I see birds up close a lot,
and usually it is from the front. But their back is sometimes even more fascinating. The fold of the feathers, the patterns and textures. Here are a Starling and a Grackle.
Birds are still migrating,
bringing occasional fun visitors, like Grackles and Redwinged Blackbirds. The House Finch almost got me with his head marks, I thought it might be a Purple. But the stripes on the belly are a true sign for House.
Speaking of Redwinged Blackbirds - today, the promo sale for the calendar ends. There will be another one or two farther down the road but I haven’t made my mind up when.
It is quite wonderful
seeing the Bluebirds back here roughly one and a half months after the last brood fledged. It’s not all of them but a larger group, and you can still see traces of the baby feathers on some. I am not sure how many individuals are in these photos but it’s males and females. The females seem to have the paler than usual appearance that their mom has too (it is one of the things I recognize her by). These were all done in the evening, so the light is a bit meh. But I hope I get many more opportunities with this lovely smurf family.
And more Titmouse.
Because one can never have enough. This one cracked me up because it looks so disgruntled. They are flitting around with the Chickadees and Nuthatches, and can be very vocal around the seed cylinder. And their voices are as adorable as their looks.
Redbellied Woodpeckers
are one of the year-round residents in my yard, and they are cherished because of their goofy personality and their stunning looks. There appear to be several males around. All are once again beautiful after the molt, and there are some subtle ways I can tell them apart. In these photos, you can see that one has a more pale red spot right above the beak. The other one is all vibrant there. You can also see a bit of the name-giving “red belly”. I have always enjoyed seeing them up close because there is so much going on color-wise, from the red eyes to the blushed cheeks, the differently shaded chest to the black and white back. Another way to tell them apart is to watch them drink. One of them produces a lot of saliva, while the other does not.
Video: They are back!
Two days ago, fall really started, with leaves changing colors and temperatures dropping. I closed the pond for the season and have set up three heated baths this year, one on the ground at the pond spot, one on a pedestal, and then this one, which is mounted above ground. It is smaller than the others, and it took the birds a bit to find it but now it is in good use. There was a group of Robins passing through that took to it, the woodpeckers seem to like it because it allowes them easy access, and the smaller birds enjoy it as well. Like the Juncos that have just started to return too. I hope you have a wonderful Sunday. Check out the calendar shop as well - from today until the 14th, calendars are 10 % off.
I am happy to announce
that the 2023 calendars are ready and available. It always takes me a while to go through the photos and decide what to use, and this time around I was actually a bit nervouse because it felt like it was not really a great year, but in the end, I think I really like this calendar. The page that I am selling them through handles everything for me, from printing to payments to shipping, so if things go wrong, you will have to get in touch with them. They are made to order. There will be promo sales too, so it is good to check back there every now and then. I made five sizes in three formats. 12 x 12, three rectangle formats in different sizes (8.5 x 11, 11 x 14, 12 x 16), and a desk calendar. You can choose sizes and binder to your desires. I will talk about the birds and photos in the calendar as the weeks go on. I am so happy it is done, it is a bit of a reason to look forward to 2023. You can find the main shop page here: https://www.createphotocalendars.com/Shop/ostdrossel
This makes me so happy!
In recent days, the Chickadees and Redbreasted Nuthatches have started taking over, and especially the latter leave me standing with a big grin on my face because they are so cheery, loud and adorable. But wait, there’s more! The Tufted Titmice are back too! One of the custest birds we have here, looking like straight out of a Disney movie, with also one of the best calls - PETERPETERPETER! I hope they stick around, I love these guys so much.
The light has been changing,
and in the evenings, can create a wonderfully peaceful atmosphere. The MoDos are natural born posers, and this one played the cam like a pro. The Blue Jay one I loved because it is so opposite of their usual rather noisy character. As a bonus, another one of Forrest, the groundhog. I love the details in his coat, he even has hair on his fingers. Happy October! I hope you have a pleasant Saturday.
But there are of course
also still birds around. Apart from the large, lazy MoDo family, there are Blue Jays, Downy, Hairy and Redbellied Woodpeckers, Nuthatches (Red- and white-breasted), Finches, the occasional Grackle and Robin, Chickadees and Cardinals. I wish the youngsters of the latter would love the camera as much as their mother. But there is always a nice group of them visiting the bird bath in the evenings. So I am not really complaining but I hope that there will be some fun new visitors here soon. The video is a hawk attack that happened earlier. I still have two hummingbird feeders up because I have seen a couple every other day this week. The stragglers will be happy for some noms on their way south. Come good into the weekend!
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.
