Video: The Count is back
The yard is filled with sounds of spring, as the Redwinged Blackbirds and Grackles have returned this week. We are still expecting frost too, but it is nice to see and hear more signs of spring. This one is a returner, I recognize him by his white spot, which also marks him as one of the family of the Count in my book. I sped the video up in the middle so everybody watches long enough to see him disapproving of the lack of peanuts in the bowl 😁
Winter is back,
this time with an ice storm that covered everything in frozen magic over night. I find it beautiful and fascinating but I am also aware that it can be hazardous. Nevertheless, I was excited to venture out this morning with the big cam to explore everything (because this does not happen often). Here are some of the trees, and a frosted feeder, as well as a hilarious food fight at the high in demand tree cam.
Video: Early visit
The BBs were back early today and came visiting all throughout the day too. Here, the male goes in to inspect and the female peeks in. Having a cam in the box made me love them even more, it is so cool to listen to their conversations. As I said earlier this week, I added a suet cage to the floor. This has two reasons, one is that it will lift the nest a little bit, improving ventilation from below, and two it may help in case of a Blowfly larvae infestation. The larvae can fall down underneath the nest and if a nest change is needed, I can pull a nest a lot easier from this top-opening box and replace it. I added the pine needles and some dry wood pieces because they like to take things in and out before they start, and it give the box a bit more patina. It has been used for three broods but I am sure it still has a bit of a “new” feel to it.
And so it begins...
In the last couple of days, the Bluebirds have been back to check out the nestbox. I have taken out the "winter padding" of pine needles the other day and just left a tiny layer along with some dried wood crumbs. This is a larger than normal box (like a Gilbertson but with 6 instead of 4 inches in diameter, which helps the babies to get stronger for the first flight because there is more space for wing practice), so I like to help her a little bit to get it going for the first one. I do think nesting season has still some time to go, we are expecing colder temps again, but it was so lovely to see them do their thing. Last year, she started building on March 1. Nesting season is one of my favorites, and I am very excited for spring.
Livestream PSA
I have several Birdsy cameras in my yard that I am livestreaming in different spots. The main bath/ pond in the summer can be watched here on my website but also on BirdsyTV. The Tree cam and the green bath cam are livestreaming on that website as well, I am going to post links below. You can give my channels and cams and also videos a like there too. The website will eventually grow but there are already several cams public there. My own livecams change throughout the year, I may move them around, activate and deactivate per my needs. But here is how you find them:
1. Ostdrossel pond channel: https://birdsy.com/l/355115274eb4873b and ostdrossel.com/livestream
2. Ostdrossel3 channel (tree cam and shed cam and sometimes a third one): https://birdsy.com/c/Ostdrossel3
Activity will ramp up in the coming weeks with migration starting, so there may be lots of fun stuff to see. Check it out if you like
It is so easy
to get used to certain things and then feel bummed when they suddenly stop working. I’ve used my Birdsy cams since 2019 now, and when they had a server maintenance yesterday, it was awkward to not see what is going on in the yard. Interruptions happen occasionally but I guess it is extra hard when there is nothing else going on and you are thirsty for excitement 😜 Today, everything is back in order again, and you can watch my (mostly uneventful) streams here and over at birdsy.com. Activity is still low except for some finches, MoDos and a group of Starlings that comes several times a day to check feeders and destroy the bird baths. A hawk has been trying to hunt here too. I am slowly planning spring setups and enjoy spending a little less on bird seed. And the occasional action-packed Starling portrait.
Video: So bouncy!
A mouse has made a home under the ground feeder, feeding from everything that falls to the ground. Last night, a fox visited and then this happened. I have seen this in videos before but did not think it would happen here. I love the markings on this beautiful creature, and I hope he was able to find some food at some point (I don’t think he got the mouse).
Video: A blue delight
It was cold this morning, with frost on the roofs and lawns but there was a lovely bit of sunshine for a little while. While I was still in bed, I checked the camera apps on my phone to see if anything exciting had happened during the night or morning, and I saw that the BBs had come over. The video is a little pixelly but it was early, we are still living in this gloomiest of Januaries and there was quite some commotion too. I have not seen the Bluebirds as much as in previous winters, so this was extra nice. I am glad they come to check on “their” box briefly on the regular, this will give them an advantage in the spring.
