Finally! Success!

After three nesting seasons with absolutely no success, we finally have a successful nesting in one of my bluebird boxes! There are four baby bluebirds about a week old in the box in my aunt's yard. I hadn't even been checking the box for a possible nest. So, clutch number one is well on its way to fledging. We'll watch for clutch number two soon!

On A Rainy Day

With all the rain, I've been watching my feeders quite a bit today. It was kind of a neat day at them. I had four species of doves visit - Eurasian Collared-Dove, White-winged Dove, Mourning Dove and Inca Dove. I've seen all four in one day only one other time. So that's kind of special!

I've seen more Roseate Spoonbills flying over today! I can't remember a day when I've seen this many! I must have counted ten or twelve. Lots of White Ibis have been flying over as well. A Black-crowned Night-Heron perched on top of the telephone pole in the front yard for a while.

I did get on the four-wheeler this morning and check out the pond. When I got down there, an Anhinga was perched in a tallow tree along the bank. He splashed down in the water and swam off. While I was walking out on the dam, I heard some scratching noises coming from a little cedar tree to my left. I looked up and there were three young raccoons soaking wet climbing up in it. They were less than half the size of an adult.

*This isn't a sighting from the property, but I was driving this morning on Massey Tompkins and got to the intersection at McKinney and saw a Swallow-tailed Kite flying overhead with a snake that must have been three feet long! I wish I could have followed him. He was heading east toward Cedar Bayou.

Birds Seen (31 species): Anhinga, Great Blue Heron, Great Egret, Little Blue Heron, Cattle Egret, Black-crowned Night-Heron, White Ibis, Roseate Spoonbill, Black Vulture, Turkey Vulture, Red-shouldered Hawk, Killdeer, Laughing Gull, Eurasian Collared-Dove, White-winged Dove, Mourning Dove, Inca Dove, Common Nighthawk, Chimney Swift, Red-bellied Woodpecker, Blue Jay, American Crow, Purple Martin, Carolina Chickadee, Carolina Wren, Northern Mockingbird, European Starling, Northern Cardinal, Red-winged Blackbird, Brown-headed Cowbird, House Sparrow

Guardians of the Bird World

Yesterday I heard several Blue Jays making quite a ruckus outside. I looked out thinking I'd see a hawk or an owl in the tree. Instead they were looking down to the ground. A mockingbird was flying from the tree to the ground, pecking at something and then going back into the tree. I put my boots on and walked out with the boys. What we found was a 4 ft. Texas rat snake on the ground. The birds were simply going nuts! We watched the snake for a little while as it climbed a cedar elm and draped itself over one of the branches. The Blue Jays left, but the mockingbird stayed and was giving the snake a hard time. Birds for miles around could have heard the Blue Jays when they started in on the snake!

A Pleasant Surprise

I had a nice surprise this evening when I got home. A female House Finch was on my feeder! She was the first one I've seen on the property since December 30, 2003! House Finches are an interesting species of birds. They are native to the southwestern U.S. Some of them were transported (illegally) to the Northeast where their population did very, very well. Both populations have been expanding, probably due to the abundance of bird feeders. Now they're meeting in the middle and this part of Texas is one of the last they haven't taken a strong hold in. It won't be long, though. When we lived in Mansfield and Arlington, I had lots of House Finches at my feeders, sometimes upwards of 40 at a time! They love oil sunflower and safflower, so if you're feeding those two seeds, watch for them at your feeder!

Not many birds, but a nice walk

Birding was a little slower today, as I would expect getting into mid-May. But, the cooler temperatures made being out in the woods incredibly enjoyable! Also, the mosquitoes were not as bad either. Even if there weren't a lot of birds, the walk was nice. I did add one for the year - a Canada Warbler. He was calling and I finally found him in some thick brush. Other than him, everything else was what I would expect around here.

There were several newly fledged birds flying around. I came upon a family of Carolina Wrens. The babies were following the parents begging for food. It was fun to watch them. Then I watched as a White-eyed Vireo fed a couple of babies well camouflaged in the thick brush. There were also young Cardinals, Blue Jays and Carolina Chickadees.

