the last of it - the forecast looks good.
Video: Robins at the bird bath
Robins are natural born bathers, and will use a bird bath frequently. The Birdsy camera captured this hilarious scene involving three excited Robins and a Starling that was not tolerated at bathing time.
Be careful
when you walk around or do yard work, nesting season is in full swing. I had seen a couple of Cardinals in a certain area and suspected they had a nest there, but today I saw where. Five eggs in a beauftifully crafted nest. It does not look like the Cowbirds found this one, now we just have to hope that no predators do either. I took this quickly with my phone to not bother the birds, so the quality is not superb.
Vitamin O for Global Big Day
The Baltimore Orioles have taken over the yard, despite snow and hail and frosty temperatures. I love how different they can look, and these photos show some of their variety. As far as I can tell, these are a female and a male, and the “leopard head” could either be a female or a young male. Are you participating in Global Big Day today?
A very windy day
created fuzzy portraits of a Blue Jay, a Rose-breasted Grosbeak, and the King of the Yard. The MoDo’s feathers remained flat, so it showed off its wing and smiled for the camera.
Video: Orchard Oriole
This morning, we were greeted by snow and this happily singing Orchard Oriole. I usually get one male visitor per season, and it is always a special occasion. They are slightly smaller than the Baltimore Orioles. I had left the feeder out for the night, and it seems the edge was a little sticky. I cleaned it right away this morning. This is a good reminder to not offer grape jelly in large containers or plates and cleaning those regularly. The sticky residue can easily get on bird feathers or feet, making it harder for them to fly. Snow in May is pretty crazy and unusual, but I also haven’t seen any hummingbirds this year yet either.
The proud mama
Here’s Lagertha, proud mama of at least four Bluebird babies. One egg did not hatch so far but it might be a straggler. The mama bird only starts incubating the eggs once her clutch is complete to make sure that they all hatch at the same time. Often, that works, sometimes it does not work completely, so we will have to see what happens. She helped all the hatchlings to get rid of any excess egg shell by eating it. The babies all look great, and Ragnar is very attentive, bringing her snacks to the box, so I am sure they will make it through the coming cold snap just fine. They are Vikings after all :D
So much to do, so little time
These days, despite quarantine and stay at home order, I am almost more busy than usual. And I am slacking with the photos because of that. There are so many to go through and my regular job is bustling right now too. So I am sorry if I am a bit slow these days. I hope I can catch up soon. Anyways, here is Peanut. He is a Red-bellied Woodpecker ( despite so many thinking he is misnamed he has a red patch on the belly), follows the peanuts, and I am always cracking up when I see him landing on the ground and foraging there.
Video: It's hatch day!
The Bluebird babies are hatching this morning. A cold front is supposed to come but they are on schedule. So far, only one made it out, and he was wearing a cute helmet.
Video: Northern Flicker drinking
First he does a drum, then he takes a sip. This Northern Flicker is loving our gutters lately. He uses them to make noise to get the attention of the Flicker ladies in the neighborhood. We have updated the woodpecker nest box to fit the likes of him. Maybe we will get lucky this year.
Video: White-crowned Sparrow bathing
White-crowned Sparrows are a native species of America, and I only get them in my yard during migration time. It is hard to capture photos of them too because they are quick, shy and only rarely go to the feeders. The Birdsy camera caught him taking a bath, and he goes into the pool just like me :D
