5:40 AM – The chopped nuts D puts out on the deck rail attract a lot of birds, but also, the Raccoon. He (or she) is presumably the same one that kept getting in the old (and unstable) bath and falling off the porch. The new birdbath setup is more firmly attached, so we have videos of the Raccoon enjoying the nuts, and splashing around in the water (and looking in our kitchen window). Unfortunately, one of the cameras fogged up, so the video is not great. The other is okay – that’s the one recorded at 3:45 AM. At 3:49 AM D went out on the deck with the dog. I’d just as soon not have any face-to-face encounters, so we’re suspending the chopped nuts for birds program.
All posts by parmacetti
Monday – 12.26.2016
9:00 AM – More birds this morning, including the Blue jays. Here’s Mrs. Cardinal taking a serious bath:
8:40 AM – This morning we saw a bird we can’t quite identify. Here’s the video:
It’s got a patch of bright yellow at the top of the tail / base of back, and a very slight yellow cast to the top of the head. At first I thought it might be a Goldfinch, but the tail isn’t notched, and the eye has a white rim. The other possibility is the Yellow Rumped Warbler. They are usually very bright yellow, but the ‘non-breeding’ kinds are dull, with slightly yellow head/throat and the bright patch at the top of the tail. The warbler also has that white eye-ring, and the tail is right. Not sure which it is, or if it’s something else altogether. I’d like to get a better view.
Sunday – 12.25.2016
1:30 PM – Lots of birds so far this Christmas day, including the usual Carolina Wren, Tufted Titmouse, various Sparrows and Finches. We now know there are at least two bluejays. They ate all the nuts D put out on the rail, in about an hour. Here are videos of them eating and drinking:
Two male cardinals were around, one of them is smaller and brighter, the other is the one with the injury. Mrs and Mr. Cardinal (the uninjured one) drinking:
Here’s the injured Cardinal. His color is dull:
Finally, here’s a couple of finches and Mrs. Cardinal sharing the birdbath.
Friday – 12.23.2016
10:35 AM – The injured male cardinal was back at the birdbath. This time he was facing the camera, showing the mark on his upper chest, and possibly the top part of the wing. He didn’t fly during the video, so no telling if it’s affected his flying.
Thursday – 12.22.2016
2:20 PM – This morning it was the usual birds – see below for video of Carolina Wren and a Robin drinking:
Later in the afternoon one of the male Cardinals came by. It looks like he was injured somehow – the dark marks close to his throat. He didn’t turn directly toward the camera, so it’s hard to tell, but clearly something is going on.
Wednesday – 12.21.2016
2:45 PM – There were more birds at the water trough today, as well as the usual high number at the feeders. Nothing rare or unusual visited, but here’s a video of a White Throated Sparrow taking a vigorous bath.
Tuesday – 12.20.2016
3:05 PM – So far, just the usual customers today, except for a brief visit from a Blue Jay:
Monday – 12.19.2016
10:50 PM – Not many birds in the birdbaths the last few days. Lots are feeding, but I suppose the recent rain makes the water less interesting to them. Squirrels, on the other hand, are regular visitors. Here’s a video of one that drinks, then wades out a little into the pan.
One bird that did show up is the Blue-Gray Gnat Catcher. Here he is, checking out the floating sprinkler. We put it out today when the sun was shining, but it got cloudy again, so not much sprinkling.
Finally, here’s another video of that pathetic thirsty cat trying to get a drink from the frozen bath in the middle of the night.
Saturday – 12.17.2016
1:00 PM – It’s cloudy today, so no sprinkler action. However, it was pretty busy. Here are some videos of birdbath traffic:
Here’s a good close-up of Mr. Cardinal eating a sunflower seed. Powerful beak:
This one caught a Bluebird and a Blue-gray Gnat Catcher:
Here’s a robin getting a drink. I’d mistakenly thought robins passed through Alabama on their way to…not sure where. But it turns out that Alabama is one of their destinations, particularly North and Central Alabama. So, presumably, this one is here for the winter.
Friday – 12.16.2016
4:30 PM – Later this day the solar sprinkler arrived. D put it in the new bath, and it started spouting water right away. As long as the sun is shining, it works. Unfortunately I didn’t save a video of the sprinkler in action, but I’m sure there will be plenty in the next few days. In the meantime, here’s Mr. Cardinal and the (non-sprinkling) solar sprinkler, when the clouds were out. It took a few hours, but the birds got used to it. It does take up quite a bit of room, but there’s enough space for baths etc, and hopefully, showers.
6:20 AM – Our new birdbath arrived yesterday. It’s a replacement for the disappointing ‘tip-bowl-to-clean’ model. That one was almost impossible to secure to the rail properly, so tipping it up to empty the water detached it. Really disappointing. This new one is a simpler, cheaper model. It’s got a deep (relatively) indentation in the center of it, which should let us use the solar sprinkler we got. See video for it’s first day in use (first hour actually). We got a couple of Purple Finches and a White Throated Sparrow trying it out.