I have empty nest syndrome,
since the last BB baby fledged this morning. I cleaned the box and rehung it so Dr. Clara can start another nest, and that helped with the little sadness of not having seen any of them leave the box. Meanwhile, I keep an eye on the events and visitors on the yard. Yesterday, I saw the first Hummingbird, just briefly in the evening, today a female and male Rosebreasted Grosbeak. There is a very vocal Oriole, too. May is starting nicely but so far, also very wet. I am ready for some sunshine. Peanut the Redbellied Woodpecker seems to have a girlfriend nearby. He comes very frequently and also announces himself loudly. Sail smoothly into Wednesday!
It rained cats and dogs today,
and overall it was a weird day. I saw two Orioles, and heard them singing all day, which was awesome. They have a very distinctive song. You might have heard it on the livestream too. I was also distracted by the Bluebird babies. Two were left in the box this morning, I took time to watch, nothing happened. Then I did some gardening towards the evening, and of course during that, one of them fledged. Now I was in position to watch the other one with my big lens… And nothing. That baby is spending the night in the box. But while I was watching, I saw a Hummingbird :D (Pictured wet mops: Blue Jay, Cardi lady, Oriole, Grackle) With this new set of birds, I am changing up my setups a bit, and things still have to settle in. It always is a bit like a game to capture all the new arrivals, and this is one of the most enjoyable times of the year for me.
BB update!
Two of the Bluebird babies have fledged today! And unfortunately, I was not htere to witness it. It was kind of funny, I knew they were getting antsy from seeing them in the box, so I got my camera ready outside. And then I waited. And watched them. And waited more. They teased a lot, several times a baby was half way out throughout the day, and then just got back into the box and they all napped. It is a big step to leave that nest. I thought things would happen tomorrow. But in between when I took breaks, things happened. Two babies made it out and will spend an exciting night with Dr. Clara and Mandrake out in the big world. The two in the box are cuddling and will fledge first thing in the morning, I reckon. They look adorable, sleeping in the nest, turning like a tiny clock and breathing in unison. Bird babies are the best.
A very interesting
spring day today. It rained a lot, I tried to keep an eye on the yard out for Orioles and Hummingbirds while also trying to focus on work because they seemingly had rained down onto Michigan today, but nope. None. I did see the first Rose-breasted Grosbeak though! A beautiful male quickly stopped by. The regulars seemed irritated by the new offering. Tomorrow might be the day, there is less rain in the forecast but temperatures are still not pleasant. (Titmouse, Robin, Cardi lady and House Finch)
The four
baby Blues have been growing a lot in the last couple of days, and I am glad that they all look strong and healthy. Their eyes have started to open and they are slowly growing feathers. Dr. Clara is still spending the night with them in the nestbox. She will continue doing that until the babies are fully feathered and can regulate their body temperature by themselves. For the time being, they like cuddling up in a big pile to warm each other while Mom and Dad are out hunting insects for them.
Round is the word of the day,
for one because we are experiencing what is hopefully the last frost and for two because it’s Earth Day! The weather might not be good for gardening everywhere yet but this time is perfect to get a little garden planning on. There are lots of possibilities to make your garden more inviting for birds, also some that might not come to a feeder. Native flowers and berry bushes and trees can help creating more habitat for the wildlife around us. Stay warm! (MoDo, Grackle, Robin and Cardinal)
And a little update
on Dr. Clara and Mandrake. Sadly I have to report that one of the babies has passed this past weekend. I am not sure exactly why but I think it might have been the runt. Remember how those eggs did not all hatch in the same day? The first clutch is always kind of cursed. I checked all my footage and actually saw Dr. Clara carrying the dead baby out of the box. There was no predator attack. This happens and while it is sad, it is also nature. The other four are doing great and hopefully will all make it. But witnessing things like that is always tough. Be sound ❤️
I was feeling adventurous
and put one of the hummer feeders on my photo setup. They are coming but I have not seen one yet and we got snow today. But oh well. I did get a Tufted Titmouse, which I haven’t seen in quite a bit.
A Grack appreciation post.
Because I love them and the week should always end on a good note. If my gut feeling is right, we have a great week ahead. I compared photos of my peach, plum and cherry trees from last year to today, and it turns out that last year, they only started barely blooming by April 27th. But today, they are already blooming. You can see the Serviceberry in the background here a bit too. I think we might see Orioles, Hummingbirds and maybe even Grosbeaks this week! It is just a feeling, don’t take my word for it. But get your feeders ready!
1 part sugar, 4 parts water is the recipe for Hummingbird nectar. Don’t waste your money on the storebought stuff, the red dye is suspected to be harmful to the birds.
