I don't know much about bird eggs, but I googled and found this link Color of Robins' Eggs Determines Parental Care about male robins being better fathers if the eggs are a brighter blue.

Lots of feathers on the grass is always depressing, but sometimes they get reused. Today I saw a female House Sparrow with a feather in her bill. I have no idea what the feather is but maybe it will end up in a nest.

Claire

molie: I'd suspect a hawk got the mother, but Jane (and the birdtalk link) has good advice. Red-tails usually eat mammals but sometimes eat birds. Your Cooper's Hawk would be the more likely prospect.

Claire

Claire, the sparrow pictures are perfect. The article on Robin males and egg color, to me, has enormous implications previously unknown or even questioned about bird behavior. That insight, assuming it is correct, opens up a new avenue of thinking for me. Whoa...talk about a conversation needing margaritas. So glad you found that website. Enormous subject.
Jane

Jane, thanks for the tips but I'm not really up to the task of "hatching" and reading that link kind of proved it. I guess I'll go the route of letting nature take its course. Today when I checked the nest, it looked the same --- no movement of the eggs and no one around. But I'll keep watching.

Claire, I saw no feathers in the nest, just on branches and below along the ground and that's why I feel there might have been a battle.

Now, to add to the mystery I have going here --- does anyone recognize the bird, below? It's been at the feeders for a while now and, seeing the photos, I realized that some of the feather coloration on this bird matches the feathers I found under my holly. We tried looking in the bird book; my DH wondered if it was an oriole.

Thanks for any help,
Molie

Eastern Towhee, adult male. You lucky duck, Molie. I seldom see them here.

Thanks, Jane --- Spot on! (Now you know why we like sitting on our deck so much.)

Follow up: still no action in the nest of robin's eggs. I've not seen a bird there since I discovered the nest. I'm leaving them be. Maybe the eggs just were't fertilized and the mother bird took off? (I'd prefer to think that than think the mom was attacked and killed.) What will happen to the eggs and the nest if I just leave them be? Will a predator carry off the eggs or will another bird take over the nest?

Handsome towhee, molie. I have no idea what will happen to the robin's nest and eggs, you'll have to monitor it and let us know.

I just glanced out at the scene where a squirrel has been bopping around for a while and ...wait, that's not a squirrel this time! It's a woodchuck and it's coming towards the porch steps!

Changed its mind and turned to leave.

I do believe it's Guthrie again. Gotta check the fence in the Phlox Protection Zone.

Claire

This post was edited by claire on Thu, May 2, 13 at 11:25

Claire - Your tolerance for woodchucks exceeds mine by a huge margin!

Claire---yes, I'll keep an eye on the nest before I do anything about it. None of the eggs have been moved, even a smidgen, so I'm sure there's no one home. It's wonderful when Mother Nature's "guests" come into the yard. Regarding your guest >>>> Heeeee's back! Guthrie surely remembers your tolerance and kindness and is probably looking for a tasty treat. (It's been a long, hard winter.)

The other morning I took some photos of the birds we've seen in our yard. Here are two shots an egret --- love to watch them slowly walk along the river searching for breakfast. They're fascinating, patient creatures, but their calls, really squawks, do not match their beauty.

Here's the egret walking away in a mirrored image.

A finch (?) at the feeder

Molie

Terrific egret shots, molie! The reflections just accentuate the grace of the bird.

Looks like your goldfinch is still molting the feathers on his head, the final step in his transformation to the breeding plumage.

Now that Guthrie's back I feet guilty that I've been tossing the cantaloupe rinds in the compost bin. I'll save him some tomorrow (I'm a sucker for cute furry beasts - or cute feathery beasts).

Claire

The egret shots are lovely, Molie.

Thanks, Claire and nhbabs, for the egret comments. Now what I'd really like to photograph is the osprey pair. They've returned!

The utility company installed a huge telephone pole with a platform on top ---no wires attached-- very near to where the pair's nest was last year (some of you may remember that the nest was hit by lightning and the babies died).
This osprey platform is in a great spot that's tucked between two tall tress and thus kind of hidden as you drive along the road. It's more protected than the corner they built on last season. We've seen the pair trolling the river looking for food, but it's hard to predict when they'll stop off in the trees. 'Camera charged and ready' is my motto.

