4:44 AM – The color of these Blue Jays is really amazing.
The mealworm feeder was down to zero worms this morning. After we restocked it, the birds came from everywhere. How can they eat so much? I guess they use a lot of energy flying. Here we have a Chickadee, a Carolina Wren and a bluebird.
This young House Finch sits on our camera for a few moments. This is how they (the cameras) get knocked to the ground. That’s actually not true – it’s always the bad boys of the yard, the squirrels and raccoons who do it.
3:17 AM – The birds in this video look like juvenile bluebirds – but not the same juveniles we’ve been watching for several months. The feathers on these show much less blue than those on the first generation of immatures. Take a look at the first generation bird at the end of the video, to compare.
This second generation hasn’t been acting like the first. The latter were usually found at the open platform feeder being fed mealworms by the parents. Of course, right now the platform feeder is not available to them, due to deck maintenance. Now, all this could be wrong. For all I know the older juveniles are just molting, losing their ‘baby feathers’, and will turn up with full blue/orange adult coloring in a few days, or weeks. There’s lots I don’t know about birds. But I’m pretty sure we’ve got a second brood now.
As a break from the bluebirds, here’s another cute Carolina Chickadee.
Now, back to the bluebirds. Here’s an adult, then one of the second gens – just to show the contrast between the fully mature and immature bird.
1:00 AM – Carolina Chickadees on the mealworm feeder, winning the prize for cuteness. With a cameo appearance by the Tufted Titmouse.
I’d like to think these are a couple of the juvenile bluebirds, all grown up. Maybe so, maybe not, but I like watching them anyway.
Another video of a Downy Woodpecker on the mealworm feeder. This one is very energetic and singleminded in his mealworm harvesting. He completely ignores the Chickadee who lands, grabs a worm and leaves.
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.
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.
4:13 AM – We put the suet feeder back in front of the camera. The finch sock that was there got no traffic, and the Squirrel Buster was easy prey for squirrels and raccoons. We loaded the suet cage with “pepper” suet, to discourage the pests. The usual suet fans showed up right away. The first one – a Red-bellied Woodpecker – looks like it’s been injured, but I think it’s just molting. No way to really tell what’s going on. The other birds are the Downy Woodpecker, the White Breasted Nuthatch and Carolina Chickadee.
The juvenile bluebirds continue to get more color – the blue on this one is coming in.
3:02 AM – The Eastern Towhee was back for a second day. This is a much better video.
A few days ago we had a video of birds taking food away from the feeders. We’re seeing a lot of it – not just the birds on this video and the previous one. It will be interesting to see if we have new crops of young birds in a couple of months. Hope so.
The sparrows tend to be extras in the great bird dramas of the Foodcourt, even the relatively colorful ones like this Chipping Sparrow. Here he’s looking for intact seed after one of the squirrels has ravaged the platform feeder.
1:27 AM – We moved the mealworm feeder (and MealwormCam) to get videos with less glare. It seems to be working. Here’s one of a kind of rare event: a Carolina Chickadee feeding at the same time as a bluebird. Now that the bluebirds are older, they seem to be less aggressive.
More mealworm feeder patrons – a Carolina Wren and Tufted Titmouse:
We really like these Blue Jays. Never get tired of how colorful they are.
4:52 AM – We must be in another breeding/egg hatching season. These birds are taking mealworms away, presumably to a nesting mate or hatchlings. D noticed that the Brown Thrasher from a few days ago was doing the same thing.
Check out the size difference between the Carolina Chickadee and the Red-bellied Woodpecker.
4:55 AM – The Red-bellied Woodpecker doesn’t usually feed at the platform feeder, but we’ve been seeing him everywhere this last month. He’s been at the mealworm feeder, the Squirrel Buster, the suet feeder, the platform feeder and even on trees, going right to the source for some live insects. What a bird.
From yesterdays videos, these two win the prize for vivid color:
Carolina Chickadees, fast and furious session on the mealworm feeder. You’d think the food was going to disappear any second.