Sunday, July 5, 2020

USUAL SUSPECTS

If your working from home or home from work like I am currently, the summer and during the pandemic, it can be a most suitable time for a rewarding season to have a bird buffet in your backyard. I have no idea where my love for birds came from, but I really enjoy them. The longer days also give much more time to view their habits and their antics. And they do have antics. It may seem you don't also see birds as often in the summer at  feeders, and the reason is fewer birds visit, they get a little more secretive, and they raise sometimes two broods of nestlings. So while they raise their young they visit feeders only briefly. Above in the tree is Bonnie and Clyde. Doves are always in pairs.
The newest dove pair Victoria and Albert.
I attract my brood by all the different seeds and accompaniments I put out. Small generic seeds will attracts the sparrows, doves and  house and golden finch. Seed with dried fruit and nuts will attract the catbirds, cardinals, orioles and robins, even though, Robins I feel will dine mostly on worms and insects.  
This little nuthatch always cracks me up. They have a chuckling sound they make. Other seed I put out contains lots of nuts and peanuts, which nuthatches love, as do Woodpeckers, titmice, chickadees, grosbeaks, and bluejays. Mix all these with those square suet's and you'll have a lot of variety.
Here's a mother sparrow with four hungry mouths. I noticed this summer birds tend to look like the adults, but yet are still being trained by their parents so they know how to fend for themselves.
When blueberries get put out, the Catbird show up quite quickly. I have seen two couples of them
A mother starling with two almost grown babies. I wonder what she's thinking in the below picture?
I've had a lot of cardinals this summer so far. They pretty much visit daily.
Sparrow
So far, two families of Red Bellied woodpeckers. They are definitely peanut and dried fruit eaters. This week, the babies were quite noisy with that squawking. Here's it's mother with one of the babies.
He's getting it! He was also getting the little ants!!!!
I love these blackbirds. Their eyes are so telling.

This is a thistle sock I have hanging from the roof line. Golden finch prefer these over a feeder first. The other two are general house finch.
Out in the one garden is this feeder. Finch love their thistle and sunflower seeds. I love their golden yellow color.

Nocturne returned along with a mate, Margaret. Nocturne is a raven, one of the only few around here I've seen. And he is very curious and gets actually pretty close. Yesterday I was out sitting with a cold beer and he landed on a chair across from me, just sitting on the back of it. If the sills get empty, he will sit on the window sill and tap the glass of the room I'm in to get the that little tray filled!!!!! I like him. I read they are highly intelligent. Plus he and his group will come in handy when I start my world domination. Bwahahahahahaha haaa ha!!!!! This was taken almost as close as your seeing it.
The bluebirds won't feed off my sills, but they are huge fruit eaters. My neighbor put this birdhouse up. I suspect they are checking out the accommodations before they set up house. They mostly stick to the woods edge.
And to my amazement while sitting out another day,  spotted the flying squirrel in the daylight!!!!! I have since named her Rocky...seems logical right?
 I think she may have tinkled here a bit! What would Duchess Deedles have to say? Most nights, late, she will be on the kitchen sill eating the peanuts and sunflowers seeds. This breed of flying squirrel are very nocturnal. She will be there for ages before she flies off to the huge tree in front of my window. I'm sure her nest is in there somewhere. This is one of the coolest thing to surface this summer. I 've not seen the fox since my return, but I know they are still here, as I can hear them at night screaming and playing around in the ivy beds. I came across these two on Thursday on a lovely walk on the grounds here. I am always touched when I can get so close to these animals. I do really believe they can sense if they are in danger. They sense your aurora, I'm certain.


30 comments:

  1. I miss Goldfinches very much. It is so hot here, I saw two doves just squatting in the bird bath for a half hour.

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  2. Loves all the birdy pictures!
    Lived side by side with ravens
    in Northern British Columbia.
    Very entertaining and smart!
    xoxo :-)

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  3. When I lived in my mother's house, which was in a kind of wooded area, I saw quite a lot of wildlife. Once even a possum.