Video: The tree cam setup
has proven to be the most entertaining during this rather drab time. I have gone through the videos from the last couple of weeks and made a little montage. I use peanut butter and bark butter on the tree. It is fun to see how many different birds came tocheck it out. Yesterday, there was also a hawk visitng, I was thinking a Sharp-shinned but it could just as well be a Cooper’s. The bird right after it is the banded American Tree Creeper that has been coming for a bit. Have a great Wednesday!
Happy 2023!
The new year is here, and while bird activity continues to be mega low, an Opossum has found its way back to the yard at night. I dearly love these creatures, so I am very happy about this. May 2023 provide us with lots of fun wildlife footage!
Review: Potey heated birdbath
One of the perks of having this hobby is that sometimes companies get in touch and offer products to try for free. This happened just recently with a heated birdbath. When the first night frost hit, I noticed that the new orange bath I got for this season was frozen over in the morning. Thankfully, I had another one ready right away, and that is the one I am reviewing here. The maker is Potey, and the bath can be purchased on Amazon (there’s a 20 % off coupon there right now too - no I do not benefit financially from this).
Now for the bath. It comes in a nice box with clearly written instructions and brackets to mount it on posts or deck rails but can also be put on the ground, standing on stubby little feet. The cable has a nice length, which is good because outside mounts often require an extension cord and short cables are impractical to handle and weatherproof. Why does it need a cable? It is a heated bath, something I never even thought about in Germany but something that is very practical in cold Michigan winters because birds need a water source also when it is cold. There is a thermostat in there that only prevents the water from freezing, it is not like a hot tub.
This bath is dark green, which I quite like. The first thing to notice is that there are three compartments rather than one. The maker says the smaller ones can be used for seed but I would advise against that because it would just create a mess. Instead, just fill all three with water. This bath is on the smaller and shallower side, so it is perfect for smaller birds. The edges on the smaller compartments are not smooth, which apparently gives birds a better grip, a neat little feature. The bath is oval rather than round, which makes it great to use for the Birdsy camera too . A round bath can, if it is too big, make it hard to get everything in proper focus, and an oval shape just works better for that. I mounted it on the shed, about 7 feet up on a frame I built to add the deck mount to. The mount is like an upside down fork (see pic below), and the bath slides on it from the underside. This is a lot more practical for removal and cleaning than the orange bath mount where I had to tilt the bowl to unclamp it. It comes with optional wires to secure it from tipping but I have just put a piece of wood underneath for extra stability. Overall, the bath makes a sturdy impression, and I am glad I got to test and use it. The dimensions are 15.7" x 11.8" x 1.2" and the price is more budget friendly than my larger ones.
Eastern Bluebirds visiting a heated bird bath
Video: Siblings
Yesterday, the Bluebird family returned, and this time the youngsters checked out both nestboxes. They seemed particularly interested in the twoholer, coming several times to explore. I thought it was neat to see them using the two holes so effortlessly. And of course it was hilarious to watch the little sibling rivalries going on. They very much reminded me of me and my sisters. They are not nesting right now, they are kind of scouting the area and also practise for spring.
Video: Tiny feeder for the small crowd
I have seen these for a while now and always wanted one, and finally bit the bullet (I found the feeder on Etsy, with a seller named PKNKTreasures). This feeder is on the small side, and I love that I haven't seen a Dove on it yet. Well, and of course the adorable look! The Bluebirds found it pretty quickly too. Yay! I am livestreaming this cam currently on one of my channels over at birdsy.com. They have a sale going on right now too, you can get their camera for $149 right now.
Video: They are back!
Two days ago, fall really started, with leaves changing colors and temperatures dropping. I closed the pond for the season and have set up three heated baths this year, one on the ground at the pond spot, one on a pedestal, and then this one, which is mounted above ground. It is smaller than the others, and it took the birds a bit to find it but now it is in good use. There was a group of Robins passing through that took to it, the woodpeckers seem to like it because it allowes them easy access, and the smaller birds enjoy it as well. Like the Juncos that have just started to return too. I hope you have a wonderful Sunday. Check out the calendar shop as well - from today until the 14th, calendars are 10 % off.
