Tag Archives: Bluebirds

Wednesday – 4.5.2017

2:14 AM – We had a second hummingbird sighting late yesterday afternoon, this one a little longer. It’s a Ruby-throated Hummingbird, for sure.

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The Carolina Wren with no tail disappeared, and in it’s place appeared a wren with partial tail feathers. I’m assuming it’s the same bird due to the ‘coincidence’ of the no-tail disappearing just as the partial-tail arrives on the scene. The wren seems to have regenerated it’s tail feathers. A little research told us that this is not only possible, but normal. How little we know about birds. In the wrens case, it seems that only some of the tail feathers are back. The tail looks suspiciously narrow. If the follicles at the base of the tail are damaged, no tail feathers. Incidentally, it looks as if the wren, like the bluebirds, is carrying off mealworms, presumably to a mate or chicks.

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A busy day at the mealworm feeder. The first bird is the new-tailed Carolina Wren.

Tuesday – 4.4.2017

1:50 AM – The first hummingbird of the season, and the first to be captured on our Hummer Cam (formerly the Suet Cam). He’s only visible for less than a second, but this shows the hummers are here, and the security cameras can record them.

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4:10 AM – We haven’t seen any female Bluebirds for several days now, and the male is still carrying food off somewhere – presumably to her. We’re looking forward to seeing small Bluebirds eventually.

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Here’s a Ghost Cardinal in the rain.

Monday – 4.3.2017

1:05 AM – The Cardinals continue to share food. We assume it’s part of the spring mating process. Wonder how long it will go on.

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The Bluebirds are now taking mealworms away from the feeder. More mating/chick producing behavior, evidently.

Saturday – 4.1.2017

3:20 AM – One more video of Cardinals sharing food. This is my favorite, so far:

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In this video, a male Bluebird, in sort of a feeding frenzy, knocks the mealworm feeder off it’s pole onto the ground. We returned the feeder to service, more firmly secured. Our blue friends can be furiously enthusiastic, everyone knows that, so we weren’t too shocked by the incident.

Wednesday – 3.29.2017

4:29 AM – The Cardinals are not usually very vocal at the feeder, but Mr. C is clearly calling to (and looking for) Mrs. C, and getting a response. This Spring courtship has been really interesting to watch:

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More new Cardinal behavior: lately he’s been spotted at the mealworm feeder a few times. Maybe he just wants a change of diet, or maybe the black oil sunflower seeds (his usual food), which got wet the night before in a rain storm, were unappetizing.

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Of course, the mealworms are popular with a lot of birds. Here’s a parade of them, taking turns at the feeder: bluebird, cardinal, yellow-rumped warbler, then bluebird again.

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And finally, a new cat in town. We usually see two regulars, a black cat and a really big ginger. This is this one first appearance.

Monday – 3.27.2017

5:47 AM – This cardinal is clearly waiting for something, presumably Mrs. Cardinal:

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Bluebirds usually stick to the mealworm feeder. Yesterday we saw one at the platform feeder, but probably due to the worms we’d added to the seed mix there. Not sure why this Bluebird is enjoying the suet, but she seems to like it just fine.

Wednesday – 3.22.2017

7:48 AM – Here’s what’s happening this morning at the Food Court. It’s a normal day.

Mr. and Mrs. Cardinal:

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Bluebird having breakfast:

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Here’s that Carolina Wren with no tail. We see him all the time, almost always at the mealworm feeder. He doesn’t seem to have any trouble getting around:

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A female Downy Woodpecker. They always look bigger in the videos than they are in real life:

Tuesday – 3.21.2017

3:04 AM – Bluebirds feeding is the theme for the day. Here’s a video of one at the suet feeder. This is the first time I’ve seen one there, instead of at the mealworm station:

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In this one, the bird eats for a while, then flies over to the birdbath for a drink (you can see him in the background), then flies back to continue his meal:

Sunday – 3.19.2017

2:00 AM – The mealworm feeder is busy all day, mainly with Bluebirds, Yellow-rumped Warblers and that ‘no tail’ Carolina Wren. We’ve also seen Mr. Cardinal, the occasional Nuthatch and Carolina Chickadee. This video is interesting because at about 45 seconds into it you can see a male Bluebird fly across the yard and run right into a Warbler. I guess the Bluebird was reminding the Warbler who owns the territory with the mealworm trough.

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Bluebirds were really hungry yesterday. Maybe it’s that the mealworm supply is getting low, but they’re really savagely attacking the feeder.

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And finally, one of the big ‘yard’ cats getting a drink of water.