Molie

Claire, awfully nice to have a paw cleaning station. Your yard is Guthrie's yard. No woodchuck would be dumb enough to leave a bayside palace.

Molie, again you make me suffer severe water envy. The egret pictures are wonderful. I like the way the reeds frame the bird's stance. Great captures. In my next life I want a 1/2 acre pond!

Jane

We had a wood duck pair dabbling and preening in a shallow stretch of the stream this morning, but by the time I got back with a camera, they had moved on.

The bumblebees have been really enjoying the quince this spring. I don't usually notice them until the big old rhodie along the ell blooms since then the buzzing is quite loud as we come and go, but there were several yesterday visiting the quince and humming to themselves.

That's a beautiful early flower for a bumblebee, nhbabs. I think I saw a carpenter bee the other day (or a very big bumble) but I don't know what they're feeding on this early in my yard.

RE woodchucks: I don't grow vegetables so I can be reasonably tolerant except when my phlox get eaten.

I started to put out a cantaloupe rind for Guthrie but had second thoughts about encouraging him to stay around. So I struck a compromise - I threw the cantaloupe rind over the edge of the coastal bank, which is where woodchucks often hang out. I did that today too. I'd rather the woodchuck get the cantaloupe than the compost pile (which doesn't get hungry) and he can eat it there. There will be fewer photo ops but maybe less plant nibbling.

Claire

Brilliant, Claire. And this way Guthrie gets more exercise. Does he have to climb those 100 stairs back to his nest?

This year (so far) there are fewer House Sparrows here and thus far, they are well behaved. Not positive, but I think I detected a Northern Vermont accent from 2 of them.

Struggling with separating fibers in garden twine tied to the deck that holds back a buddleia, this BC Chickadee wrestled for several minutes gathering threads for her nest. I had to shoot through the kitchen window, so it's not that clear. But look at that foot go! She was determined and she left with a beak full of fibers.

Jane

Jane: I don't know where Guthrie is lodging nowadays - the old burrow that I filled in was never re-excavated and I don't think he's under the porch (although I can't be sure). Maybe the neighbor's dog is keeping him away. The dog would probably want to play with him but woodchucks are rightly skeptical of playful puppies.

That's a great shot of the chickadee in a decorating frenzy. Nice soft aged twine for the babies' crib.

Claire

The lawn dragon is finally out of hibernation and patrolling the birdbaths again. I think it must have molted over the winter because its skin is shinier than it was last fall.

Woe to the intruders!

Claire

For some reason the links to previous threads at the top don't work for me.

I tried to look up how your dragon (does he have a name?) looked last year. Was he greenish...verdigris perhaps? Whatever he was, his new look is a 180 degree improvement. You did an excellent job. He appears to have been (en)lightened and like he belongs to a proper dynasty! I don't see the "woe" warning. I see him caught in a perpetual laugh.
Jane

GW has been moving the 2012 threads to the Gallery as I requested, and they're over there now, but the links don't work. Not only the links to 2012 but the ones to 2013 which are still in Discussions are invalid.

I tried using the Edit Post feature to correct the links and it works in Preview, but as soon as I submit the edited post the links go bad again. I hope they're not finished with the project.

In any case, the threads are still around, you just can't use the internal links to find them.

RE dragon: It doesn't have a name, in fact I'm not sure if it's a male or female (dragons are hard to sex - you don't really want to turn them upside down to inspect their private parts).

The original dragon was charcoal gray with some light color showing around the scales. This pic is from May, 2012 and you can see the paint chipping off, probably due to multiple bird and squirrel activities.

Last December I decided to paint it lighter gray (granite) and it looked much better but a little blah.

This spring when it got warm enough to paint outside I embellished the beast as you see it.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I saw my first oriole on the hummingbird feeder on May 6 but couldn't get a clear picture. He ignored the oriole feeder I had up. I changed to the jelly/jam feeder type I used last year and he's back.

