Friday is here,
and to celebrate the occasion, here are some Titmouse photos. I have not seen much of these guys during spring and summer but right now, along with Blue Jays and MoDos, they are ruling the backyard. I will never get tired of watching them or listening to them, they are just one of the most adorable birds we have here.
During this still
rather boring stretch of the year, the birds that do pass through or are regulars appear to be more skittish and camera shy than in previous years. But maybe I am just overly focused after having such little diversity and activity for the last few months. I did get the White-throated to come a little closer, and also got the young Cardi (I love his color transitions) along with a beautiful House Finch and a very pleased looking Chipmunk.
Happy Halloween!
We had the first frost last night, and my garden is now finally done after an amazing season. The trees are losing their leafs and make it look like it’s raining gold. Bird activity is still not really high but Juncos are here and I hope everybody else will soon rediscover feeders and baths here. I am still having some issues with some of my livecams but the solution is out of my hands, so I have to wait until things are back working, which is hopefully soon. In the meantime, I have been bad at advertising the calendars, so here is a little promo I made. I will soon start introducing the birds from the calendar with the different species, too. Stay warm and have fun today if you celebrate!
Bird activity
has picked up a bit, and the Juncos are definitely here but today, temps were like spring again, so generally, things are still very slow. I did get some lovely portraits in the sunshine yesterday and the leaves are finally starting to turn here too. If you are watching my livestreams, please note that the ones not active right now will be back soon, there have been some technical issues.
So there are
native sparrows migrating through my yard, namely White-throated, and I have seen and heard them and tried to get pictures. Cam on the ground. Here is my best effort, they are very skittish and camera shy, and other beings are also interested in the offerings. And a nice Blue Jay. Juncos are here, but activity is still low.
Calendars are available now!
I finally managed to go through all my photos from the last year and selected those that I found worked well for the calendar. As announced before, there is more than one calendar this year. I have two Grackle-themed ones available because I wanted to get all my Grackle love out there - there is one with Grackles through the seasons and one with very judgy Grackles. Both come in different formats to choose from.
And then I also made a “regular birds” calendar like I always do. All of these can be found in my shop, and I have a promo running right now as well. There is also a link to the shop on the landing page here at ostdrossel.com. Have a lovely Friday, everybody!
A fun visitor
arrived yesterday, a lone Robin. Today, I also saw one lone Grackle. Maybe there will be some fall migration sightings in this backyard after all. It is a weird fall, it is colder but the trees are not there yet, they are still all green! Calendars are still on the hold (except for desk ones) but I hope to get them all out by the end of the week.
It’s still lush and green outside
and the birds remain scarce. Only the MoDos have started coming in larger groups again. Better than nothing, and they look fun with their late molt. Summer will be back shortly next week, and then the weather seems to really cool down. A good time to take the pond out and set up the heated baths. And to get going with the calendars. This time, there will be two calendars, one with Grackles only 🖤
While I absolutely love
to have the Titmice back, them, Blue Jays and Mourning Doves continue to be the only birds visiting here currently. I do hear woodpeckers but they will not come down. There are mature Oaks as well as nut trees, Cedars and the like in the neighborhood, so I think many feast there while a huge group is still on the move too. This is a welcome break for my bird seed budget but I also really miss seeing birds. The critters are filling up as usual.
It continues
to be quiet in the yard, with very little bird activity. I haven’t seen a hummer since the 15th, so I may just as well put the hummer cam to a different use (I will still leave two feeders out for a bit for any stragglers.) Much to my delight, the Titmouse keeps returning, and the Chippies are happy to fill their winter pantry. Let’s see what today brings.
Back for fall
After a week of battling with Covid, I have finally taken the jelly down and set up this little feeder again. The yard has been very quiet, almost eerily so. I am also waiting for a bird food delivery, so I sacrificed some untreated hazelnuts from my baking stash and look who came 😍 I haven't seen a Titmouse in months. I think this is going to be a nice fall.
With this fantastic garden season,
nature is abundantly full of seeds, grains and fruit of all sorts. This and the fact that fall migration has begun makes for slim pickings when it comes to birdwatching at the moment, at least here. There is hardly any visitor apart from some MoDos, a bunch of Blue Jays and the occasional hummingbird. A good time for some maintenance and preps for the colder weather. Livecams will be down for a couple of days, and here are some recent hummers to hold you over. Happy September!
Happy National Hummingbird Day!
Activity here has picked up nicely this last week, and I am trying to get as many photos as I can. I found this one super adorable with the tiny landing gear coming out. I also have two of my Birdsy cams livestreaming hummer feeders, you can find them in my livestream section here or in my channel on birdsy.com.
If this is a face
that only a mother could love, I guess I am a mother now 😁 Grackles can undergo some of the more dramatic molts, with individuals sometimes losing their entire head feathers. This gives them a completely different appearance, and while I kind of pity them, I also deeply love these weirdly beautiful creatures.
This is the high time
of molting, and there is a good bunch of Blue Jays are are looking a bit rough right now. However, new feathers are emerging, and I always love to see the different individual ways in which they do. I love this rugged beauty, and I find it fantastic in photos.
I complained
about not seeing much hummingbird activity this season, but I am happy to report that things have changed a bit in this last week. The feeders are getting visited quite frequently and by several individuals. You can watch them in the livestream section or on birdsy.com. I am also trying to snap some photos too though, and here are two from yesterday.
I try to avoid
being anthropomorphic when it comes to the birds but sometimes you cannot help but noticing something that could be seen as a character trait. Both Blue Jays and MoDos are really good at posing and drama. Alone as well as together 😂 (The first Blue Jay is sunbathing, the one in photo 3 has been eating mulberries). Come good into Friday!
End of August also
is the main time for molting, be it young birds changing to adult feathers or adult birds getting rid of the old and growing new. Everybody looks disheveled, and I kind of love it. (Grackle, House Finch, Blue Jay, Grackle, Grackle, Grackle Blue Jay, Cowbird, Redwinged Blackbird, Chickadee, Cowbird, Blue Jay)
Hummingbird activity
has continued the trend from previous years, being very slow. I do not know the reason, we have flowers growing, lots of habitat, water, no pesticides, you name it. I used to see them regularly for several years, and now I don’t. They have been absent all season, and now in August I get glimpses. This may be the only photo I get this year. I miss them. I used to see them from May until September. I know others have similar experiences, and I hope they somehow can recover, this is not normal. Good thing is, it looks like this one got plenty of flower juice, judging by the pollen on the beak.
Things have slowed down
and migration for some birds has already started. I haven’t seen Grosbeaks in a couple of days, and Oriole activity has also slowed down. There is the occasional Hummingbird but nothing like in previous years, fitting for this slightly underwhelming season. But there are still lots of young birds around, and I love watching them with their interesting markings and adorable faces. Young Redwinged Blackbirds are particularly cool looking, with their peachy faces and pink beak corners. At some point, they molt into adult feathers, and you can see some of that in different stages here too.