Nothing much is happening,
but I am having a good weekend with very little work for a change. I got some knitting and watching tv done, which I usually do not have a lot of time for. I have had to wear socks for the last two days, it has gotten cooler. And things are slow in the yard. But there are some new visitors. The Red-breasted Nuthatches are here, and I am so happy because they are a complete delight. They sound like little beat boxes and have little to no fear of humans. I walked up to feeders earlier today and just watched with a big grin how they were watching me, doing their noises. A perfectly wonderful bird to cure the little void birdwatchers feel after the summer frenzy.
The light is changing,
the evenings are getting cooler, and there is still not much going on bird-wise. Yesterday I saw the Bluebirds, which was wonderful because it’s been quite a while. At least two Redbreasted Nuthatches have emerged and are competing with the Chickadees for material that is worthy to cache for the winter. I like the light at this time of the year because it feels less harsh. Here are some of the current regulars, look at that Woodpecker, all nice and pretty again! Have a great Tuesday.
The molting continues.
There are still flocks of adventurous looking Cowbirds passing through, along with Grackles and Starlings. Many of the Blue Jays are also still looking rather rough, but the weather is nice enough so they will not be cold. The Goldfinches have come back, bringing their adorable and excited youngsters, and they are beginning to molt into their winter feathers. The resident Cardi family also has made it through the summer fine, they have at least two young ones but except for this female, they are all camera shy. Hopefully in the coming weeks I can get one of the babies to check a camera out. Come good into Saturday!
I know I haven't
posted a lot this week but things have slowed down a lot, like always between the seasons. Things will pick up soon enough too. Yesterday was a bit exciting because my segment on all4Pets aired in the evening on WDIV Local4. You may remember me posting about having the team over a couple of weeks ago. It was a crazy day - the day I had to rescue the Wren babies. Olive the reporter was so kind to bring them to the rehabber after the shoot. They were here for about four hours and we covered a lot in our interview. It must have been a Herculean task to wittle things down to 5 minutes. I think they made fantastic use of my photos and videos, and even if I do not like seeing my face or hearing my voice, I have very much enjoyed watching. And I hope you do too.
![All4Pets-Ostdrossel-091522-FB-[1200x628]-Thur-8p.jpg](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e8e05fc2936880fa8c9bd54/1663339139716-5ZVO9CPGCA5E1HUZX0ME/All4Pets-Ostdrossel-091522-FB-%5B1200x628%5D-Thur-8p.jpg)
Birds are clearly on the move,
and diversity has gone down to pretty much House Finches, MoDos, Blue Jays and Chickadees. But there are still some Gracks too. This is a nice time for the wallet, and I totally love the temperatures outside. I saw a Downy starting to pull things out of the Wren house, so hopefully there will be a roosting winter tenant there. We are all settling in a bit, I will start working on the 2023 calendar, and I hope there will be some fun fall migration sights.
Now is a time
where it feels good to slowly say goodbye to summer. The Orioles have left, I saw the last one three days ago. There are still hummingbirds coming but the nights are getting colder and there is no denying that fall is approaching quickly. I am trying to enjoy the last of the veggie garden that went to bad this year because of the lack of rain, and I am enjoying the relative calm in regards to birds, even if it is a bit boring. The Bluebird family has not returned yet but I hope to see them soon. And in the meantime I am trying to think up fall and winter camera setups. A good time to post MoDos. They are molting and exhibit some interesting looks.
There is really no bird
that I see more often misidentified than this one, and I had my issues in the beginning too. All of these are the same species a Brownheaded Cowbird. The first two are youngsters. A juvenile that is morphing into adult feathers, a stage that I love, it looks so cool because they all have different markings. The one next to it is a baby, and I was a little surprised to see that yesterday, so late in the season. The pink edges of the beak, the speckled brown feathers and the cute appearance are tells. The other two are adults - a female and a male. They get a bad reputation but are fascinating native birds and do not act out of malice. If you are interested to learn more about them, Audubon has a great article about them here.
And since things are calmer now,
with many of the summer guests gone, the regulars and smaller birds are starting to return to feeders. As sad as fall migration makes me, it is also nice that things are calming down a bit. There is still lovely weather ahead of us and of course the migration may still hold surprises too. This is also a good time to see the Goldfinches in their bright summer colors before they start to dull for the cold season.
The Grackles
have largely started to migrate, but some are still hanging around or traveling with the flocks of Cowbirds and Starlings that are passing through. The teens of the season are now starting to change into their adult feathers, with some really cool looking color combinations, and many of the adults are also starting to grow back their feathers after the molt.
