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.
The other entertaining thing
are the loads of young Blue Jays. They are all very excited to find food and will try almost any feeder, and they will announce it too. I like photos like here where they have a bit of a sleepy eye. I have only ever seen this with the babies. They are just the cutest little “penguins”.
I haven’t seen
a Chickadee, Nuthatch, Titmouse or even Downy Woodpecker in a long time. The Grackles, MoDos and Blue Jays, are dominating yard and feeders. I can see how smaller birds stay away from that but it makes things a bit boring. So I was excited to see this one showing up yesterday. It is a juvenile Redwinged Blackbird, and guessing by the red on the shoulders, a male. I love how much orange this bird has, the whole color combination is quite beautiful.
Kentucky Flood donation effort
We all have seen the images of the recent flood in Kentucky, and I feel like this would be a good time to get some donations going again. The statebird of Kentucky is the Northern Cardinal, so the King of the Yard will be the symbol for this one. I created some more Cardi designs in my shop, you can find them here: https://tinyurl.com/mjz3s4km All other proceeds will be donated as well. I hope you have a pleasant evening.
The end of July is a bit
like early Halloween in the bird world - the molting process makes many of them look a bit scary. They are using the warm weather to lose old feathers and grow new ones. Some, like Grackles, Cardinals and Blue Jays, may lose their parts or the entire collection of feathers on their heads. It is a great opportunity to see what a bird’s ear looks like. And just like last year, there is a Grack that reminds me of Maynard James Keenan 😆
The Redbellied Woodpeckers
seem to have more than one youngster. I have noticed a second one that has a stronger marking on the forehead. I decided to call them Canado and Canada because the red patch looks a bit like a Maple leaf. Canado is the one with the larger red patch, and he also has more streaks on the chest. I have no idea though if it is actually a male, time will tell. Canada is in pic 1, Canado in the other two.
I had not seen or heard
the Starlings in a bit, but in the last couple of days, they have come back a bit, along with groups of flocking Cowbirds. The adults are starting to get into their winter plumage, and I always like this look because they almost look like the fantasy birds we used to draw as children. The young ones will soon also be back, I assume, with their own unique look when the adult feathers come out through their brown baby plumage.
At times right now
it feels like there are only Blue Jays around. They have a lot of young, as always, and they are exploring every corner of the yard, excitedly exclaiming and begging the parents for food. They are utterly adorable, and I love their enthusiastic personality. Here are a couple of them, plus an adult. One of the babies is very recognizable because it is missing head feathers. Maybe it got attacked somehow. We call him Frazzle because that is how he comes across. He is our favorite right now (he is in the third and fourth photo).
It's been a busy work week
and I am trying to catch up with photos, but there is also not really much happening. The backyard is full of goofy and curious bird babies, exploring the backyard and eating me out of house and garden (a big thank you to the generous Leslie for the WBU giftcard that allowed me to get a little extra ❤️). I have seen more butterflies this week, my first tomato hornworm (wow, these guys are massive!) that already seems to have been taken care of by a critter or bird, and a garter snake. Despite not really seeing hummingbird activity, I keep putting feeders out, and yesterday I got lucky. I hope things will pick up a bit now, apparently their babies are starting to fledge.
Nestbox news: Four for three!
Gayle has continued to lay eggs in the last couple of days. Today, she did not, which means that the third clutch of the season will have four eggs. She will now start to incubate. Mr. Business brings her the occasional snack and the babies from the last brood are also still hanging around. I am leaving the Wren guard up for good luck even if I have not heard or seen a Wren since we brought the babies to the rehabber. (The rehabber told me today they are doing great.) Maybe once it is removed, the second clutch will help feeding the last set of babies to get them strong faster. I like how the nest looks this time around, a very elegant paler grass nest.
Nestbox news: What a whirlwind!
The last couple of days have been a whirlwind, mostly for the Wren babies. At some point yesterday I noticed the babies were constantly screaming but I did not see a parent feeding them. I went through the videos and did not see them there. As I was doing yard work I kept an eye on things. Then in late afternoon, a baby fell out of the box. I contacted a rehabber for advice and eventually took them all out of there. I put them in a box with tissue while I tried to figure out where to bring them. There are few rehabbers in the area and I also heard that due to Avian flu, many are not taking birds in at this time. Wild Wings in Detroit agreed to take them, all I needed was a ride. (They accept donations.) Now I did have a camera team from Local 4 over here today, and since they went back to Detroit anyways, they agreed to bring them in. I am so glad they are safe now and super thankful for the wonderful Local 4 team. This was a turbulent couple of hours. Local 4 came for a little segment that will air in September, I will let you know closer to the date.
