Video: Hummer sampling jelly
A young Rubythroated came this morning to sample the grape jelly. As you can see, he keeps a watchful eye at the yellow jackets. Them and other insects like hornets always appear around the end of August and can be annoying around the nectar and jelly feeders. I am trying to keep the feeders extra clean and avoid going there too much so I don’t get stung. And I am secretly hoping that the Orioles will start to migrate so I can take the jelly feeder in…
Video: molting Hummer
I have mounted one of the Birdsy cameras by the Hummingbird feeder again. Now that the Orioles are slowly starting to migrate, Hummingbird activity might increase a bit for a couple of weeks. This one appears to be molting on the head.
Tiny case of "Nope"
I saw a male Hummingbird today on the regular feeder and then decided to try and get video eith this cute little homemade button feeder. He did not come, but this one did, a female or younrgster. Also not happy about it haha I’ll give it another try tomorrow. I took the video with the GitUp camera at 60 fps and slowed it down a lot to show some of the cool flight movements.
Video: Flick is back!
After ten days, the Northern Flicker came back tonight and is now sleeping in the nestbox :D The photo I snapped when he first came to check it out.
Video: little rockstar in the morning
Young Cardinals are so shy and skittish and well camouflaged that it is hard to take photos of them. However, they are not so shy around the Birdsy cam, and I love that it allows me to see these cuties up close finally :D
Video: Nightly pond visitor
The pond has been there for a while now, but there are still fun surprises like A FROG! 😁 It feels good to know that we created a habitat. I hope he is hungry!
Video: A Flicker in the Flicker box!
As you know, we built a Flicker nestbox earlier this year, but no Flicker or other bird came to nest in it. A House Wren inspected it a couple of times but that was it. I had taken the Starling shield away and put on a Wren whole restrictor, only to later also remove that to see what would happen since nesting season is basically over. And then this morning, a Northern Flicker actually went in there several times and hung out in it for a while, enjoying the view. These large wodpeckers are one of my absolute favorites, and I would be thrilled have them nest in this box. Hopefully, he remembers next year. I am so excited!
Video: More Cardinal babies!
Much to my delight, the Cardinals in my yard seem to have at least three babies! I have seen all three together, but here is the male from this morning and the two females from last night, getting fed by Dad at the pond. I just love them so much, and as I said yesterday, they are really hard to take photos of, so it makes me extra happy to see them explore in a more natural setting than just by a pile of seeds. Keep an eye on the livestream, it is very hot today, they might just pay a visit.
Video: Cardinal siblings!
As you know, I saw a Cardi girl being fed by papa the other day, and then there was also a couple feeding a Cowbird baby. But yesterday, this adorable sibling couple showed up at the bird bath. First she comes in, then her brother joins. They are so very hard to take photos of because they are very skittish and so well camouflaged. I especially love the males with the red coming in in the most adventurous ways. Their beak color changes to the typical red when they are one year old. (Yes, the lens is dirty and they are out of focus but I still love this video, so I wanted to share.)
Video: Orchard Oriole
Orchard Orioles are the smaller relatives of the Baltimore Orioles. They have a very short nesting season, and I usually only see them passing through. I am assuming that the males at least have already begun their migration south. There was a young adult in the spring, maybe a female or youngster will show up now as well?
Video: Ruby-throated Hummingbird
What a weird day today. It was hot and humid and looked like 5 pm all day, and the lens fogged up. But a Hummerman came! I slowed the video down a lot to show off his cool manoeuvers.
Video: two young Blue Jays
These two came for an early breakfast in the morning sun. They are making an announcement call but then went about it pretty peacefully.
Big day for the BB babies!
Yesterday and today were big days for the Bluebird babies! Two fledged yesterday, and the two remaining ones made the big leap this morning. I saw all of them fledge except for the second one. The video shows the last one leaving from box view. I will clean out the box later today, and then we will see if Lagertha goes for another round. And we can finally have a bonfire tonight :)
Video: House Wren building nest
We put a hole restrictor on the Flicker box a while ago so that only small birds like a Wren or Chickadee could get in. It looks like a Wren found it accomodating.
We will see if this turns into an actual nest or just a mock nest.
Video: Rose-breasted Grosbeak family at the bath
This was so cute this morning. Papa Grosbeak is taking his son to the pool and feeding him. And then both bathe. I made a little platform area by the waterfall for the smaller birds, and the babies seem to like it to get a first feel for the pool. There are so many baby birds around at the moment, it should be fun to watch the livestream for the next couple of days. I promise I will try to keep up with wiping the splash shield.
Video: Ruby-throated Hummingbird
There are very few hummingbirds around this year, but last night one of my cams captured this cutie. Looks like she has a white dot on the head. Could be a discoloration or could be pollen. I wish she would have had a sip but at least she now knows where it is.
Video: baby Robin getting fed by the pool
The pond is closed for maintenance today, but here is a scene from yesterday to hold you over. This Robin baby is fairly new, the residents around here recently have had another clutch. It reminded me of old times when we went to the public pool or lake and then, still cold from the swim, got wrapped into a towel and received a snack from mom. Fries were extra special but cookies were awesome too.
Video: baby Oriole and Blue Jay
The yard is full of baby Orioles today, and like other bird parents, also theirs seem to love "parking" them at the bird bath. This one was brave, went in and stood it's ground against a big Blue Jay.
Video: Grackle parent feeding baby
Grackles are very devoted parents. This Dad is making sure that the baby gets food that it can stomach, cracking seeds before he feeds it. The youngsters seem big enough to do it by themselves but right now, you can watch them running through the yard following the parents wherever they go with an open beak and fluttering wings. So cute. This was captured with the Birdsy cam. They are on Kickstarter now, and you can get one here: https://birdsy-ai-records-and-ids.kckb.st/190e5d15
