A Bluebird family had a hard time this year. They had tried to nest in the garden since April but the House sparrow chased them out of the first nest box even though they had finished building their nest. Then they picked another nest box on the other side of the garden. She, female is the one who does the nest building, finished the nest … Continue reading The Resilient Bluebird
Busy Raising Families This is a busy time of the year for us as well as the birds. We are busy with garden chores-cleaning up, pruning, feeding and planting. The birds are busy building their new families. The Bluebird’s eggs have hatched and the parents have been making endless trips feeding five chicks. They are growing up really fast. It will take around 15-20 days … Continue reading Update On Bird Families
Almost A Full House The temperature is still seesawing, but most of the migrating birds have reached us on their usual schedule. The Tree Swallows (Tachycineta bicolor) have finally settled in one of the bird boxes and have started building their nest despite harassment from the House sparrows. We really have to keep an eye on this one to make sure that the sparrows don’t … Continue reading Back From Wintering
Molting & Paring As much as Mother Nature doesn’t want to let go of winter weather, birds in our garden don’t want any part of it. Their songs are much louder now and they chase each other around in the garden a lot more too. There are a couple of things indicating spring has arrived: American Goldfinch (Carduelis tristis) are molting and the arrival of … Continue reading Spring Birds
Lending A Hand To Avian Friends We have been hit by a brutally cold winter since Christmas that has become much worse in the last couple of days. Yesterday and today the temperature hovering in the single digits, Fahrenheit, during the day and dropping down below 0°F at night. This number does not take windchill into account which would drop it into negative double digits. This … Continue reading A Brutally Cold Week
Eastern Bluebird One of my fellow bloggers asked me recently how the Bluebirds fared this season. A light bulb went on in my head how about a recap’ of this past breeding season? The Eastern Bluebirds (Sialia sialis) have done quite well. To our surprise, they have raised three broods this season however the broods may not be of the same pair. I know one … Continue reading A Recap’ of The Breeding Season
Starting Their Second Brood I think the Bluebirds are getting more comfortable with our garden now. They no longer leave us during winter. We provide roosting boxes, food and water in heated birdbaths when nothing much is around in winter and we help with guarding their nesting box during their breeding season. Since they have become our resident birds, they have started their nesting early. … Continue reading Good Year For Bluebirds
The First Family To Settle Spring is a very active season for birds. I can tell that spring is really coming when the male American Goldfinches shed their winter coats and the male Cardinals are no longer willing to eat together. The same thing goes for the Eastern Bluebirds which no longer flock together like they do in winter. There is also their singing. The … Continue reading Eastern Bluebird
…With A Cold Shoulder I took the day off from work yesterday and the weather was on my side. Still plenty of snow on the ground but the temperature had soared to nearly 60°F. The honeybees should have been out and about now with a temperature this high, but alas, none to be seen. So I decided to inspect one hive. Intrinsically I knew I … Continue reading Spring Has Sprung
And Enjoying Bird Watching Snow is still on the ground, a residue of the snowfall a few days ago. It’s very peaceful watching snow falling and the quietness afterward as the snow absorbs sound pretty well. Though it was too cold to go outside, a joyful moment was still there. We hang bird feeders along the patio roof during winter which makes it much easier … Continue reading House Bound
Petals and Wings 