Window Hummingbird

Feeding Hummingbirds is great, but having them right on the window is MUCH better! Why feed the birds if you can't see them? I just don't get it when folks have their feeders so far from the house that they need binoculars in order to see who is partaking of the bounty. :-/ Anyway, there is no reason for that when there are so many different devices available that can bring the birds to you.

Cardinal Nest Update

Here are the two cardinal babies in the nest outside my kitchen window. I saw the male bringing a bug and then leaving with a poop sack. Looks like these are going to be good parents.

Hummers are here

We have been seeing the Hummingbirds here at the house since April 13th - two days earlier than usual. There are finally enough here to assure the ability to take some pictures. This male was perched at the very top of a Sumac tree in our clearing. I was not able to get him on the feeder, but that will come :)

I also wanted to share a couple of plants that bloom just in time for the Hummingbird's spring migration. Except for the Locust, which is at the Nashville store, the rest of these plants are very numerous on our property. This may account for the early arrival of our birds and the lucky fact that we have them visiting continuously Spring into Fall.

Too Excited for Words!

Ok, I can not contain myself!! Today I scooted home a bit early from the store so that I could watch a movie that I had never seen... "The Runaway" 1961 starring Caesar Romero - excellent movie, but it costars a Greyhound so I may be a bit biased. But I digress. I went upstairs and just happened to look out the window to see if there was any activity at the Barred Owl box. Lo and behold, there was a Barred Owl chick peaking out of the box. These first pics were taken through the window. Not great quality, but s/he sure is cute anyway.

I really wanted to get a bit higher quality pics for you all so cranked open the window, and s/he didn't seem to mind too much - though you can see the air of wariness in each of these pics.

The end of the movie came and I decided to take the dogs for a walk, and upon returning, it was apparent that this little Owlett was getting ready to experience their world more closely. I ran back upstairs to try to get some more pics. It was about 7:30pm here in the woods -- so a very low light situation for picture taking... oh and I have yet to read the manual that came with my camera so was unsure of the setting that I needed. I LOVE that you can see their little feet in the weirdly blue picture. CUTE!

I hope that this little Owlett will remain in the box tonight, as we saw two coyotes last Monday about 100' behind the house. Owletts, when they fledge, will climb out of the nesting box, and climb a bit up the tree. They will then flutter down to an adjecent tree and climb back up to continue to do this until they are into a safer place to hang out. Unfortunately, last year our little fledgling ended up on the ground (which is not uncommon) and all we found was a little piece of wing - it was very sad. :-( All that work by the parents, to come to that end....

Bird Feeder as House?

This is a ceramic bird feeder that has been in my yard for 5 years. This is the first time any bird has attempted a nest. I think it is a house Wren who has been building fast and furious. I have never seen one like this before.

Rainy Day Clean-Up

There is nothing like a rainy morning to motivate you to look to see what pics you have not posted, that you clearly intended to.... OK, that is a lie. A rainy morning does not motivate me to do really anything but go back to bed. :) I did, however, pick up the laptop and memory card to see what was there. I found a wealth of fun stuff. We will start with nesting, though it really looks like everyone is having pretty good success along these lines.

The Chickadees really got busy at the Nashville Wild Birds Unlimited store. I snapped these quick pictures a couple of weeks ago, but have not been back recently to see if they have fledged yet. Based upon this pic, I would say that the chicks were 2-3 days old that day. If that is the case, they should fledge any day now. This box is what is considered to be a Sparrow repellent box -- the theory is that it is not only smaller than the Sparrows desire, but also allows too much light into the interior. Whatever the reason, I have never had problems with Sparrows in this style nesting box. It is called a Kentucky Style Slot Box... this particular box was made by the professor that developed the style, Dr. Wayne Davis. The birds Thank You, as do we, Wayne!

This is the Bluebird Nest at my home. As of yesterday, the eggs had still not hatched.

In other NESTING NEWS... It has been confirmed that my Barred Owls have a nestling in the aforementioned Very Dangerous Nesting Box. Just Monday, we saw one of the parents taking a pretty good sized rodent into the box to feed their chick. All this rain concerns me, as I can not believe that that chick is at all dry. Kent reminds me constantly that if they had nested in a natural hole, it is unlikely that the conditions would be much better. For good or for bad, that is where they are. The chick should be fledging in the coming week.

Our First Blue Bird Family

This is our first attempt at attracting Blue Birds. Two days after we put up our box, we had our first occupants! My husband and I were bursting with excitement when we saw our first egg laid! If you look close you will see that there are 6 Blue Bird eggs!

This is a picture of day 2 for the Blue Bird hatchlings.

Here is an updated picture of the little guys... this is day 7. More pictures to come soon! We are happy to report that our Blue Bird parents are very dutiful, and both can be seen feeding the chicks.