I know I haven't
posted a lot this week but things have slowed down a lot, like always between the seasons. Things will pick up soon enough too. Yesterday was a bit exciting because my segment on all4Pets aired in the evening on WDIV Local4. You may remember me posting about having the team over a couple of weeks ago. It was a crazy day - the day I had to rescue the Wren babies. Olive the reporter was so kind to bring them to the rehabber after the shoot. They were here for about four hours and we covered a lot in our interview. It must have been a Herculean task to wittle things down to 5 minutes. I think they made fantastic use of my photos and videos, and even if I do not like seeing my face or hearing my voice, I have very much enjoyed watching. And I hope you do too.
![All4Pets-Ostdrossel-091522-FB-[1200x628]-Thur-8p.jpg](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e8e05fc2936880fa8c9bd54/1663339139716-5ZVO9CPGCA5E1HUZX0ME/All4Pets-Ostdrossel-091522-FB-%5B1200x628%5D-Thur-8p.jpg)
I am getting spoiled
with hummingbird visits right now. It is wonderful and makes up for the beginning of the season. There are several individuals. I have three feeding stations around the yard as well as flowers and vines. There seem to be two adult males, the teen and then several females. I can tell the males apart because one of them is molting and the other is not. Their red gorget is awesomely vibrant when they move one way, and elegantly black when they look the other way. The photos show the two adult males, the video is the teen.
Nestbox news: What a great season!
The Bluebird babies have fledged, and with that, the season is concluded. Three of the four left the nest on Friday in the evening, after a day of teasing. The last one spent the night in the nest and left at 8 am Saturday. As far as I could tell, they took off right away and looked like strong fliers. All that space in the larger box helped them gaining enough strength. Along with the clips I saved and shared throughout the nesting, I also set the camera to record two timelapses. The first one was planned from nestbuilding to a couple of days after hatching but powerouts stopped it before hatching. The second timelapse I started when the babies were about 3-4 days old and went all the way to yesterday. I added some clips of hatching and young days and at the end slowed things down for the fledge. Timelapse 2 is a lot smoother, apparently I did not set the intervals the same way (mental note to make notes next time!). I also do realize that the nest cavity seems to shift from the right to the left between egg laying and hatching. This is where the first timelapse stopped. It is all the same nest, though. My theory is that she moved the nest gradually with the change of the angle of the sun, which is rather noticeable from July to August. Anyways, what a great nesting season! There are 14 new Bluebirds in the world thanks to Gayle and Mr. Business. I am so happy the new larger box worked out and also that I started using a Wren guard - I can attest it works. Now I am waiting to see the parents bring the babies back to the yard. Usually, a larger group is staying here all year, creating delightful sights when migratory birds have gone.
Yesterday was a great day
because all of a sudden, I saw more Hummingbird activity than the whole season. There were at least two that were visiting all day. I think they are both young, a male and a female. The male is especially funny, he needed some time to fiigure out feeders. But he is also a super ham. And just turning into a man - with two tiny red specks on his throat, the beginnings of what gives the Rubythroated Hummingbird its name.
Nestbox news: Sitting tight
Gayle and Mr. Business are doing a great job raising their four babies from the third brood. It is always interesting to see what they bring them, and this time around I see lots of larger maggots, spiders and flying insects. This little scene happened a day ago. He is always eager to feed the babies, and while he gives her part of the loot here, he also still goes in. They have a little interaction, and then a warning call can be heard from outside. They hunker down and sat it out (took a couple of minutes), and when another call is audible, they both leave. The babies are 8 and 7 days old today, and I removed the Wren guard. I am sure Gayle will appreciate it, she loves to peek out. Everything looks good so far. I am so happy.
Video: Hummer!
As you know, hummingbird activity has been rather low for me this summer, a fact that made me very sad. But I did keep the feeders up in hopes that things would change. And yesterday, they finally did. I love this feeder that allurafeeders.com generously sent me because it looks so different and has such a clever filling system, and it was awesome to see it getting used. It was funny to see them explore the feeder. First I saw one trying to drink under the lid, but then they figured it out and then even sat. Wohoo! Let’s hope for more.
