5:12 AM – Following are several Bluebird videos we’ve accumulated over the last few days. The meal worm feeder was relocated to a more ‘camera-friendly’ spot, so we’ve get better images. We know that we have at least three Bluebirds, and I think there might be a fourth. The first video shows the two smaller ones, first the next-to-smallest, then the smallest:
This is the largest one:
This is possibly a new one. His markings are slightly different than the other larger one.
The very minor difference between these birds is probably not interesting to the casual YouTube watchers, but then most of the videos on this channel won’t appeal to them. Of course, all this is posted so that it can be embedded in our website, which is interesting to us – a community of two viewers.
1:15 PM – Here’s that black cat making another run at the platform feeder. So far, the birds have been alert. That can’t last forever, though.
7:47 AM – We moved the meal worm feeder that the Bluebirds frequent, to get a better camera angle. The videos are now better, and the birds seem to have adjusted. In this video, I think there are three different Bluebirds. If so, that’s one more than the two we’re used to seeing.
5:31 AM – Quarrelsome Sparrows at the platform feeder.
10:58 AM – This Brown Headed Nuthatch isn’t around all the time, but when he is, he likes the pepper feeder.
### Here’s another Bluebird at the meal worm feeder. I think this is the smaller of the two I’ve been seeing. He (she?) has distinctive markings, so we should be able to pick him out of the Bluebird crowd later.
8:08 AM – We got a late start with the birds this morning, and didn’t get the feeders back out on the deck until a few minutes ago. I went inside, and about 10 seconds later the platform feeder looked like this:
— We hadn’t seen the Goldfinches for a few days, but as seen in the video above, they’re back. The Bluejays are still missing, and the Cardinals now come only early in the morning, and just before dark. They used to hang around the feeders all day. I don’t know if the Cowbird invasion discouraged them from coming, or what. Who knows why birds come and go.
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.
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.
6:37 AM – We’re pleased to see that the meal worm feeder is attracting Bluebirds. Here’s a good video of one:
Although the Goldfinches are most numerous right now, we still have the Purple Finch and House Finch. The first video shows the Purple Finch sharing with the Goldfinches and some sparrows:
The second shows what I believe is a House Finch, also with Goldfinches. The color on this one looks more red than purple to me, but it’s easy to confuse the two. Easy for me, anyway.
4:14 AM – Raccoon was back last night, but thwarted by lack of feeders, and pepper suet. We took in all the ones on the deck, and it’s clear that the pepper suet worked. He didn’t even try for it. Instead he scavenged on the ground under the feeders. That’s fine, he’s welcome to that, as long as he’s gone when we let the dog out.
11:40 AM – It’s been a busy day for birds, what with the Cowbird and Blackbird invasion. Here’s the Redwing Blackbird with some Cowbirds in the platform feeder.
Another Redwing tries some meal worms. These birds are much bigger than our usual customers.
9:10 AM – There are a number of Redwing Blackbirds flocking with the Cowbirds. They usually go to the tube feeders, the Squirrel Busters, or on the ground, not the platform feeder. Here’s the Cowbirds feeding, when a Redwing joins them for a few moments.
8:45 AM – From out of nowhere a flock of these birds hit the deck platform feeder. I think they’re Brown Headed Cowbirds. I’ve never seen one around here before. They moved in a took over for about a minute, then flew off together. They remind me of a flash mob looting a convenience store.
8:35 AM – Here’s the first sighting of a Bluebird at the worm feeder:
4:05 AM – We learned one thing for sure last night: Mr. Raccoon really likes meal worms. See video below of him shoveling worms into his jaws with his little hands. We also learned that the pepper suet works, and in fact does repel mammals. The video shows his preliminary suet stealing routine, then he’s gone. We can verify this at first light by looking at the pepper suet for gnawing.
Finally, we don’t have good clear video of the deck suet feeder, but I can see commotion in the background of the worm feeder video. I assume that was him getting into the suet, but we’ll look for raccoon gnaw marks to confirm.
All this means we’ll have to rearrange the feeders – probably the Squirrel Buster will replace the deck suet feeder, which will go, where? We may not be able to protect it, so we’ll hang it in a tree a good distance from the deck and call it a Raccoon Feeder.
10:50 AM – The usual overload of Sparrows this morning, with some Chickadees and a few Nuthatches. Here’s video of a Nuthatch in the feeder, joined by a Sparrow. A few moments later the Sparrow gets evicted by a Bluebird. Life goes on in the platform feeder.
1:25 AM – Harlan J. ‘Rocky’ Raccoon was back on the deck and surrounding areas three times last night – at least. Although we took in the deck platform feeder, we left some nuts on the rail. That must have attracted him. In the first video he leaves the deck then stops by the feeder we set up on the path (you can see his shiny eyes). There’s a lot of seeds on the ground, spillage by the birds. He didn’t stay long. In the second, we see a better shot of him, for a few seconds, foraging for more ground seed.
11:40 AM – Plenty of birds, least common (in this yard) this morning is the Bluebird, though he’s around occasionally. Not like the Purple Finches and Carolina Wrens that I see every day.
9:00 AM – Lot more birds today. We’ve had the Purple Finches, White Throated Sparrow, Tufted Titmouse and Cardinals, in other words, the usual crowd. The Cardinal is the male that was injured. You can see the gash on his neck. He’s joined in this video by one of the Bluebirds.
8:15 AM – Activity at the birdbaths so far this morning: