Birds in the back yard

[mike89]

Wish we had some dragonflies right about now. The mosquitoes are fierce. Haven't seen any bats at night either, yet.

skeeters are really bad here too...   picking asparagus was nuts!!!! 

[glenn57]

Here in the city of clean living I,ve had very few skeeters.

On a side note I have been watching a bluebird adding nesting material to a blue bird house.

[Jerkbiat]

Even after spraying the skeeters are still thick here late evening. Daytime is good.

[fishwidow]

Had big owl swoop across the yard at about 5 feet yesterday. Probably a great grey.
 Not birds but we have a mama bear with three cubs hanging around. The dogs were pretty interested but cautious this afternoon.  The cubs were up a tree and mom staked out the bottom and snarled when they got within about 20 yards. I managed to get them herded to the house and she waited for about an hour before she let the little ones come down. I’m hoping she took them further back into the woods so there’s no confrontation when I take the dogs out about 10;30 tonight.

[Gunner55]

Even after spraying the skeeters are still thick here late evening. Daytime is good.

I think the neighbor sprayed at least 2, maybe 3, times in about a week or 2 before we dared to sit out on his patio for a little HH before we left. 

[LPS]

The city sprayed last night but still some squites around.  Sure helps though.  I did see my first Monarch of the year the other day.  Some yellow butterflies too. 

[Jerkbiat]

Even after spraying the skeeters are still thick here late evening. Daytime is good.

I think the neighbor sprayed at least 2, maybe 3, times in about a week or 2 before we dared to sit out on his patio for a little HH before we left. 

The wife was talking about doing it again this weekend too.

[markn]

Seen my first fawn Monday evening. Standing up, pretty shaking and mom was busy cleaning him/her up.

[glenn57]

Seen my first fawn Monday evening. Standing up, pretty shaking and mom was busy cleaning him/her up.

i'll have to look at my bird books to see what that kind of bird looks like!!!!!!!!

just giving ya grief!!!!!!! awesome to hear!!!!!!!

[Dotch]

Was wondering when those fawns would start showing up. Have to be on the lookout for them. Not like we need more deer in these parts but never like hitting deer of any size with a vehicle. Jelly consumption by the orioles has slowed some. They must be in nesting mode. Saw a female oriole last week looking for nest building material. Need to take some of the suet feeders down and replace them with a couple hummingbird feeders the next couple days. Have been lots of hummers around. Hope they're nesting here. The little ones are really cute when they first show up at the nectar feeders. 

[mike89]

man does the bird bath really go down in this weather...   got to keep full for the tweety birds!!!   

[mike89]

https://bringmethenews.com/minnesota-news/feeding-grape-jelly-to-orioles-raptor-group-says-its-killing-hummingbirds

just read this!!!   

[Jerkbiat]

Hmm, interesting. We have our jelly in a cup on the feeder. Have never seen a hummer get into it. The hummer feeder hangs about 16" away from the cup too. Doesn't really say how the jelly is affecting them?

[mike89]

said something about getting it into their feathers!!!   I have never seen anything like that ever happen...

[Dotch]

We offer grape jelly & orange halves for the orioles. Nectar (4:1 ratio sugar water) is provided for both hummingbirds and orioles, with numerous flowering plants to provide nectar to hummingbirds and pollinators of all kinds throughout the season. Like jb, have rarely seen hummingbirds so much as sniff at the jelly over the decades we've been feeding it. Have no problem with it liquifying either aside from after a rain. When that happens, it usually gets dumped. Our feeders are also cleaned routinely. If they wanna whine about lack of protein provided by jelly to the young, they obviously haven't noticed the orioles picking the ants out of the jelly feeder and carrying them back to the nest to feed their young. We have more hummingbirds and orioles than we've ever had. Until I see something not using conjecture and speculation to arrive at a conclusion, in other words sound, multiple-location data, the jelly feeding will continue at the ranch. 

[glenn57]

  atta boy Dotch.........you tell'em!!!!! same here!!!!!!!!

[tangle tooth]

Anyone else noticing fewer Baltimore Orioles at their feeders? I think I saw a Orchard Oriole only a few times.
Now that I think of it, I haven't seen many woodpeckers, either. I have heard them in my grove, though.

[glenn57]

i've still got orioles around.............they might be starting to nest  thats when they seem to disappear for me!!!!!!

[glenn57]

i know robins typically have 2 broods a year............sometimes anyway. do they use the same nest?????? i havent seen any activity in the one under my deck recently! thinking of taking it down!!

one of her youngins got sckmucked out on the street in front of the house the other day!!!!!!!1 bummer!!!!!

[Dotch]

Normally they don't reuse the nest altho we had one in the barn that did for a couple years. The nest got to look like a chimney about a foot tall. The 3rd year they didn't show up again. Only one I've ever seen do that.

[mike89]

had one that nested in the brush and used it 2 or 3 years,,   then nothing....  if it was the same bird anyway.. 

[Steve-o]

When the kids were young we built a platform unser the eves by the windows.  We did that after watching the robins try to build a nest on the angled downspout.

Sometimes, if i forgot to clean out the old nest, they'd build a new nest on top of the old.

We usually had two broods a year.

[Dotch]

One of glenn's buddies having a little lunch...



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[roony]

Nice peaceful birds. Love em.

[Steve-o]

Just saw a newly fledged robin in the back yard:  speckled (not red) breast and tiny tail feathers. 

[mike89]

just seen my 1st baby robin today too!!!!   

[Steve-o]

Yesterday I saw a female cardinal hopping around with a twig in its mouth.  I was hoping it would fly up into one of our trees and betray her nest location, but she flew out of the yard and out of sight.  She was back this morning - no stick this time - so her nest must not be too far away.   

[mike89]

oh happy day!!!   seen the pair of loons just a few minutes ago on the lake with a chick on their back!!!!!!  sure hope they don't lose it!!! 

[mike89]

I was wrong!!!   it's a pair of chicks!!!!   nice!!!!! 

[glenn57]

I was wrong!!!   it's a pair of chicks!!!!   nice!!!!!

put the beer away, it might really be only one!!