Monday – 6.19.2017

3:53 AM – We were concerned that we might lose the Cardinals and Blue Jays when we retired the open feeders – that’s their favorite venue. So we bought some ‘squirrel repellent’ seed for the platform feeder. It seems to work pretty well. Here are a Cardinal, Blue Jay, Mourning Dove, House Finch (female) and Titmouse sampling the new menu.

And here’s a  customers that isn’t so happy. The pepper repellent doesn’t always work – we had some pepper powder we sprinkled on the black oil sunflower seeds that the squirrels seemed to find delicious – but these seeds are doing their job.

 

Sunday – 6.18.2017

6:09 AM – It’s Retro-Sunday again, featuring the best of past Backyard Foodcourt videos. Today we’re taking a look at woodpeckers. We usually see two kinds in this part of Alabama, the Red-bellied Woodpecker, and the smaller Downy Woodpecker. The Red-bellied doesn’t really have a red belly, but they do have a bright red head, and nicely patterned black and white back.

From January, 17, here’s a Red-belly at the open feeder, a pretty rare sight. They usually like the perch style feeders. This one is here because he likes the peanuts he’s picking out of the seed:

The Red-belly at the suet feeder, a more common sight. From February 14.

This male Downy Woodpecker (you can tell it’s male by the red patch) usually sticks to the suet feeders, or in this case, a ‘pepper’ seed-cake in a cage. From Feb 26.

On June 12, we have two female Downy’s at the mealworm feeder, not their usual choice of feeder.

Saturday – 6.17.2017

8:16 AM – Two of our cameras are down, leaving the one at the mealworm feeder. Which explains why todays videos are all of birds eating worms. We’re rearranging feeders and cameras, and should be back to normal in a few days.

The first video is a good one of a bluebird eating worms. Just that, but it’s a good clear video. So there you are.

The next one shows Mr. Cardinal’s unfortunate table manners.

And finally, the  bluebird and cardinal together (briefly) at the mealworm bar. That looks like a female (or juvenile) House Finch trying to butt in.

Friday – 6.16.2017

6:50 AM – This one is just for the color on the Blue Jay’s back.

After we took the open platform feeder out of service we had some disappointed and confused birds. The doves, Cardinals and Blue Jays don’t care for the ‘perch’ style feeders. Lucky for them we have two more platforms elsewhere in the yard.

This is a lengthy video of the raccoon discovering that he could reach the Squirrel Buster feeder from the rail. He makes the most of it. He was there for over an hour, and it looks like he ate until he couldn’t eat any more.

Thursday – 6.15.2017

2:29 PM – Here’s a bonus clip. We swapped out the open platform feeder for the Squirrel Buster to discourage the squirrels. They were sitting in the feeder for several hours a day, continually eating the birds seed. Watch what happens with this one realized the game has changed.

3:43 AM – A typical day at the mealworm feeder, birds coming and going. In this case, the Tufted Titmouse, Carolina Chickadee and Bluebird.

We haven’t see these House Finches at the platform feeder for several weeks, though they do show up at the Squirrel Busters.

And here’s the One-eared Squirrel, still alive and foraging.

Wednesday – 6.14.2017

12:37 AM – We’ve had so many squirrels hogging the feeder that I feel obliged to show a video of one. Here it is, with a special fast action sequence at the end.

The Carolina Wren is shown here in a series of brief visits to the mealworm feeder.  Lately, like many other birds, he carries food away with him.

Finally, a male Downy Woodpecker having a go at the suet feeder.

Tuesday – 6.13.2017

4:18 AM – The juvenile bluebird trio are still around and hanging out together, as shown here at the mealworm feeder. We’re curious as to how long they’ll be around once they get their full growth.

Red-bellied Woodpecker spends the afternoon taking beaks full of suet off to some other Red-belly, either mate or chick. These are just a few of the times we caught this on camera.

This looks like a juvenile House Finch. The color and pattern is similar to the female, but it’s smaller, and somehow just looks younger.

 

Monday – 6.12.2017

3:43 AM – Male Cardinal ‘displays’ his crest, and chases off another male. What with the aggressions, and all the food being carried away from feeders – and not just by Cardinals – it must be the time of year for mating, guarding eggs or raising chicks.

The Tufted Titmice are always around, so much so they’re often overlooked. This pair are getting their fair share of mealworms – and note the male (with prominent crest) flying off with a worm in his beak.

The Downy Woodpeckers usually stick to the suet feeder, but sometimes they like a change. There are two different females here, one somewhat smaller than the other. We’re not sure if it’s a juvenile or not, but maybe.

Sunday – 6.11.2017

4:28 AM – It’s Sunday, and that means a retrospective of selected Backyard Foodcourt videos. The theme this week is “Birds That Squabble and Fight”. The first one, from 2/13/17, shows some spirited sparrows squaring off in the platform feeder:

From 3/15/17, this Purple Finch isn’t really fighting, so much as establishing the pecking order.

From 5/20/17, a female House Finch goes for a sparrow. With instant replay:

Another disagreeable female House Finch, at the mealworm feeder. What’s with all the female House Finches? From 5/24/17.

 

Saturday – 6.10.2017

12:24 AM – The bluebirds are getting more adult color every day. Here are a couple that have sprouted a lot of orange feathers over the last two days. They’re growing up right before our eyes.

Carolina Chickadee shows some outrage when he finds the mealworm feeder is empty. I swear I think some of these birds understand what the camera is doing.

These Mourning Doves are around all the time, but there’s really not much to say about them. Other than they spend more time in the platform feeder than we’d like, since we prefer more colorful, exotic birds. But, since we rarely post video of them, here’s a close up.

Backyard Birds in Central Alabama