1:00 AM – Looks like the Finches have gone off somewhere else, maybe back up north, maybe just over to Hoover. One way or another it’s a lot quieter around here. But not near as exciting. We’ll continue with non-Finch videos until, possibly, the Brown Headed Cowbirds come through.
Another Bluebird, this one with a single Finch. The Finch restrains himself from attacking until the Bluebird leaves, then goes for any other Finch that lands. That’s just how it is.
1:00 AM – More squabbling Finches. It goes on all day long.
Just for a change, here’s a slightly older video with no (zero) Finches in it.
1:00 AM – At this point I’m pretty sure these are Finches, at some stage of development where they have vivid stripes and some yellow on the sides and wings. I think so, anyway. Anyway, they’re still here. In this video we see a good old fashioned Finch brawl.
In this one, we see that the recent flood of squabbling birds is taking it’s toll on the resident birds. Here’s a nervous Cardinal intimidated by one Finch. He seems to be eating as fast as possible. In his defense, that’s a mean looking Finch.
1:00 AM – Birds are swarming the Finch Sock, so many that I can’t sort out the different kinds. I think the majority are Finches, but I’m not completely sure. That’s the closest I can see on the ‘bird ID’ website. In this video, all the action is in the background, with a few birds getting a drink in the close ups.
Here’s a male Purple Finch surrounded by female Finches of some kind, either House or Purple. I’ve got to get better at identifying these birds.
1:00 AM – And, we’re back. We should be able to generate some new videos now. We’ll start with this one of a Dark-eyed Junco, placidly sharing the feeder with a finch of some kind. The immature/female Purple Finch and House Finch look pretty much the same to me.
Here’s a short video of the birdbath with the finch sock in the background. The sock has been very busy for a few weeks now. At the end of this clip some Cedar Waxwings show up for water. This is the first we’ve see of the migrators.
4:00 AM – With any luck, this will be the last Retro-Video.
Friday – 2. 10.2017
3:27 AM – Bruno, the neighbor dog, jumps the fence again and comes over for a visit.
8:26 AM – Some of the birds I’ve been identifying as Goldfinches are actually Pine Warblers. I wasn’t sure for a while, but this video shows the strips on the chest/belly, and bars on the wings. This bird has the unmarked head, longer, narrower beak and big eye of the Warbler. The color on this one is very greenish, which is characteristic of the female. Other videos show Warblers that are much more yellow, but it’s hard to be sure of color in some of these.
8:07 AM – These are Bluebird videos from the last couple of days. They really like those meal worms.
In this one, we see two different Bluebirds, one after the other.
Another “On this day one year ago.”
Thursday – 2.9.2017
10:42 AM – And, he’s back. That black cat has evidently made the deck his hunting ground today. He’s not pouncing in this one, just patrolling.
10:10 AM – I’ve been waiting for this to happen. This video shows a cat almost catching a Goldfinch at the platform feeder. The cat is not one of usual ones I see around here. I feel bad for these feral/outdoor cats, it’s a tough life. But I’d just as soon they confine their hunting to rats. I understand that in the big picture, cats cull out the weak, and make the birds overall a healthier group. Still don’t like to see this. Today, it was a cat – eventually it will be a hawk – we’ve got plenty of them cruising the neighborhood.
The cat jumps into the video about half way through it:
4:27 AM – We had no visit from the raccoon last night, and so no video of him foraging on the deck. That’s good news. Instead of that, here are a few from the last few days.
Birds feeding in the rain:
Before we put on the feeders in the morning. Mr. Cardinal wants his breakfast:
This is a Warbler of some kind, maybe Yellow. maybe a Pine Warbler. I can’t tell from the camera angle. One way or another, it’s not a Goldfinch as originally ID’d:
The Purple Finch trio is back. Note Mr. Cardinal getting a drink in the background:
1:00 AM – Another repeater:
Wednesday – 2.8.2017
7:38 AM – For the Cardinal fans, here’s Mr. Cardinal at the platform feeder. We don’t see as much of the cardinals as we did before our bird population increased so much.
6:18 PM – From a few days ago – a Bluebird feeding on meal worms. He flies off, and a few seconds later, another arrives. A few seconds after that, and a Red Bellied Woodpecker shows up, spooking the Bluebird. In a few days we’ll have the Bluebird house installed, and with any luck, occupied before too long.
2:30 PM – One more repeat, from a year ago.
Tuesday – 2.7.2017
1:46 PM – It’s been raining a good part of the day. The platform feeder looks like a vat of birdseed soup. The birds seem to like it just fine. Here’s a few bedraggled Goldfinches snacking.
5:11 AM – The main camera on the deck was inside, getting it’s battery charged, but the other one caught this brief image of a ghostly raccoon checking to make sure the meal worm feeder wasn’t there. He (or she) is still not convinced the food court is closed at night. I’m pleased with the effectiveness of the pepper suet. All our suet from now on will be pepper suet.
### A few days ago the Redwing Blackbirds (along with the Cowbirds) flooded the back yard. Yesterday we had on Blackbird squatting in the platform feeder. He was there, continuously, for about a half hour – a long time in bird minutes. I don’t know where the rest of the crowd was. If the Blackbird becomes a permanent resident, I’d prefer just one or two, instead of the whole overwhelming flock.
### In this one, we’ve got a Purple Finch, Goldfinches and Sparrows, all feeding at the same time. They mostly get along, except for a few pecks back and forth.
1:00 AM – One more time. A year ago today:
Monday – 2.6.2017
2:06 PM – I didn’t think we had three of the full color Purple Finches around, but seems that we do.
7:37 AM – Two Purple Finches feeding with sparrows and Goldfinches, in the rain. We usually don’t see two Purples at the same time.
4:42 AM – No raccoon sightings last night. My guess is the first time we leave the feeders out at night they’ll be back.
There hasn’t been much squirrel activity lately. Here’s one feeding at the platform feeder. It was raining off and on yesterday, creating a kind of bird seed slurry. The squirrel really likes it. He’s got a lot of brown in his coat, more than we usually see.
After the invasion of Brown Headed Cowbirds and Redwing Blackbirds a few days ago, they seem to have disappeared. Looking at the videos I saw one bird I didn’t recognize – it’s the big one with brown/black striped feathers. It turns out to be a female Redwing, hanging out with the Cowbirds. Noisy feeders, aren’t they.