Ostdrossel

This is something you may see on hot days - this Blue Jay is not injured, it is taking a sunbath. It is done for skin care and grooming and helps with parasites. I always love seeing it because it feels like they have to feel perfectly safe when they do it. #birds

More rain and cold today, which I am getting a bit tired off, but this kind of weather is always nice for bird photos. It gives them a different look, shows off the texture and makes some look so pitiful you just want to take them in and give them a towel and cocoa. And others look majestic 🖤

I am so happy that we live in a world with so many wonderful things to explore and see. Look at all these goobers. They are hilarious and smart and fascinating. I love them so much ❤️#birds

Look at this Finch baby, fresh out the nest, coming with Dad to eat with the big guys! This reminds me of my childhood, at the village house by the Baltic Sea, in summer nights. We went outside with rubber boots, jogging pants and night gowns. Red cheeks from the day outside in the sun and so so tired at the camp fire where the adults sat. #birds

My birthday is coming up in ten days but my husband surprised me today with my gift, and it is spectacular. He knew I had looked at this a while ago and got me the Rolls Royce of hummer cams, and I am so stunned and amazed and happy, and I hope this season is full of hummers! I have already seen more this May than in the last two years, so that is a good sign! Look at him 🤩 #birds

Another chickie update
Sadly, I think the Chickadee has abandoned the nest. She was weird all night last night, not sleeping on the eggs and even pooping in the nest. Then she did not eat the worm her partner brought in the morning and just sat in the entrance for a long time. Then she left a bit ago. Her partner came twice with food. It looks like she covered the eggs again too. No idea what is happening, and I am sad but I guess that is nature. She may be old, she may be weak from all those freaking eggs. We do not use any chemicals in our garden but I cannot control the neighborhood. I will leave things as they are for a bit to see what happens. Having a camera in the nestbox can be a delight but also a curse. You get very invested. Sigh.

Madame Chickadee has built such a big cozy nest that it is hard to see what is going on in there, but this morning, she revealed at least three, maybe four eggs ☺️ She is not on maternity leave yet, laying an egg per day and covering them with fuzz when she leaves. Once her clutch is complete, she will start incubating, and then it will be more clear how many there are. #nestwatch

It was a great pond day, even though I had to constantly run out to clean the lens 😆Even a Cedar Waxwing finally came down (I've been hearing them for days up in the trees), and the first baby Grack! Others are male and female RWBB, Oriole, Grosbeak, Blue Jay and Cardi. I also changed out the pond livecam, the old one was letting in water and fogged up too much. #birds

Today the weather was finally very nice, and I worked in the garden too. I dug up the old fence to replace it and my body is still in winter mode so I will suffer tomorrow 🫣😆 But it was so nice. The birds are still a bit slow around here, hopefully things pick up this week. But the Maxdone trail cam picked some fun things up at the small bath. The White-throated Sparrows love this spot! #birds

Baby birds are so entertaining, and their emergence is a highlight of the year for me. They are always so bubbly and bumbly and excited and adorable, especially right at the beginning when they are still very focused on the parents. Today, two sounds were dominating the yard - that of some young Starlings and that of a very enthusiastic House Finch. #birds

Good morning with some more visitors at the branch (Cardi, House Finch, Blue Jay, Oriole, Redwinged Blackbird and a very handsome immature male Grosbeak). Music added because the neighbor had 90's rock on the radio all day while doing yard work, which was an awesome blast to the past but not working in the bird video. Happy June, everybody 🌈☀️🍬🌻🐣

This is the smallest trailcam I have used so far, and I am very impressed. This is a Maxdone camera that comes with solar panel. The FOV is on the smaller side, which makes this great for smaller setups like a feeder, but it also works with a bird bath. You won't need batteries, and the solar panel powers it up pretty good. I think this is also because it does not have an LCD screen. That is not needed because it comes with an app for positioning. I am using this with additional lenses that I stick to the lens to achieve the focus, like I do with all my trail cams. The audio is not amazing but ok. I also like that the lens is so low, this is fun for ground setups. All of that for about 50 bucks. Very nice. #trailcam

The female has not returned to the nest, so I decided to remove the eggs and end this nesting attempt. The nest looked very pretty and there were no bugs in there or anything. She even covered everything nicely before she left. There were 13 eggs in total, two combined clutches. You can see the darker ones are the old ones, some with a visible line too. I added a handshot for size. So sad.

This is everybody's favorite poop and beak cleaning spot 😆 They like to sit there before and after grabbing a bite, and I am always excited to also hear them. On the second male Grosbeak it looks as if he has a brood patch (a naked spot on the belly to keep eggs warm), and it appears that they may shortly sit on the nest when the female needs a break. Quite nice! (The others are an Oriole, a female Cardi, a female Grosbeak and a Blue Jay) #birds

A little update on Momma Chickadee - she is still incubating her eggs, keeping them evenly warm and turning them every so often. This morning, she got spooked by a Robin that must have sat on the box, and now we know there are actually seven eggs! The male brings her snackies, so all is well. I have added her to the livestream on my YT channel today, if you want to check on her. #nestwatch

I loved this little scene that the Maxdone trail cam captured. The plant framing them was just too cute. I continue to be impressed with this tiny camera, the colors are fabulous too. Cardinals can be a challenge for budget cameras because they are so vibrant but they look pretty good here. #birds

And a look into the nestboxes right now. A House Wren has started building a nest two days ago in the 2-holed box and is spending the night in the box, and the Chickadee is sitting on her 12 eggs. It is curious that she has not buried the first batch, she has them all spread out and is incubating them all. Crazy but we will see what happens. Nighty! #nestwatch

