The orange mood-boosters
have taken proper residence, and their songs can be heard in the tree tops all day now. There are more than six individuals visiting, adult males and females as well as non-breeding birds. It is interesting to see their color variants, ranging from yellow to yolky to deep orange. They have also begun to build nests, as can be seen by the one that stopped by on her way to the construction site.
Rosebreasted Grosbeaks
are wonderful summer guests. I love their melodic songs and their mellow attitude. They are generally not one for lots of poses, they just sit down and chow down, but these portraits were fun because you see a bit more of their personality. To me, they always look a bit like they just woke up 😆
The frost warning from last night
was hopefully the last one for the season. I moved the baby plants to a sheltered spot and was happy I had not planted anything yet. And it is warming up outside again now. There are nests, full and empty, finished or in progress, all over the place. I know the Grackles have babies because the other day I found Grackle egg shells in the pond, and now they drop their diapers in there and come to dunk nuts in the water too. And yesterday, there was this dedicated parent with a beak full of insects. The Redwinged Blackbird is in this set too because it’s such a pretty photo.
Sometimes, complaining pays off,
it seems. Since yesterday, things have changed a lot in the yard. The Baltimore Orioles have finally arrived, and along with them, several Rosebreasted Grosbeaks as well. This morning, I can hear them all sing up in the trees too, and it is so uplifting! Here are some male Orioles and a female Grosbeak from yesterday. I have set my Birdsy camera with the Oriole feeder to stream live on birdsy.com, check it out!
Some more spring portraits.
The weather has been nasty but things seem to take a turn for the milder now 🤞. I have seen Grosbeaks in the last two days, but no Oriole or hummer yet. In other exciting birder news, a rare Vermillion Flycatcher has been spotted in my area. I have not made the trip to seek him out but I have seen photos, and he's quite spectacular. Spring migration can be quite amazing, and I hope there will be some surprises in my yard as well.
Nestbox News: Hmmm
During my break, I continued to monitor my two nestboxes, and in the last week, there has been activity in both. A Bluebird couple has cleaned up the box, and I hope they will choose it. The other box has gotten a lot of interest from a Chickadee couple but they also have not started anything. There is a hole restrictor on that box so that larger birds cannot enter. I hope the Chickadees make a decision soon and before the House Wrens arrive so that I can fit a guard to the box in time. I am ready for this nesting season to finally begin.
Despite some more frosty temperatures,
the backyard has truly started to transform, and one of my favorite things in spring is when the fruit trees and the Serviceberry begin to bloom. The latter is a little early this year, it usually starts in May. Yesterday was beautifully sunny, a perfect occasion for happy spring portraits. The Hummingbirds, Orioles and Grosbeaks should start arriving soon as well, and milder weather is on the horizon. Finally!
Due to some
maintenance work, the live cams will be off for a couple of days, and I won't be able to post. Things will be back to normal next week. To hold you over, here is the King. Enjoy the outdoors and listen to the
April weather
continues to be wild, but nature is unstoppable, and spring is marching on. And it is fabulous to watch the changes and transformations. After showing just some specks of vibrancy, the Goldfinches are now almost completely in summer plumage. They nest the latest of them all so I think they just enjoy being bright and colorful for as long as possible. I do not blame them :)
After a summery weekend,
we got snow flurries today. The garden is waking up everywhere but things still feel odd because there are no nesting Bluebirds. I have decided to pull the nest today, since there is no sign of any nesting activity. Interestingly enough, a male and a female BB have showed up to feed. There are still some Redbreasted Nuthatches around, and a couple of Chickadees are showing a lot of interest in my other nestbox.
We are having a nice week
ahead of us with very mild temperatures that will wake up gardens and wildlife from their winter slumber, while migration still continues. This weekend, female and nonbreeding male Redwinged Blackbirds arrived here. The females look distinctively different but if you pay attention to some details like beak shape and some color hints, you can tell what they are. The Robins are also frolicking around, and I would not be surprised to see them starting to build nests this week. I may even consider setting up the pond, if work time permits.
And an update
on the Bluebirds. Somehow things seem a little different this year, and I am not sure what is going on. As it is, no nest has been built. The male is hanging around, and the female is alive and shows up with him, and both are checking the nestbox but nothing else is happening. She is either building / having a nest elsewhere or they are really taking their time this year. I am a bit nervous and I hope they will eventually choose to nest here again. If they didn’t it would be the first time in eight years.
It is not just
the big birds that are waking up after the winter, the smaller crowd is also singing their heads off and getting into snazzy summer outfits. I loved this very unusually colored House Finch, and the Goldfinches are just adorable with the unpredictable patterns in which their yellow feathers come in.
We are in the middle
of typical April weather chaos, with a tornado watch today and thunderstorms the other night, and it sometimes feels like the change or air pressure just whips all the male birds into more of a frenzy. The Redwinged Blackbirds are competing vocally as well as visibly, and I love how they are somewhat goofy but also super elegant.
The garden
is getting soaked with heavy rains, and last night there was even a thunderstorm. Spring continues to march into the area. The Bluebirds have still not started their nest yet but with these temperatures, I am not too sad about it. And there continue to be little surprises every day. When I saw him, I was just wowed! I am not even sure I have read about that variety before. A rare blue-morph Cardinal! He was only here briefly last night and has not returned yet. And a Flicker has also found his way to the yard and loves the bark butter by the tree cam.
Two cuties to go into the weekend.
The Bluebirds are visiting every day but she has still not started to build yet. I recognize her by her furrowed brow. Her man is around a lot more but I hope when we go into April she will finally get to work on her nest. The Titmice were plenty and vocal today, and this one just cracked me up. Here’s to a great weekend!
Hormones are beginning to rage,
resulting in an amazing symphony of calls and melodies by the competing males. But the bird ladies also get to enjoy impressive, dramatic and sometimes hilarious visual displays, like here from Redwinged Blackbird and Grackle.