In other news, Gayle laid her second egg this morning. The Wren guard is on even though I am not sure I still need it with the adult wrens gone. I have no idea what happened to them, they never returned to the box.
They have become a little less
recently, I think some might have already begun to migrate, but I still have quite a lot of Orioles hanging around. At this point, it is mostly juveniles but I also see the occasional adult male and female strewn in. I was hoping to see the Orchard Oriole’s young ones or females too but time might be running out for that. Anyways, here is a good dose of sunshine to brighten your Friday.
It feels like
I haven’t posted Gracks in a bit. There are many of them around, and I have been collecting pics for a bit for a nice big Grackle post. Count Grackula is still hanging around but his family is growing and there are lots of possible successors. He is the one with the speckles around the neck, and you can tell that he is getting old. Old but nonetheless magnificent. Some are starting to molt now too, and I am excited to see the wild looks that are upon us. The bird in the first photo is seen at a later molt stage in another photo. He is kind of Count II with that big white spot.
Rosebreasted Grosbeaks
are seasonal visitors in Michigan. they arrive in May and leave in the middle of the Midwestern summer. I love these birds because they are beautiful but also because of their character. They remind me a bit of an old dog or kitty. They will come, sit down and eat. And nothing will really bother them, not even a thunderstorm. They are another bird where all individuals look alike from afar, but nope. Look at this diversity!
One fun thing about birdwatching
is that you never know what you’re gonna get. Even for a backyard birdwatcher, things will change with the seasons but also from year to year. I did have male Redwinged Blackbirds at my feeders always but this year, there seem to be a lot more females. Or females that are not camera shy. With this expressive one, I would like to wish everyone a FANTASTIC MONDAY!
Mourning Doves are often
described as peaceful birds, but I have seen quite a different behavior. They seem to be hungry. All the time. And they do not want to share. What looks like maybe a couple that is getting cosy here is two birds each trying to maintain dominance over the food bowl. I do love them for their goofiness and their love for the camera. They are like a well-tanned nudist couple with a preference for 70’s eye shadow that shows up for spontaneous visits.
The young Red-bellied Woodpecker
appears to have figured out the camera feeder and is taking lots of mug shots, much to my delight because I think it looks beautiful. It is still looking a bit like a black and white copy of it’s parents but there is some red coming in on the forehead. The eyes are still brown instead of the dark red of the adults. This is a very vocal bird too, very entertaining.
Gayle and Mr. Business
have begun to bring their babies back to the yard to show them the amenities (the mulberry tree next door is apparently still carrying as you can see on Gayle’s chest and very popular with all the birds here). I am not entirely sure how many are with them but I saw at least three so far. This means they are now more present here, and with that, more able to defend their nestbox. They have been frequently going in all weekend, excitedly exclaiming and taking things out. I find it funny that they still do their little rituals even for the third brood. The babies that I saw looked great, and to my surprise one even made it to the camera. It looks so comparatively small that I think it might be the runt. It does have a lot of character 😁
As we move farther
into summer, you might also notice birds that look like they are balding. If you are new to this, it might make you think something is wrong with them, but you can calm down. Most of the times, they are in the process of molting. They lose old feathers and grow new ones. What better time to do this than during summer? During that time, they appreciate nutricious food and clean bird baths, because those incoming feathers itch! The most dramatic molds I have seen were with Grackles, Blue Jays and Cardinals. And here is one of the first of 2022 😁 He is just getting started.
Video: The hummingbirds
are making themselves really rare this year. I hear it is not just me, everybody seems to see less. I am not giving up hope, traditionally I have seen an uptick in activity by late July and August and even into September. So I am keeping the feeders clean and refilled. The Allura feeder that I was sent has proven to be very pleasant and practical because it is so easy to clean and has not given me any issues with ants or spills, and I don’t have to make huge batches of nectar that never get used. At least the baby Orioles are explory enough to come and visit. I am streaming this camera on BirdsyTv (birdsy.com), and hopefully there will be some hummer visitors at some point. The Allura feeder is available on Amazon.