And the Chickadee nest is also doing well. Mister Chickadee is a very good provider and brings the Mrs. snacks to the box constantly. I like the green ones, they look like juicy candy 😆 and I wonder how in the world they manage to find all these insects when everything is green and lush and their prey is so tiny! #birds

The White-throated Sparrows have been here for a bit but today, a White-crowned also joined the yard. These are tough names to say for a non-native speaker 😆 I love the native sparrows, and the White-crowned is one of my favorites, they look pretty, for lack of a better term. A gentle beauty somehow. Special "Chimera" RWBB is also still hanging around. #birds

Friday is here, and it is time for a hummer lady parade! They must have also started with their nests, on the first one's beak you can see the spider webs they collect for it. The second one is quite chatty and the third one poops! I am so enjoying this beautiful weather, I may go and play in the garden. Have a lovely one! #birds

I could probably be happy with just having cameras at the bird baths right now, and I actually have several positioned there. Today, this proved to be a good decision because there were some fun visitors. I am a sucker for Cedar Waxwings, so it was great to see them returning, and very early in the morning, a Grey Catbird came! Others are Oriole, a sunbathing RWBB and a bathing baby Grack ❤️ #birds https://youtu.be/pEu27_s54AM

Another new setup for the warm season, with the Maxdone. I am still working on this but I am pretty happy with what I got so far. I always try to add something that the birds will use to perch in the right spot for the camera. This twig here works nicely, even if it cuts through the image. I like these small hidden spots especially for birds that do not visit feeders a lot, so I am looking forward to the coming weeks. Also, look at that flirty Grackle 😍 #birds

The first one arrived with the Orioles, but I had not seen one after, until this morning! Hummingbirds are so cool, and when I moved to the US, I could not even imagine that we have them here ❤️ (Footage is not ideal, I am working on it.) I wonder if the cold spring we are having may help seeing more hummers at feeders. #birds

Like every spring, I've prepared a mud pit with grasses, roots and soil because I love seeing the Robins collect it for their nests. I had a camera there for a bit but nothing happened because of the cold we've had here in Michigan. But today was nice, and a Robin aggressively rummaged through the offerings 😆 #birds

A timelapse of the Chickadee nest, from building until tonight. She has spent the night in the box from day 2. I am not sure if she has started laying eggs but it is possible since she has stopped bringing moss in and is mostly furnishing with more fuzz. Apart from the raccoon hair I also see some alpaca wool that I put out for the birds. Pet and human hair, dryer lint and yarns are not recommended, they can harm baby birds. (Audubon has a great list of things you can put out as nesting material.) #birds

I moved one cam to brush pile again, and a Song Sparrow showed up. A little migratory action, and it also does the "sparrow shuffle", very cool. The weather was too, today, started with sun, then clouds and then hail and rain. With the insane timeline the world is in right now, I try to find solace and grounding in the little wonders in my backyard. And I hope I can extend a bit of calm to others too... May the birds sing again in the morning 💗 #birds

House Wrens build their nests with lots and lots of sticks, which is why I also call them puppies 😆They can fill a space in no time and also make mock nests in surrounding spots to keep territory. They will also peck and toss eggs and tiny nestlings in nearby boxes, which is why Wren guards are good for active nests of others. They are a native bird and adorable, so it is fun to watch them do their thing. She has about 4 eggs so far. (I also added an entrance hole restrictor.) #nestwatch

A happy #MothersDay to the Moms, the mother figures, those that care for, nurture and mother things, be they humans, plants or creatures. What would we be and do without you? I am ready for a matriarchy. Thank you, mothers, and please get spoiled today ❤️ (Pictured is a Bluebird female with a baby.)

Spring migration has started but is not peaking in my area yet, but another summer visitor has arrived today - the House Wren. I have a bit of a love-hate relationship with these tiny guys (they are very competitive nesters and will toss eggs and tiny babies out of other nests to take over, hence my Wren guard on the Chickadee box) but I love watching them raise their families too. This box has a hole reducer and they have nested here before, so this will be fun. #birds

Since there are more hummingbirds around this season, I also put out the Allura feeder. They always need to get used to it a bit but I just love the look of this feeder. It has little compartments that are quick and easy to clean and is especially nice if you don't have a ton of traffic. Video is slowed down a bit. #birds

The special ed RWBB is still hanging around in my backyard, and it does not look like his plumage has changed at all. Here are some clips from the last week, taken with different cameras (a Maxdone and a Ceyomur trailcam). It kind of looks like it behaves like a male, posturing when another bird comes close and also a bit for the female in the beginning. ⁠
⁠
I have not heard back from anyone official, but many birders seem to think this is gynandromorphism indeed. No matter what it is, I always love it when there is a special bird around, and this one seems to thrive here. #birds (longer video in my Patreon and Youtube)

Another short update on the Swallowtail chrysalis. Things are looking good, and it has started to move more than during the winter. The disco lights are grow lights for some seedlings. Anybody else checking the weather forecast constantly? I am so tired of the cold, but it looks like more constantly mild weather is on the horizon finally. #bugs

Everybody is getting very excited about #spring migration. May I recommend something to help with the anticipation? There is a website that has maps with sightings for all kinds of things, also Orioles and hummingbirds, it is journeynorth.org (This is for North America.)

The Orioles and a Cardinal are singing loudly and explore every food possibility 😆 The hummer is with the 120 fps but lower res, so not entirely perfect but I loved how the feet are dangling while he's trying to grab the perch (slowed that down) 🥹 We have warmer weather on the horizon, winter seems to finally be over!!! #birds