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  4. Your birds are so bright - loving the cardinals. I really should try to photograph the birds in my garden - blackbirds aplenty here! I am also fond of ravens - but have only ever seen them once in the wild. (The other time was at The Tower of London). You are very lucky to have such a varied brood.
    Sc

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    1. This is only my first raven to ever see. He was here for some time and only just returned. He is HUGE.

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  5. Well, you are getting quite the selection of visitors during the lockdown. I love the cardinals, and the eyes of a blackbird are almost unnerving. It's like they 'know'.

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  6. We hear more birds than we actually see in the extensive gardens here at Dolores Delargo Towers - there appear to be more cats in the neighbourhood this summer than we've ever seen, so they're understandably wary. Loads of blue and great-tits in the trees, the blackbirds, robins, wrens, goldfinches and a pair of hedge-sparrows (dunnocks) are all around and about (judging from their singing), and the wood pigeons shit everywhere, but unfortunately the noisy magpies are the most noticeable of the lot... Jx

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    1. Our closet relative to the magpie is out catbirds...but the catbird have a very pretty soft song...rather enjoyable to listen to.

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    2. Apparently there are true magpies in the USA, but they are only found in the West. Catbirds are related to mockingbirds, and there is no equivalent of those in Europe... Jx

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  7. Ah, there are some unusual suspects in this group. Love the birds. We've got turkeys and crows with a darting flash of something blue with white wings. I'm having fun watching the squirrels playing in my tree or standing on my fence teasing the dogs. Fast little suckers!
    Speaking of squirrels, I am so loving Rocky! What a cutie! A little flying squirrel pee is better than turkey globs!

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    1. You would know a blue jay...so I suspect either a bluebird of the West Coast variety of a blue throated warbler. And yes...rocky has been entertaining!

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  8. I totally agree with I think animals can sense a person's aurora. And it's cool. You definitely missed your calling Mistress Doolite. I also had no idea Ravens were that big!!!!!!

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  9. Birds are great! Baby dinosaurs!

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  10. When I lived in MI I so looked forward to feeding the birds from November through March.

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  11. It never ceases to amaze me just how close you get to snap these pictures! I loved the mother deer and fawn.

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  12. I like all your Birds, but Nocturne best, since he will help with World domination. *winks* We have a lot of Birds here, I was saddened to see the high mortality rate of their Babies tho', they tend to get to just about flying age and drop out of the Nest and don't survive. I didn't know the mortality rate was so high til we saw so many Dead Baby Birds under the large Trees... assume they just fell or got pushed out of Nests?

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  13. The usual suspects and then some!
    You sure do have a large and diverse selection that visit. They are a pleasure to watch, aren't they.

    I'm amazed to see the flying squirrel. Her coat is beautiful. So shiny.

    Thank you!

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    1. That flying squirrel is tickling me too. She's cool to watch. And your right. The fur seems to look more soft and plush as opposed to regular squirrels.

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  14. Oh my god, that incredible variety of happy and well-fed birds and then Bambi to finish off the post. How idyllic.

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  15. It's a regular Mutual of Omaha's Wild Kingdom over there at the Casa! Marvelous pics. And such a variety. Big fan of feeding birds. We have a ton of Blue Jays this year. They are mean, but pretty. You know, sort of the Brittany Snow of the bird world? They like popped popcorn. Thanks for sharing all these. Made my morning.

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  16. World domination, can we just crown you as Queen and let you take over this one country to start with?

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  17. I love this post!
    You have inspired me and I’m going to venture out to get a bird feeder. 😎

    XoXo

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    1. And i thought your milkshake would bring the boys to the yard!?!?!

      I set my mother up on the last visit...She is getting birds left and right already.

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  18. This whole post lightened my day. Im a huge lover of doves and the pictures tickled me. So close and detailed. Did you know they pick a mate for life?

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  19. I loved this!!! And i don't think i ever saw a flying squirrel!!!!

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  20. Your birds are so beautiful! And the colour of that cardinal - Wow!
    You're so fortunate to be able to get so close to so much wildlife. Amazing!

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  21. Oh look at our lil' fly friends! 💛🤍

    They're adorbsss! 🧡🖤

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Go ahead darling, tell me something fabulous!