It is always funny
to come back home and open up the bird buffet after a bit of time away. When the weather is nice, it can take a while for the birds to come back, but if it is -12 degrees Celsius like today, they will flock the feeders. It was lovely to see them all today but there were no big surprises. I loved and squealed when I saw the BBs, so here is my little “Hello and welcome back” BB pic. I am also low on mealers, and they probably know, so here is a mental note to buy more. Come good into Wednesday!
January is slowly
dragging on, and there is not a lot happening right now except for a steady stream of regulars. And with February approaching, I am beginning to think of spring. This is a good time to work and make plans. I have gotten seeds for the garden the other day and think about what plants could be added to make the yard more bird-friendly. Doing that may include planting berry bushes, a pollinator garden and landscaping that accomodates native wildlife. I am also doing some maintenance this weekend which means that the livestream will be off for a couple of days. Have a great Thursday!
(pictured - some of the regulars: Eastern Bluebirds in the top, a Redbreasted Nuthatch, a Blue Jay and a Junco on the bottom)
These little guys
are just so entertaining! We only get them in the cold season. Dark-eyed Juncos are a migratory bird in Michigan. They are also called “snowbirds”, and I think it is because they seem to LOVE it when it is cold but they are also perfectly camouflaged when they hop around in the winter. They do a special back and forth hop to scratch on the ground, but they will also grace my camera feeders. I love their shape and colors and lovely colors as much as their sounds.
After the excitement
of the very frosty snow days, activity has mellowed out a bit again. Many birds are coming to feed but there is nothing super exciting happening and the light is mostly murky too. I did love this House Finch and the Junco in the evening light. The Junco is one of those that have lots of brown muddled into the slate plumage. I always feel like they look more warm than the super sharp “snowbird” slate and white Juncos. Come good into the weekend and stay warm!
The curious case
of the purple-eyed Bluebird. When I first saw this bird, I was concerned about a possible illness. I am keeping my feeders and baths clean but things can still happen that a bird gets sick. However, upon further thought, that hue seemed familiar. I had seen it on the snow as well when there was more snow. Birds had pooped purple. There has to be a tree somewhere that carries fruit with purple juice that the birds love. And apparently the Bluebirds enjoy it too. The one with the purple eye is the same bird, the out of focus photo is a different one, and she has the same purple above her beak. Knowing how my resident BBs eat, it is no wonder she has the juice all over her face 😄
This is why
the squirrels will always have enough to eat… MoDos are such a mess 🤣 Come good into Monday!
The kamikaze peeps,
(Goldfinches), continue to fight, and it is always a good opportunity to see some wing action in the photos. Mrs. Redbellied Woodpecker was not amused.
The lovelies were back!
It has been a couple of days since I last saw them - the Bluebirds paid a visit! Whenever I go outside I listen for them, but they have not come as frequently as in previous years. It was a whole group, and once I saw them at the caged feeder (that I use to keep the Starlings away from the mealworms), I ran out to put worms in the camera bowls, and here they are 💙
If you want to know
what American Goldfinches are like, please see below. This feels like the quintessential Goldfinch photo. I don’t know why they are like that but they are some of the feistiest and aggressive birds out there, which is a bit funny because they are so tiny and sound like a rubber ducky 😄
Have a good Saturday!
It's been a while
since I have posted these lovely blue friends. Blue Jays are around year-round, and currently, there is a good number of them visiting too. Maybe that is why sometimes I don’t see them as so special. They are masters at sitting for photos, and so entertaining, though. And I love all the details in their plumage.
Bird butts
are funny to me, and also here, it is so interesting how much they differ from species to species. A bird butt quizz might be a fun idea and is entirely possible. Here we have a Goldfinch and a House Finch (he is not so sure what to think about this), and the “back face” of a Junco. Have a great Thursday!
The Juncos
are also becoming a bit more brave around the feeders and venture away from the area around the bird bath to check out the goodies. They can look rather plain from afar but also here, a closer look can be rewarding because individuals can vary a lot in their colors depending on gender, diet and genes. This slate and white one is typical for the area, but I have also seen Juncos with brown tones all over as well as brown patches within the slate. If you want to go down the Junco rabbit hole further, do a little research on the Oregon variety.
The Cardis
are getting more used to the camera feeders now, which is lovely and also why you get another load of these beauties today. These two individuals here are particularly cool to look at. The male is a young one, still showing some specks of brown, also in the beak. Their beaks only turn all red when they are one year old. You can also see his beak damage a little better. The female has beautiful red sprinkles all over her. I can never really decide which of the two I like better. They are both so stunning.
Despite the Starlings,
it was a super nice snow day, and today there was sun! Snow and sun are fantastic conditions for the cameras, and produce great photos and videos. Plus - lots of traffic! I was so happy because there was so little action in recent weeks. Here is a little potpourri. The Junco looked so unusual and cool with all the browns, I loved the two different Cardi ladies, and the Carolina Wren was back!
It is always funny how snow brings them all out. The Juncos love the area around the bird bath, and there is a large group foraging around there all day. They look so cute jumping back and forth to scratch up the snow. There are lots and lots of Goldfinches, and the Cardinal family ist huge, I counted seven individuals tonight.
So when I saw the Carolina Wren
the other day, I started putting out mealers in the open again to try and get photos of it. Well, I did, but the mealworms also lured in these guys - European Starlings. They are invasive in the US, and they have made it far because they can be voracious and aggressive. Especially when there are mealworms… But they also look very cool. That tongue!
What a fun day today
with all that snow! It did not only look beautiful outside, but there was also a lot of bird traffic outside. Finally! Cardinals have never really been shy around my cameras, but this fall, they started to. Maybe also because the MoDos are kind of leading an aggressive reign… Anyways, today, a male and female Cardi made it to my camera feeder! The male appears to be a youngster, and he also looks like a rebel who hurt his beak. If he comes back, his name is going to be Marlon. The female tried a couple of times and finally landed toward the evening. They are so gorgeous. And so fussy.
2021 is coming to an end.
And what another odd one it was. The birds and you have kept me sane and happy, so I would like to take the opportunity to thank you all. I hope you come safe into the new year, hopefully the best we ever experienced. Love as much as you can, eat good food, don’t drive drunk and keep watching the birds. Here’s also the last bird from the Ostdrossel calendar, the wonderfully feisty Dr. Clara, the resident female Bluebird. She also had a bit of a rough year, and I hope 2022 will be a lot better for her. Guten Rutsch, as we say in German (“slide well into the new year”)!
The November bird
of the 2022 Ostdrossel calendar is a beautiful male Red-Bellied Woodpecker, and I chose the photo also because in it, you can see why they got their name. Yes, there is also a Red-headed Woodpecker, one of the most beautiful woodpeckers I have ever seen but only once had in my yard, but this is not it. Red-bellied Woodpeckers are regulars here, and we love them for their goofiness and beauty. You can get the calendar in several sizes here: https://www.createphotocalendars.com/Shop/ostdrossel. The promo sale is still going on until January 1. 2022.
When you watch birds regularly,
you will notice hierarchies and pecking orders. Not just within the backyard as a habitat but also within the smaller “habitats” of feeders, bath and feeding areas. It is always interesting to see who gets along, who doesn’t, who comes in groups and who goes all by themselves. Goldfinches are plenty right now, and the funny thing is that they will get along with others but go bananas amongst each other. Chickadees, Redbreasted Nuthatches and also Juncos like to do their own thing, diligently visiting feeders when there’s no traffic (usually because they are empty) or foraging around the ground and near the bird bath.
