Birds have evolved from dinosaurs,
and in the middle of summer, this begins to show with many of them. They are molting, changing their old feathers for new ones, and reveal some more or less dramatic looks. They are not sick, and they will appreciate high quality food and clean water for bathing that itchy skin. Yes, the hole next to the eyes is the ear. These are Grackles and Orioles.
Now that July is here,
more and more bird babies are coming to explore the backyard. Some are camera shy, others not so much. It always stops me in my tracks when I am out there and see them, I just stand there and watch. They are mood boosters, they instantly make you smile. Here’s a baby MoDo, one of the several Orioles and a Bluebird baby. I hope to see more of all of them, and I hope the Cardinal brood will step into the spotlight too - they have at least two youngsters.
Times are busy,
which can be good and bad. Good because thoughts don’t linger, bad because there is not enough time in the day to do what one would like. More bird babies have started to show up, and things are now becoming very entertaining at the bird bath and generally. The youngsters sometimes seem to be even bigger than the parents and still beg them for food. But they also go their own ways. And since they aren’t perfect adult birds yet, they are adorable to watch. The Wren babies also started to hatch today, and I hope to give a little update on that tomorrow. Anyways, here is a young Blue Jay, testing out that beautiful crest.
I know I have not been posting a lot recently, but I am having a hard time because the days are longer and there are more photos and I also have a lot of work with my job. But I am trying to catch up and hope for a little break soon :) Be sound and come good into Thursday.
Nature can be cruel.
This morning, Dr. Clara laid her third egg and despite the extreme heat, things looked great. However, at 9 pm, a House Wren went into the BB box, pierced all three eggs and threw them out. I am not sure what is going to happen now but I am heartbroken, tbh. This has never happened in the five years I’ve been doing this, and it feels like this season is cursed. I will think of solutions, and the nestbox that is currently occupied by the Wren will be removed once the babies have fledged.
If you want to learn more about the impact of House Wrens, I recommend sialis.org.
Another nestbox update
Dr. Clara laid her first egg of brood 3 this morning and Lady Corleone is diligently incubating her clutch of seven. Meanwhile the yard is starting to fill up with bird babies, yesterday I saw a Cardi feeding a youngster, they seem to have two. I hope they go and visit the cameras too! The birdbath is a good point to watch right now too, the baby Orioles and Grosbeaks like it a lot. I am still waiting for the second clutch of the Bluebird babies to come to the yard too but that should also soon happen. Things are picking up again finally!
The Hummingbird situation
is truly a bit sad in my yard this year. I never really had many but I did have regulars that came steadily. This year, there are fewer than that, so I am extra happy when I get to see them. This little lady looked so cute in her curiosity. The flowers are just starting to open, and I hope she has babies in a nest somewhere that will later feast on the goodies in my garden. And oh my, how is it July already?! Have a great Friday!
It looks like Dr. Clara and Mandrake
are going for another round. She has started building a nest yesterday, and once again was not too happy with Mandrake trying to help 😄 The House Wren has laid a total of seven eggs and is currently incubating. We had some nasty weather here recently and I am happy to see the nestboxes withstood the storms just fine. I hope the same goes for the bird babies in the area. I am expecting to see more any day now.
On this rainy day,
the baby penguins finally appeared. The forecast for the next two days is not much better ,and I am a bit nervous about all the bird bests in the trees. But yes, still, the baby pwenguins are finally here, and I am utterly in love.
Wren update
While the Bluebird babies have grown and started to fledge, the House Wren has gotten comfy in her nest and enlarged her clutch. This morning, she laid egg number six. It is possible that she does another one tomorrow, but then she should be done.
Things have been busy
for me work-wise lately, so I wasn’t able to dedicate as much time to bird photos as I wanted, but I have put the cameras out every day and curated the harvest. But there is also a relative calm in the backyard. The Wren has now five eggs, which is wonderful. I can hear baby Blue Jays and mostly baby Grosbeaks but they are rare to see still. The Bluebird babies are ready to go and I think they will fledge tomorrow. The weather forecast is a bit nasty, but I think they are so sick of the nest they will go for it. There will be photos tomorrow / Friday. Good night!