That's apricot preserves in the jar. I think I saw a catbird in the brush but I'm not positive.

Claire

Jane - I love the photo of the persistent chickadee, and I agree with you about Claire's dragon looking like a new creature with his spiffy paint job.

Claire - The oriole is lovely.

I have never seen an Oriole - very pretty bird.
Claire, how come the dragon hasn't been named? There are all sorts of dragon names from literature/movies--Harry Potter's Norbert being the newest, probably. But since your chap's shedding and your hand in his 'regrowth' of scales, I submit for your consideration, "Sparkles", the Bay Dragon. To me, he/she appears to be affable and again, either in constant laugh or yawn, but now he sort of sparkles. He looks much better now in contrast to his original scale covering, IMO.

This little Chickadee landed with a moment of theatrics and all I could think when she examined her foot was, "Rats: I broke a nail".
Jane

Oh, joy. It's Mr. Tunnels back again. Same guy, same tricks, 2013.

Jane

Jane: I'm not good at naming things, and I've just rejected about 937 names for the dragon. 'Sparkles' is too perky - this is a dragon with gravitas. I'm leaning towards 'Slither' but I'm nowhere near that yet.

I can actually see that chickadee with red toenail polish!

Great pic of Mr. Tunnels. Now that the weather's warmed up a bit I've been eating some meals out on the deck and a chipmunk immediately scampers over to my foot and gives me that "So where's the peanuts?" look. It doesn't just eat what it needs, it stuffs the pouch and runs off to store it and then comes back for more...and more... and more. I'm waiting for the chipmunk to climb up onto the peanut/nugget feeder., but why should it when it can just cajole me into feeding it on the deck.

Claire

starting to download 2 months worth of photos! I bought some special "grackle and squirrel deterring" bird seed. The problem is that it also deters most of the other birds! However Mr. House Finch has decided he likes the safflower and is a daily visitor to the feeder.

It took me a while to identify this guy, but I'm pretty sure this is a green heron.

Pixie, very nice green heron. Wonderful to watch their deliberate hunting. Hope your wrist is better.
Jane

pixie_lou: That finch looks delighted to have the whole pretty feeder all to himself. I've never tried safflower (I like grackles) but I've read that it just takes a little time for many birds to get to like it.

I've never seen a green heron - could it be hunting your snapping turtles (young ones, that is)?

Claire

Claire - I also like the grackles, but they empty the feeder in 3 days. I went thru a $10 bag of birdseed in a week. And that's from a squirrel free feeder. I just can't afford that for 1 feeder! So I tried the grackle deterring food.

I have a bunch of tiny little fish in the pond. Not sure what they are. But it was glinting silver in the sunshine in greenies mouth! At first I though greenie was a duck, but thru binoculars I noticed he wasn't a duck. As I continued to watch him, his mannerisms were that of a heron, so that's how I was able to make the ID.

I can sympathize with the grackle food intake, pixie_lou. I just tell myself that these are my flying organic pesticides and I hope that they eat winter moth caterpillars for dessert.

The grackles usually leave once the babies fledge and can fly strongly.

I have a catbird now and it likes the jam jar feeder. For some reason today the catbird decided to feed from the top rather than use the perch. The jar is full so I guess it can reach all right.

Claire

Who knew the cat birds liked jam.

Saw this cow bird in the yard a few weeks ago. At first I was thrilled - it was a new bird to me. Then I read how parasitic these birds are, so I'm no longer disappointed that he hasn't been back.

Claire, I used to not mind grackles at all until ---- yesterday morning! I saw one attack a small bird at the feeder, take him/her down to the ground, and peck itr to death. I could see the little bird writhing beneath the grackle --- then it stopped. All that was left were some feathers. (Could this have been the bird that got Momma Robin?) It was sad to see. I know, I know, this is Nature., and each species has its part to play.

I'm curious about your jam jar feeder and the birds that love it. Does it also attract bees?

Jane, Mr. Tunnels is quite handsome, in fact, even a bit rakish as he tackles the offerings in your yard. 'Hmmmm, yes, I've always like what they serve at this place. I give it Three Stars!'

