4:09 AM – We’re seeing a nice variety of birds on the cylinder feeder. In this brief montage we have a Pine Warbler, a Carolina Chickadee and a Mockingbird.
We’re also seeing the occasional raccoon. They don’t usually feed at the platform feeder, as we put ‘pepper’ seed there, but we’ve been distributing peanuts all over the place. This guy looks like he’s picking out the peanuts and leaving the rest behind.
3:07 AM – Robin getting a drink. Since they usually feed on the ground, and not our feeders, we don’t get many videos of them.
From November, 2016, the adventures of our local raccoon. At that time we had a large birdbath attached to the porch. It was supposed to be hinged, for easy emptying. It never worked the way it was supposed to, but it did provide this exciting episode of the Raccoon in the Water. (No raccoons were injured in the making of this video).
3:24 AM – Thirsty squirrels, a cat and the very popular raccoon take their turn.
I still have a hard time telling the difference between the varieties of Sparrows. I think these might be Song Sparrows, but those are supposed to have stripes on the chest. They also look like White Throated Sparrows but they don’t really have white throats. Whatever brand of Sparrow these are, there are several of them, which is nice, as they haven’t been around much lately. A femaile Purple Finch is also there, until finally a Cardinal runs the whole lot of them off.
12:13 AM – Just a couple of Bluebirds on the mealworm feeder, like most other days. One’s a male, the other a female. Maybe a couple having lunch together.
And now for something completely different: A raccoon washing up in the middle of the night. Since we switched to ‘pepper’ bird feed we’re seeing a lot few cameras and feeders knocked to the ground by enthusiastic raccoons. But they still come around occasionally.
3:40 AM – We get more suet feeder traffic in cold weather – it’s in the 50’s, a little chilly for Alabama in October. In order of appearance: Pine Warbler, Purple Finch, Bluebird, White Breasted Nuthatch, Downy Woodpecker, Carolina Wren and Red-bellied Woodpecker. I’m surprised we didn’t see a Cardinal and Chickadee in the lineup.
The other morning, around 4:30 AM, we had a raccoon visit. We were sitting right inside, but didn’t hear anything. If we have to have varmints, I’d rather have the coon than the possum. I prefer the bushy ringed tail to the possum’s naked rat tail.
12:28 AM – We had enough decent videos this week so that once again we’re skipping ‘Retro Sunday’. Instead, here’s a series of birds (and others) at the birdbath. We’re getting a greater variety now that the camera is focused on the water feature. In order of appearance: Brown Thrasher, Purple Finch, Yellow Warbler (I think), a squirrel and finally, a Raccoon passing through on his way to ravage the mealworm feeder. I’m calling the third one a Yellow Warbler, and not a Goldfinch, because there are no head markings. But I could easily be wrong.
Lots of Bluebirds around lately. I’d still like to get footage of them chasing each other, but that’s not really possible with our cameras and very limited cinematography skill. Here’s one having a suet-snack.
Carolina Chickadee at the Squirrel Buster.
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.
3:54 AM – Those juvenile bluebirds are still around, though they’re exclusively at the mealworm feeder these days.
We’ll be moving this feeder shortly – it’s so close to the tree trunk that the squirrels, or raccoons in this case, can avoid putting pressure on the bales that shut them out of the food chamber. Enjoy it while you can, Mr. R.
12:04 AM – We enjoyed going through the archives last Sunday, so we thought we’d make a regular thing of it. This, then, is the second Greatest Hits Sunday.
The raccoon hasn’t been around for a while, but he’s not forgotten. Here’s one of his less successful visits from last February.
This one is from January, this year. A pack of sparrows crowd the feeder. We still have sparrows, but not anything like this crowd.
From February, the Purple Finch and Goldfinches, along with the usual crowd of sparrows. We’re hoping we’ll see this kind of thing again next winter.
2:09 AM – What have the squirrels been up to? Let’s see – drinking, eating, avoiding a confrontation with another squirrel, then visiting the hummingbird feeder for desert.
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Sometimes our customers don’t get what they’re looking for. Here a Blue Jay arrives to early for food service, then a White Breasted Nuthatch can’t find what he’s looking for, and finally a surprise late-night visitor is disappointed.
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I guess Cardinals like mealworms too, though for some reason it’s only Mr. Cardinal that goes to the mealworm feeder.