Birds Seen (24 species): White Ibis, Black Vulture, Turkey Vulture, Red-shouldered Hawk, Eurasian Collared-Dove, Mourning Dove, Yellow-billed Cuckoo, Red-bellied Woodpecker, Downy Woodpecker, White-eyed Vireo, Red-eyed Vireo, Blue Jay, Purple Martin, Barn Swallow, Carolina Chickadee, Tufted Titmouse, Carolina Wren, Northern Mockingbird, European Starling, Magnolia Warbler, Canada Warbler, Northern Cardinal, Red-winged Blackbird, House Sparrow

Feeder Watching

My feeders have been quite busy throughout the day. I was not able to go birding this morning, which might have been pretty good with the migrants stopped because of the rain. I'll try to go on Sunday. But the feeders have been fun to watch. Cardinals, Eurasian Collared-Doves, Mourning Doves, Blue Jays, Carolina Chickadees, Red-winged Blackbirds, Brown-headed Cowbirds and House Sparrows are finding the seed to their liking. A couple of Carolina Wrens are feasting on the suet log. The most exciting bird of the day (so far!) has been a female Rose-breasted Grosbeak. I hope she brings one of the males along with her!

Another New Property Bird

I realized very quickly today as I entered the woods that today would be the day of the Magnolia Warbler. They were everywhere! I was even treated to their song on numerous occasions. Unfortunately the mosquitoes were so bad that I didn't get to spend nearly as much time in the woods as I would have liked. But, it was a pretty good day even with the irritation of the mosquitoes! I added a new property bird - Golden-winged Warbler - #181! Actually, I saw two on separate occasions. One Kentucky Warbler was singing in the same location he was singing last week.

I'm a little surprised that I have not seen one tanager this spring. Normally I'll get both Scarlet and Summer, but none so far. I also haven't seen as many cuckoos. I wonder why.

Birds seen (40 species): Great Egret, Little Blue Heron, Cattle Egret, Yellow-crowned Night-heron, White Ibis, Red-shouldered Hawk, Eurasian Collared-Dove, Chimney Swift, Ruby-throated Hummingbird, Red-bellied Woodpecker, Eastern Wood-Pewee, White-eyed Vireo, Red-eyed Vireo, Blue Jay, American Crow, Purple Martin, Barn Swallow, Carolina Chickadee, Tufted Titmouse, Carolina Wren, Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, Eastern Bluebird, Gray Catbird, Northern Mockingbird, European Starling, Golden-winged Warbler (FOS & property bird #181), Tennessee Warbler, Northern Parula, Magnolia Warbler, Black-throated Green Warbler, Bay-breasted Warbler, Black-and-white Wabler, American Redstart, Kentucky Warbler, Hooded Warbler, Northern Cardinal, Indigo Bunting, Red-winged Blackbird, Brown-headed Cowbird, House Sparrow

Working From Home

I had some work to do on our home computer today, so I stayed home instead of going into the office. Before "work hours" began this morning, I rigged up a drip system on our birdbath since my other dripper is broken. It was actually more of a stream system instead of a drip. The birds took to it immediately! Cardinals, Blue Jays, House Sparrows, Brown-headed Cowbirds and Carolina Chickadees were among the first to visit it. During my lunch break, I was just sitting at the door watching what would show up. A male Baltimore Oriole came in and took a bath. A few minutes later, a Yellow Warbler stopped on the edge and got a drink. I had just a few seconds to look at him through my binoculars before he left. I'm excited about my new drip system. I think it will work well.

My feeders were also busy today. Cardinals and Red-winged Blackbirds were the most common around them. Blue Jays showed up occasionally and feasted on the peanuts. Eurasian Collared-Doves showed up with regularity, as did the Mourning Doves. I had a pleasant surprise when two male Indigo Buntings showed up on my ground feeder. They were around quite a bit through the afternoon.

I was a little surprised to see two flocks (possibly the same flock) of about ten Cedar Waxwings this afternoon. I didn't see the Song Sparrow today, so perhaps he's headed north to find a mate.

Three fox squirrels and one Eastern gray squirrel were at my squirrel feeders throughout the day.

Birds seen (25 species): Cattle Egret, White Ibis, Turkey Vulture, Red-shouldered Hawk, Killdeer, Eurasian Collared-Dove, Mourning Dove, Chimney Swift, Red-bellied Woodpecker, Loggerhead Shrike, Blue Jay, Purple Martin, Carolina Chickadee, Carolina Wren, Eastern Bluebird, Northern Mockingbird, European Starling, Cedar Waxwing, Yellow Warbler, Northern Cardinal, Indigo Bunting, Red-winged Blackbird, Brown-headed Cowbird, Baltimore Oriole, House Sparrow