Slow Summer Days

I've been outside quite a bit the past few days that I've had off and not much is moving around these days. The White Ibis still fly over with great regularity. I just wonder if they're having a population explosion because I don't recall ever seeing this many of them, except in the past couple of years. There are juveniles in the flocks now. A Downy Woodpecker is in our yard quite a bit. I've never seen them with regularity in the yard, so that's kind of fun. The young bluebirds are still hanging out in the yard. It seems that they are getting the hang of foraging and taking care of themselves. I see the male around pretty regularly. One of the most exciting things that happened is a Yellow-billed Cuckoo showed up in the trees to the west of our house on Saturday. I was sitting at our dining room table and saw him fly in and perch on a power line. There was no doubt what he was. I grabbed my binoculars just to get a good look at him.

I cleaned my birdbath and put some bricks in it that make the water depth about 1/2 inch. That should be better for the birds than the two rocks I had in there before which were kind of slick and didn't give the birds a good place to stand in the water. I'm really hoping the fall migrants find it and use it. The Baltimore Orioles used it quite a bit last year. Fall migration will be on us before we know it. I'm looking forward to it. I'm still three short of tying my 2004 number. I should be able to get it pretty easily. I'll be able to pick up a couple of the warblers that I didn't get in the spring as well as Baltimore Orioles. I didn't get one last year, but in years previous I have gotten an Olive-sided Flycatcher.

Also, it won't be long until the Ruby-throated Hummingbirds come through on their southward migration. It's usually the end of August that they start getting really thick around my feeders. I'll put one feeder out in a couple of weeks to see if any of them are hanging around here early. In case you haven't seen it, here is a video I took in 2006 of the hummingbirds at my feeders.

New Property Bird

Yesterday I was outside working on a frame for a movie screen to take to camp. My aunt came over and began to describe a couple of birds that she saw while on her walk that morning. The only thing that came to my mind was Monk Parakeets. While we were talking about it, two Monk Parakeets flew along the road heading west, making property bird #186. I suspect we'll see a lot more of them in the days and years to come. They can join the House Sparrows, European Starlings and Eurasian Collared Doves as birds that aren't supposed to be on our property. Sigh. When will people ever learn that it's not a good idea to mess with nature?

Other than that, the baby bluebirds from brood #1 are doing well. They hang out in our yard quite a bit. They are learning to hunt pretty well. I watch them catch insects by themselves. I don't see them around the male that much anymore, so they're getting more independent all the time. A Roseate Spoonbill flew over yesterday. He was the first of his species that I've seen from the property this year.

I'm slowly getting to my goal of seeing more than the 129 species I saw in 2004. It's summertime now and that typically means slow birding days ahead of me. But, fall migration will be here before I know it.

'08 Birds as of May 29: 126
'04 Birds as of May 29: 105

Dog Days of Summer

There hasn't been much to report from the property lately. Some of the most exciting things has been watching the male bluebird lead the three young ones around to teach them how to hunt. They sit on our fence pretty regularly and watch the ground below. All three of them seem to be doing really well. The second nesting is well underway. We've got five eggs again. We hope all five hatch. They should hatch sometime between June 5 and June 7. Amberlyn predicts the 6th and I predict the 7th.

White Ibis still continue to fly over in large numbers. Seems that everytime I'm outside there are several flocks that fly over.

I hope to get out for a little bit on Friday or Saturday to see if I can find that Painted Bunting that was singing. That would be pretty cool to know they're nesting on the property.

I head out to camp on June 1 where I'll be surrounded by Golden-cheeked Warblers, Bewick's Wrens, Ladder-backed Woodpeckers and Zone-tailed Hawks. It'll be pretty cool!

Juvie Bluebirds and others

The juvenile bluebirds are flying around and feeding a lot in the yard today. They are starting to get some really blue feathers in their tails and wings. They still look like juveniles on their head and breast. I only see two of them at a time. So, the other two are either somewhere else or didn't make it.

I put some seed in my feeders today and within five minutes a male cardinal and a Eurasian Collared-Dove were feeding. I have my suet out warming up so I can put some in my suet log for the Carolina Wrens.

Still no increase in the numbers of hummingbirds. I am going to move my pole to the front yard tomorrow and hang two or three feeders to see if anything comes to them yet. I always get really excited this time of year in anticipation of the hummingbirds' arrival. I know that by the time they leave in October I'll be ready for them to go because of having to mix up so much sugar water, but they are fun while I have them here!

Late Summer Musings

It looks like the bluebirds are only going to have one brood this year. They are probably young birds taking their first shot at raising a family. Since they were successful this year, they will most likely be back next year and raise two broods. I still see two of the juvenile bluebirds around pretty often.

I love this time of year when the cardinals bring the juvenile birds to the feeders. By this time they have learned to eat by themselves and don't be nearly as much to be fed.

A Carolina Wren is calling outside right now. I need to get some suet in my feeder for him.

I had kind of an interesting experience on Saturday. It wasn't on the property. It was a the Gulf Coast Christian Youth Camp in Columbus. One of the kids at the camp found a female hummingbird on the ground at the gym. I'm not sure if it was a Ruby-throated or a Black-chinned. Anyway, she appeared to be stunned and I figured she had run into something like one of the lights at the top of the gym. So I held her for a little while and let the kids see her. Then I went to put her on a branch and she fell off. I picked her back up and held her in my hand. She started scratching at her neck with her feet. She arched her back and made a little squeak and then just died in my hand. I've never watched a hummingbird die. I don't know what did it, but it must have been pretty traumatic.

Fall migration isn't too far off. We should start seeing the migrants come through soon. I have seen more Baltimore Orioles in the fall than I have in the spring. This spring was pretty good for them, so I'm hoping that I see lots of them this fall.

Fledged Bluebirds

It's always a joy to watch as bluebirds fledge and start learning to live on their own. This morning one of the young bluebirds was perched on the fence in our front yard. He sat there for quite a while. Meanwhile, Mr. Bluebird was on the power lines near the road catching insects. The young bird saw this and flew to his dad asking for food. Mr. Bluebird fed him a few insects while Junior watched intently as Dad hunted. He's learning and it won't be long before he's completely self-sufficient.