Mourning Doves
often puff up during hot days, to cool off. However, when they do it in front of the camera, they sometimes seem to get into special poser mode. These little sessions can go on for a while, with the MoDo just sitting there, looking at the camera and puffing up to different degrees. I move the camera into a shaded area on hot days, which sometimes creates the weirdest light. Perfect for this MoDo’s “drama shots” 😆
Come good into the week and stay cool!
A happy Father's Day
to all the fathers and father figures out there. Sir Corleone, the House Wren, has now good chances to be one soon too. Lady Corleone has graced the nest with a first egg this morning. She will now lay one per day until her clutch is complete. As you can see, they have been obstructing the view a bit but things are always in motion, and maybe it improves over time. Observations so far - they are still vocal even if they have mated now, and one of them spends the night in / at the box even if they are not incubating yet.
The Robins
are having more than one brood per season, and since I have seen them gathering more nesting material, I put up the little bowl with mud and leaves and grass up again to help them out a bit. This one apparently took a good portion, and then came straight to the feeder. Happy Friday!
This spring, I have been
quite a bit disappointed with the variety and number of migratory bird visitors but things have picked up a bit recently, thankfully. There are now several Rose-breasted Grosbeaks here, at least one “regular” Hummingbird, and the Orioles have also returned after being away for nesting duties. And two days ago, this wonderful individual showed up - an Orchard Oriole. I always used to get one per season at least, so seeing him was special. He has quite the interesting (not normal) beak color.
This week was exciting
despite a lot of work because of the beautiful development of the Bluebird babies but also the Wren box. It looks a lot like Sir Corleone has found a female, and she has been busy making the nest more cozy. Since male and female pretty much look alike, I am not entirely certain if it is indeed a female, but I am keeping an eye on things.
Other than that, the first Grackle babies have shown up. I know many people are having their issues with these birds but I cannot help but love them. They just look so cute with their amber eyes and little brown coats, and it is funny too to hear their adorable squeaks after weeks of haunting juvenile Starling screeches.
Now with birds feeding babies,
I often see them coming to the feeders with natural food, mainly bugs from the garden. I always find it interesting to see what they find. This Robin looks to have a caterpillar, and I am wondering what kind it is. One of the dreaded Gypsy Moths?
(This Robin has a skin condition that shows on his legs. He has been coming for years and it does not seem to affect him, in case anyone is wondering.)
Much like the human world,
the bird world is full of drama and posing. Somehow, though, it is much more enjoyable to look at. Of course I am injecting a bit of anthropomorphism into this, I sometimes can’t help myself. It has been hot and humid with the occasional thunderstorm, and the birds that came to the feeders puffed up to stay cool (in both senses of the word, look at that Grack!) or get dry.
(Red-winged Blackbird, Blue Jay, MoDo, female Rose-breasted Grosbeak, Grackle)
Nestbox update: Bluebirds
I have enjoyed peeking into the nestbox via camera all week, and am happy to report that everything looks fine with these Bluebird babies. The fifth egg hatched one day later than the first four, but all babies look healthy and have been growing well. The summer weather is a two-sided coin, I am always a bit nervous about them getting too hot, but I think it is also giving Dr. Clara a break because she does not have to sit in the box the whole time. When she does, Mandrake often comes to bring food. There are plenty of insects in our yard so I am fairly sure that this brood has a good start in life. I will post some more videos later this weekend.
Now with the summer weather
having arrived here in Michigan, I am finally also seeing a bit more activity from some birds that I’ve been missing so far. There aren’t plenty but a couple of Hummingbirds seem to have found their way to my yard now. I noticed in videos that they often came to the feeder, checked and then took off without feeding, and I wondered about that. I thought about possible reasons and then removed the insect guards that I put over the ports from inside. And that seemed to have done the trick. The guards will go back on as the season progresses but for now, the hummers can get used to the feeder. There is a male too but here is the pretty female. (She has no gorget, the black/ red throat feathers.) Happy Friday!
That's my Friday face.
Have a great weekend, everybody. Stay hydrated and cool and keep the bird baths clean and replenished, it's supposed to get very hot!
