Usually when the Orioles arrive,
I also get lucky to see an Orchard Oriole too. This year does not disappoint in that respect. He has been here for a couple of days now, he likes to chatter, and I hope he sticks around a bit and maybe brings the wife. Apart from the difference in color, Orchard Orioles are also smaller than Baltimore Orioles. Immature males are yellow with a distinctive black bib. I had one one year and always hope to see it again.
Happy Mother's Day!
It is a beautiful spring day here, and I hope you all get spoiled today. Thank you for all you do, you make this world a better place.
While migration is going on,
we might often see birds that can be a bit confusing to identify. They are the youngsters from last year and are still molting into their adult plumage or females that are usually more shy. In the last two days, I saw some of this in Rosebreasted Grosbeaks and Redwinged Blackbirds (the third picture is a female).
Grackles and rain
are a fantastic combo that makes a murky day worth the while. The textures and colors that the water causes make them look even more elegant and impressive than usual. For some reason, I am also very fond of them looking down. So here is a selection of “Downward Gracks”.
This is a transition time,
there is a lot of coming and going right now. Migratory birds are passing through on their way north and there may be fun surprises if you get lucky. Here are some current regulars. And a screenshow from a Yellow-Rumped Warbler. He visited today and was so well-camoed that the camera did not catch him. It was sheer luck that I checked.
The most exciting thing
this week for me was watching the Bluebird family raise their babies. Wednesday night, temperatures dropped to below zero, and when I saw the parents bringing dried mealers in the box, I rehydrated some of them in boiling water and after cooling, mixed them with the dried ones to help them a bit on that frosty morning. There is a constant coming and going, and Gayle and Mr. Business are bringing all kinds of insects to feed the babies, and apparently, we have some icky stuff crawling around here 😆
Here is Mr. Business in all his glory. There will be more nest videos soon too, I just need some time! Have a great Friday - it looks like frost is over!
Another week
with a suboptimal work-bird balance, but I managed to go through some photos. The weather has been too cold for my liking these last days too, and it felt a bit like all that spring feeling came to a temporary halt. Nevertheless, it is not just Goldfinches, MoDos and Grackles here anymore. Along with the Orioles, a male Rose-breasted Grosbeak has arrived, and yesterday, a female joined him. You can see nicely why they have their name - for their big, strong beaks. They love black oilers and can sit down at the feeder for a long time.
Nestbox news: It was a big day yesterday,
the Bluebird babies have hatched! The first two did so yesterday, and the remaining three took a bit longer and hatched this morning. It was a bit nervous yesterday because I saw Gayle looking out the entrance hole a lot and also leaving a lot, and Mr. Business was nowhere to be seen. These birds are hardy but anything can pretty much happen to them any time. Thankfully, this morning, he finally seems to have realized that he has babies now, and him and Gayle have been feeding them diligently all day. The next couple of days will be on the cooler side, and this is when the babies are most vulnerable.
You can hear Mr. Business sing a little melody when he arrives with food. that is later going to be the parents’ call to lure the babies out of the box for fledging. I really like how much space they have in there, how they don’t have to hover over the babies but can watch them from the edge of the nest. Nobody is crammed unless they want to.
Happy Earth Day!
Nature is slowly waking up here, and I have started to do my daily walk around our perimenters to watch the budding progress on flowers, trees and bushes. Things are happening slower than last year, due to the recent cold snap, but spring is definitely here. The anticipation can sometimes lead to unrealistic expectations, and so I put out some orange halves for possible early arriving Orioles the other day. The House Finches were delighted, the Goldfinch not so much. I have my Hummingbird feeder out as well, and keep an eye on journeynorth.org to see when they are likely to arrive. We are trying to add more native plants to our garden every year, to make it into a bird paradise that benefits us humans too, and I cannot wait to dig in the dirt again.
