Feedercam is back up and running. On a rainy day like today, it’s fun to stream the live video to our tv inside. Better than anything else on, I’m here to tell ya.
I think I've only had pine siskins once in the 10 years I've been here. Usually I don't see juncos until it gets really cold and/or a good amount of ground snow in Canada. I wonder if the earliness is because of the wild fires. Although technically, NH is in their breeding area so it is just my experience talking in my specific little area of this world.
This year was a banner year for our white pines; more pollen and cones than we’ve seen in prior years, hands-down. So, we saw crossbills for the first time, earlier in the year. That was cool. And we’re hoping the siskins will return, since there is food for them here. Then again, maybe there’s food for them everywhere and they’ll stay scarce. Who can know? Siskins are adorable. We look forward to seeing them again, whenever that is. I’ll be gathering those white pine cones for fire starters, though, I can tell ya.
Saw our first Juncos today. The finches are after the Coneflowers, really working them over to get the seeds and we have hairy woodpeckers getting after some volunteer sunflowers in the flower beds. I don't normally put up the feeders till we get some snow. Maybe they are trying to tell me it's time..... Sent from my SM-S536DL using Tapatalk
We have many here in Western Washington. I think they are called Red Shafted Flickers here. They drum on our roof flashing in the spring and try to knock out our bird block screens both spring and fall to make a den. Just had to chase one away from above our bedroom window. Doggone little beady eyed bastages! Otherwise we get along fine.
First time I ever heard a Junco called a snowbird. We have them year round here and they and chickadees are the most frequent birds we see. We also have a good number of Rufus sided Towhees around our yard. They are one of my favorites.
Im on my way to the job this morning and am coasting to a red light kinda daydreaming as usual I pass this driveway and my peripheral vision caught this wild turkey. Just stayed there as i backed up to snap a pic
No birds at the feeder and cant understand why? Fresh sunflower seeds in there. Ill watch an occasional bird land, look, hop to the next few perches then fly away. Suet is steady since i started putting it out a few weeks back. Woodpeckers, chickadees, titmice, nuthatches are regulars. There's an occasional mourning dove, sparrow or junco on the ground. We miss the cardinals though. I have a smaller tight lidded metal pail i keep seed in outside. Wondering if this may be a problem? Been using it for a few months and feeder was needing a filling every few days.
Not much bird activity around here for the last month or two. I kinda figured it was due to a bunch of seed being made by native plants and trees? I know it was a mast year for acorns around here.
I don't usually feed till we get some snow. Still seeing Bluebirds and Doves around here. It's been warm but I thought the Bluebirds would be long gone. Sent from my SM-S536DL using Tapatalk
Since posting about the juncos and titmice way back in late October, all birds seemed to disappear a couple days later. I've just started getting some birds back in the last 7-10 days. I haven't seen a mourning dove since even before the juncos made an appearance. On December 8 a bunch of birds made an appearance ("bunch" is not nearly what you are envisioning in your head). Some titmice were on the suet feeder when a larger bird landed underneath. "WTH is that?" Not big enough to be a Robin, but too big to be a chickadee. Then it moved out of the shade and I could just make out some blue on its wings, with a reddish breast. All I could think was, "OMG, it's a bluebird!" I haven't seen one for a long time. Then a female landed next to it and I got to watch them for a little bit. Made my day! Just before seeing the bluebirds, I'd been watching a young cardinal couple - I guessing one was the offspring of an older couple that hung around all summer. Several titmice have been regulars a few chickadees, some house finches and a pair of downey woodpeckers, but they don't make it a regular past-time to be at the feeders just a quick stop by for lunch apparently. A lot of the time the birds ignore the seeds and suet and are all over the tree hydrangea's dried flowers. Guessing there are seeds there and on warmer days perhaps moths and other bugs are hanging out.
For about a week now we have been having a pair of mourning doves show up on the ground below our feeders every morning. Not a common bird at our house. Maybe these are morning doves!
I've seen the bluebirds most every day this week, even though we've had a couple of mornings in the lower teens, so they may have decided to stick around for the winter. Note that bluebirds do overwinter in the eastern part of the state, where temps are usually a bit milder than where I live. The main shock was seeing bluebirds at all as they usually don't make an appearance at my place even in summer (the last time I noted a bluebird sighting was 12/18/2020). I hadn't seen the cardinals for 10-14 days, but yesterday I heard one then a little while later I saw both. Then as the pair of downy woodpeckers were on the suet feeder hanging off the crabapple, a hairy woodpecker made an appearance and they both vacated. A few minutes later I saw the hairy's mate. This is my first sighting of the hairy woodpeckers this season. Don't feel bad for the downies, they alit upon a mealworm/seed cake feeder I have over by the picket fence.
We have bluebirds the whole year. Not constantly at the feeders, but fairly regular visitors. They gravitate to a particular suet feeder, that allows them to land/stand/perch on a coated wire shelf. Seeing both males and females at that particular feeder. I'll grab a picture of it later.
We had them all winter last year as well. They really like to cylinder feeders the Mrs. puts out. Yesterday we had a Redheaded Woodpecker at one of them, haven’t seen one here before.
It opens like a clamshell from the top. The feeder will take 2 suet squares, or one of the large syet blocks
Over the last week or so, occasionally I've heard a weird tink-tink sound - not loud, just enough to get my attention if the house is quiet and I'm in the living room. Thought it was just the mini split making an odd sound. Then one time Spot ran to the living room bay window ans started looking out, so I followed her. Weird, there is a house finch that is sitting on top of the storm door and occasionally pecking. All I can figure is it grabbed a seed and flew up there to eat out of the weather and away from all predators. It's the only one that does this. At least it isn't a flicker - those are very loud when they peck and can/will peck thru siding and even metal strips.