The backyard is starting
to brim with fertility, and love is buzzing all over the place. I saw Grackles mating, Robins collecting nesting material by the bath, and the Cardinals were totally hamming it up today. There is just something so pure and adorable about a Cardi man feeding his lady to woo her. I have seen it several times today, and I am so happy that they even took it to the camera. I hope their nest, wherever it is, is safe and sound, and they will have some babies this year. Come good into Saturday!
Times are boring and busy
at the same time right now, if that makes any sense. And that is part of why I am posting less. There is not a lot happening. Some of the summer crowd has arrived and is settling in but otherwise this is still a boring time with possible frost and snow and whatnot. A good time to focus on my job :) Anyways, here is Dr. Clara, as of today proud momma of five. Mandrake is attentive, and the babies have grown a lot even just today. This bodes well. Happy Friday, world!
Welcome, babies!
Update - it looks now like all five have hatched! Yay!
The poke turned out to be a good signal yesterday, and two babies hatched quickly after it showed. This morning, two more Bluebird babies have hatched. There is one unhatched egg in the nest, and it may or may not hatch. It can happen that eggs are unviable for a number of reasons but it is quite normal and nothing to worry about. Dr. Clara has assisted the babies coming out of the egg and also ate the egg shells for nutrition. Temperatures have fallen quite a bit, and she is warming them with her brood patch, a naked patch on her belly, and only rarely leaves the nest. Mandrake is bringing her and the babies food. They currently look like fuzzy shrimp but will change in appearance almost by the hour now.
I think we have a poker!
Dr. Clara is usually turning the eggs to incubate them evenly but in the last two days she has been checking a bit more thoroughly, and I think I now know why. It looks like one of the babies might be ready to hatch. At least that is what it looks like. I am monitoring this nest 24/7, and the nest was not disturbed by anyone. And the schedule works too 😁 So tomorrow will probably be hatch day!
There is a new kid in town,
a Red-bellied Woodpecker that I have not seen before. I named him Wally, short for Walnut. He has the best eyebrows!
I feel anticipation
on this Sunday night. The Goldfinches are almost fully transitioned, the Grackles come in full mud-geear and Dr. Clara is nearing the end of her incubation schedule. I might be off but I feel like this week, we might see the first Orioles and Hummingbirds. And for sure the Bluebird babies will hatch! Come good into Monday.
I feel a bit like this MoDo today.
The weekend is here, the weather was nice all day but cooled in the evening, and everything is kind of calming down. We had rain last night, and all of a sudden, there are buds all over the place! Dr. Clara sits on her eggs and I cleared my work schedule a bit because today I got my first COVID vaccine dose and I wanted to make sure I have the time to relax and let my body do what it has to do. I hope you all have a pleasant start into the weekend. People are starting to report Hummers in Michigan!
These are strange times,
when bird migration is underway but you can’t see results yet, the weather is spring-like but also still full of frosty surprises, and we are kind of in an in-between. However, there is also a lot of love in the air! House Finches, like many other birds, strengthen their bond during mating season by feeding each other. It is adorable to watch. Come good into Friday!
Red-winged Blackbirds
have quite the variety when it comes to their plumage and colors. Epaulet intensity and overall feather patterns are depending on their gender as well as their age, and I guess the individual bird too. This speckled specimen is a young adult male. He still shows some of the beautiful baby pattern but is growing into the black, glossy plumage of the adult males. Just what the goofball in the gif is showing off.
Another round of Who's that girl?
Around this time of the year, many people start seeing this kind of bird and wonder what it is. It was certainly one of my “struggle birds” in the beginning, too. However, it is fairly easy - this is a female Brownheaded Cowbird. In size, they are between a Robin and a Cardinal, and they have a soft trilling call. Cowbirds are known and often disliked for their breeding behavior. They are so-called brood parasites, meaning that they lay their eggs into other birds’ nests and let them raise their babies. This is not out of malice. They used to follow cattle around and never stayed anywhere long enough to build nests. This way of breeding ensured their survival as a species. Nowadays, there is less cattle roaming around and humans have taken over lots of habitat. The birds are still the same, and so we might witness one of nature’s oddities in the summer when for example tiny Chipping Sparrows feed one of their own babies but also a ginormous Cowbird baby. The human birdwatcher might feel bad and think about interfering, but remember that Cowbirds are native to the US and protected by law. Read up before you act.
I haven't posted
Blue Jays a lot recently, but they also have made themselves a bit rare lately. Maybe the winter crowd has moved on and the summer crowd has not arrived yet. (Yes, I read that also Blue Jays sort of migrate.) It might of course also be that they are just a bit shy now because there are other large and cheeky birds here as well.
