Sunday – 2.25.2018

5:02 AM – Sunday Retro-Page:

Saturday – 2.25.2017

11:29 PM – One of the raccoons came by this evening. First he washes his paws, then tastes the pepper suet. He doesn’t like it, and so moves on to the mealworm feeder, which he does like. The sequence of videos shows him eating the mealworms from the feeder, then shaking the mealworms out of the feeder onto the ground. Finally we see him descending and making a meal of them. Raccoons are clever. Maybe we should stop feeding and recording the birds, and focus on raccoons. Probably not, though. We’ll have to start bringing in the mealworms at night.

Eating directly from the feeder:

And now, giving the feeder a good shake:

Grazing mealworms on the ground:

Saturday – 2.24.2018

1:00 AM – We’ve got two more cameras working, so we’re able to capture video of the mealworm feeder again. Here’s a random selection of mealworm fans – in order of appearance: Bluebird, Carolina Chickadee, Carolina Wren and Yellow-rumped Warbler.


Normal traffic on the platform feeder. We’ve got a Red-bellied Woodpecker getting some peanuts, some Purple Finches, male and female, and a Dove.

Friday – 2.23.2018

1:00 AM – The finch sock ran out of thistle, and most of the Finches have relocated somewhere else. That leaves room on the feeder for the ‘regular’ birds, in this case a Dove, a straggling Finch and a Blue Jay.


Sometimes these female/immature Finches have really vivid markings. Not sure if these are Purple or House Finches.

Thursday – 2.22.2018

1:00 AM – An unscheduled “What Was Happening a Year Ago Today” posting.

Wednesday – 2.22.2017

5:04 AM – We forgot to bring in the suet feeder on the deck. Of course, the raccoon (one of them, I think the smaller) showed up and helped himself. The actual feast occurred off camera, but here he is leaving the restaurant.

— A change from all the Bluebird/mealworm videos. Here we have a Goldfinch at the worm feeder.

— We thought the Pine Warblers might have moved on, presumably back up North, but here they are, with some Sparrows, at the platform feeder. A typical busy day.

Tuesday – 2.20.2018

1:00 AM – After the frequent videos of the small gray Finches, here’s a nice contrast: A couple of big colorful birds. Well, the Brown Thrasher is kind of colorful, and no Blue Jays showed up.


While the Finch migrants are around, we’re going to see more of this:  A slow infiltration of the platform feeder, and the departure of those big colorful birds. For now, anyway. With all the recent warm weather it seems the winter is quickly coming to an end,  and the visitors will go back up north.

Sunday – 2.18.2018

1:00 AM – A Goldfinch, though it’s not the bright yellow we like best. I frequently, in the past, misidentified these as some kind of Warbler, but the black markings on the face confirm that it’s a Goldfinch. (I hope.)


More Finch Sock action. This is from a few days ago, but the visiting birds are still going strong.


Nice quiet video of a male Purple Finch, and occasional companions, feeding on sunflower seeds.

 

Friday – 2.16.2018

1:00 AM – The flood of Finches has slowed somewhat, though there are still plenty around. In the slow times between Finch surges the local birds come out for something to eat. In this clip, a sequence of brief appearances by the year-round residents. At the end, of course, another Finch Flood.


We like the Brown Thrashers, especially the yellow eyes.

Backyard Birds in Central Alabama