During migration time
it is always fun to see the “winter world” clash with the “summer world”. Yesterday and today we have snow, but migration has started, and so they mingle. A flock of Cowbirds passed through the other day (the first photo shows a female), and the Juncos are still here, enjoying the snow and filling their bellies for the big trip up north. On Thursday, we are expecting truly springlike temperatures, and i have to say I am more than ready to say goodbye to winter for now. Gayle and Mr. Business will also have a much easier time to raise their babies (they are due to hatch on / around the 24th.)
With the weather basically
changing daily at the moment, there can be cool light moments against dramatic stormy skies. This was one moment, and the Redwinged Blackbird looked so lovely. He has a nice little spotty pattern going on in his wings too. With the RWBB, not all individuals look alike, the vibrance and size of the epaulets differs according to age and genetics. If you live within their range and see one with just a thin yellow line on the wing, chances are, it is still a RWBB, just with slightly less color.
Woodpeckers are regulars here
but in the winter, some of them have made themselves rare. Now, the males are coming out and visit more frequently (apparently they love the sunshine as much as I do). Here are a Red-bellied Woodpecker and a Downy Woodpecker. Downy Woodpeckers look very similar to Hairy Woodpeckers, but they are noticeably smaller and have a shorter beak (there are other ID features but these are the most obvious). The Redbellied is named so for his red patch on the belly. There is also a Redheaded Woodpecker, but I only had one one time here. I love Woodpeckers and am happy to have them around.
It's been a busy couple of days
but I finally managed to sit down and go through photos. Early spring is also Grack season, and I am sure you all have missed more photos of them, so here we go. These are several individual birds, some of them are more purple, others more blue/ green. One of them is a big male that is missing part of the lower beak. I think the first one is a female, and I would love to hear some expert thoughts on my theory that the females don’t have the bright eyes that the males have - if you zoom in you can see her eye is different from the rest of them (it might be bs but I am curious). Happy Tuesday, I hope it’s gracking!
Spring is in the air,
and there is no denying it, despite the frost, and the birds are starting to show up as couples. I saw Blue Jays gathering stuff, the Robins are becoming more defensive, the MoDos are snogging things up and the House Finches are getting romantic. So much to see, such nasty weather!
Nestbox news: And then there were three
Today at around 11, her usual time, Gayle laid her third egg of the clutch. The weather is mild and sunny, and right now, things could not be better. She comes in to sit on them every now and then but does not appear to be incubating yet. The next two days will show how big the first clutch of 2022 is going to be. Now when she starts incubating, her metabolism changes and she is producing more body heat. On her belly, there is a so-called brood patch without feathers and blood vessels closer to the skin that she uses to keep the eggs warm.
There have been some
visits of birds I have not seen a lot recently, and some of them are the woodpecker guys. Suddenly, a male Redbellied and a Downy have been coming to the camera bowls. They are beautiful and have interesting patterns and textures that make their visits even more special.
I find bird backs
really cool to see because they always seem like such a well-organized piece of nature. It is pretty amazing how neatly the wings fold and everything creates a beautiful, water-resistant surface with the most intricate patterns. Can you guess them all?
Nestbox news: A labor of love
Gayle has been working on the nest a lot even up until this morning but today around 11 she was finally done. She settled in and laid the first egg of the season. It is always fascinating to me how these small living beings are able to create something so delicate as a 1 inch egg and raise a fully fledged bird out of it within about a month. As you can see, laying the first one is quite the task, it looks like she is experiencing labor. The sparrow spooker is up and I am very happy. She will now lay one egg per day until her clutch is complete, and will then start to incubate. Here is to a great nesting season!
Purple? Red? House?
Male House Finches can come in many different shades of red or even yellow and orange, depending on their diet. Some even take on a vibrant color that might remind of raspberries. And if they do that, they often get confused with another bird that is high on the wishlist of many backyard birdwatchers - the Purple Finch. It is not a mythical creature, it is not the name for House finches with a raspberry hue, and it is around a lot less than House Finches. Once you know their differences, you will be able to more easily know what you got. I had the pleasure of having a Purple Finch visiting yesterday, so I made a little chart that might help learning some of their most obvious markers. The two single photos are both also the Purple. He stayed so long that a little snow accumulated on his head.
