We are having a nice week
ahead of us with very mild temperatures that will wake up gardens and wildlife from their winter slumber, while migration still continues. This weekend, female and nonbreeding male Redwinged Blackbirds arrived here. The females look distinctively different but if you pay attention to some details like beak shape and some color hints, you can tell what they are. The Robins are also frolicking around, and I would not be surprised to see them starting to build nests this week. I may even consider setting up the pond, if work time permits.
Nestbox news: The spell is broken!
The Bluebirds must have seen my complaints, because yesterday, they finally started nesting season in the yard. It may have been that the grid I placed in there bothered her so much that she was hesitant (she did accept it last season though but maybe the first nest is different). I removed to see what would happen and added some pine needles, dried leaves and bark. Here you can see the male coming in to “clean up”, and then she comes in to start the nest with the first strategically placed twig. By the endof the day, she had built the nest you see in the second video. This feels like the fastest I have seen her build a first nest of the season.
I am so happy they finally started, as you know I was getting a bit nervous. Here’s to a happy and successful nesting season!
And an update
on the Bluebirds. Somehow things seem a little different this year, and I am not sure what is going on. As it is, no nest has been built. The male is hanging around, and the female is alive and shows up with him, and both are checking the nestbox but nothing else is happening. She is either building / having a nest elsewhere or they are really taking their time this year. I am a bit nervous and I hope they will eventually choose to nest here again. If they didn’t it would be the first time in eight years.
It is not just
the big birds that are waking up after the winter, the smaller crowd is also singing their heads off and getting into snazzy summer outfits. I loved this very unusually colored House Finch, and the Goldfinches are just adorable with the unpredictable patterns in which their yellow feathers come in.
We are in the middle
of typical April weather chaos, with a tornado watch today and thunderstorms the other night, and it sometimes feels like the change or air pressure just whips all the male birds into more of a frenzy. The Redwinged Blackbirds are competing vocally as well as visibly, and I love how they are somewhat goofy but also super elegant.
The garden
is getting soaked with heavy rains, and last night there was even a thunderstorm. Spring continues to march into the area. The Bluebirds have still not started their nest yet but with these temperatures, I am not too sad about it. And there continue to be little surprises every day. When I saw him, I was just wowed! I am not even sure I have read about that variety before. A rare blue-morph Cardinal! He was only here briefly last night and has not returned yet. And a Flicker has also found his way to the yard and loves the bark butter by the tree cam.
Two cuties to go into the weekend.
The Bluebirds are visiting every day but she has still not started to build yet. I recognize her by her furrowed brow. Her man is around a lot more but I hope when we go into April she will finally get to work on her nest. The Titmice were plenty and vocal today, and this one just cracked me up. Here’s to a great weekend!
Hormones are beginning to rage,
resulting in an amazing symphony of calls and melodies by the competing males. But the bird ladies also get to enjoy impressive, dramatic and sometimes hilarious visual displays, like here from Redwinged Blackbird and Grackle.
With every day now,
I see more signs of spring. Also the American Goldfinches that have been looking drab all winter are starting to change into their bright summer plumage. I love this look on them, it is so funny to see where the yellow shoots in on the individual birds.
A nice big group of Gracks came over today,
and it looks like the females are starting to arrive as well. They are a bit more slender and less vibrant. Grackles can appear in many shades, depending on the light, but usually, the ones I see here are mostly blue and green. Today, a rare purple/ brownish one was there too.
I have been busy
with work but not a lot is going on either while the yard is getting ready for #spring. Temperatures are not there yet but it definitely sounds like spring. And I love that I am seeing more Robins! When the ground is frozen, they are happy for dried fruit like raisins (make sure to keep your dogs away!), mealworms or suet nuggets.
Nestbox news: Bird talk
The other day while playing around on TikTok, I found out that there is an auto-caption feature that looks through a video to detect speech. You can set it to whatever language you like and it will scan the video to see if it picks anything up. Now since a couple of days ago I saw it interpreting BB talk into a phrase, I am trying with every BB video I have to see what comes up. And this morning, there was a whole cute little dialogue going on. It is so cute. As somebody who is a professional subtitler, I find this highly interesting but also amusing. AI subtitling may have improved a lot recently, but if you are being serious about it, a human subtitler, interpreter and translator is the way to go.
If you have followed me for a bit,
you know that I have some sort of a love-hate relationship with Mourning Doves. I do find them comical and pretty but they can also be overwhelming when groups of 20 and more hit all the feeders and aggressively defend them. As with many of the more “dull” looking birds, they show fascinating details up close. Males and females almost look alike, but there are some differences. I looked them up to be extra sure but to be honest, I am not sure here. I tend to think it is a male because of the more rosy than tanned color, the vibrant neck feathers and the blueish top of the head.
When it comes to Red-bellied Woodpeckers,
I noticed that for some reason, I see the females more in the warm season and the males more often during colder weather. I loved how the wetness showed more of the textures and colors on this one, plus, you can see a bit of the name-giving characteristic, the reddish belly. Interestingly enough, they very rarely visit the tree cam whereas the Downy Woodpeckers love it there.
The King and Queen of the Yard
were having some fun trying out new “couple photo” ideas. I love this female’s eyebrows so much!
Sunday is just as good
as any day for a Grackle Appreciation Post. I know that some people are not fond of them, sometimes because they are mistaken for Starlings, other times because they look and behave fierce. I am infatuated with their beauty, and after the boring winter months happy to have some new birds in front of the lens. It also helps a bit with the power balance in the yard. Things can get wild, but the Gracks do not seem as aggressive or hogging as Starlings and Mourning Doves. And yes, the “downward Grack” is one of my favorite poses of theirs.
And another Bluebird photo
but I feel like there can never be too many. Today, the male visited the box a lot, checking to see if things are ok, and the female seems to have checked to see if she likes the atmo in the area. She also came to the feeders and I just loved her little furrowed brow.
More snow is in the forecast
for tonight but spring vibes are wafting through the yard like an unstoppable force. So far I have only heard Robins and not seen them yet but I am sure it won’t be much longer. The Grackles and Redwinged Blackbirds are filling the air with their distinctive raspy calls, and show off to each other in the sunshine. It is a time of promise that not even more snow can dampen.