Loved the Chickadee checking her nails --- my DH's favorite birds are the chickadees. I didn't tell him that the tiny bird Mr. Grackles caught was whitish black. :(

Pixie, don't be disappointed in the Cowbirds. Cuckoos are brood parasites too and people carve them into clocks for time immemorial (did I really just say that?).

Molie, learned something new today. I did not know that Grackles would kill other birds, but, according to biokids, Umich.edu, "Even though they are highly social, common grackles do sometimes attack other grackles and other species of birds. They attack others by biting, pecking, scratching, and flying toward them. Common Grackles eat other birds' eggs and nestlings, and sometimes kill and eat other adult birds. They commonly eat adult house sparrows. Common grackles defend a territory around their nest. The breeding pair defends the nest by mobbing, chasing or diving at predators, including humans."

So, now that we know that about Grackles, the Cowbirds don't look so bad.
Jane :)

Here is a link that might be useful: Grackles: UMich.edu

This post was edited by corunum on Wed, May 15, 13 at 14:36

On the lighter side, Mr. Catbird is still chasing the bride to be. This morning he watched her while his tail feathers got carried away until the time his 'fiancee' flew away with him after her ending yet another meeting of unrequited love. Watch his feathers.

She's coming

She's so lovely

She's leaving

Wait!

Jane

molie: It's always upsetting when a bird (or any animal) gets violently killed. This is breeding season and hormones are raging.

pixie_lou: Cowbird females are sneaky - they pal around with females of other species and then slip eggs into their nests. Sort of like putting the kid up for adoption before it's even hatched. The males sing a very pretty song.

I guess the bottom line is that birds don't live by the human standard of conduct. Come to think of it, not all humans do either ....

Very cute series of photos, Jane. I once saw a catbird try to catch a hummingbird, maybe thinking it was a big insect. The hummer got away.

molie: I've only seen orioles and catbirds at the jam jar feeder, although I think a raccoon destroyed my last one. Bees don't seem to be a big problem during the season but in the fall, when the birds have gone south, wasps and hornets get desperate for food and get stuck in the jam.

Claire

Catbirds and cowbirds? Never knew about those before and will have to do some research because I'm curious about the "cat-" and "cow-" prefixes.

molie: Catbirds make a mewing sound, hence the 'cat', and cowbirds evolved following herds of bison and eating the insects kicked up by the hooves. When they ran out of bison they hung around livestock.

It's hard to sit on a nest full of eggs when you have to follow a herd of buffalo.

Gray Catbird

Brown-headed Cowbird

Claire

This post was edited by claire on Thu, May 16, 13 at 9:58

Did not know that about the Cowbirds - great explanation, TY, Claire.

The Catbirds living here are now married and singing up a storm. I think this is the male resting on an arbor on the deck, and the notable black spot on top of his head looks like a beret, monk's beanie or a yarmulke from the back. Seems the only notable marking difference between the M/F is the size of this little hat.

This post was edited by corunum on Sat, May 18, 13 at 8:15

A female hummer is now at the feeder as of last night. Have learned that the white throat at this time of year denotes a female. Young males look quite similar to females until the ruby throat feathers develop sometime in August into September. Apparently, this far north we do not see immature males in the spring.

Jane

This post was edited by corunum on Sat, May 18, 13 at 9:54

That is a very unusual view of the back of the catbird on the arbor. It looks like the bird has a warm sweater on to watch the football game.

Very white throat on that female hummingbird. I just went into my hummingbird photos to try to find immature males. I did find two pictures, both in July 2011 of what is probably immature males and I think two different ones. The throat feathers are just beginning to darken up.

July 28, 2011

July 24, 2011

Claire

Thank you, Claire, for taking the time to search through your pictures. This is one of those questions that had I waited and thought it through..., but now I'm glad I did post it. Your pictures are clearer than mine of an immature male, but that red dot seems to hit right in the 'Adam's Apple' area at the beginning of their adult development; interesting. Not sure what made me question the timing of male hummers' development, but now I'll be on the lookout as summer passes into fall for immature males. This photo was taken on 7-28-2012 which is just a tad ahead of what hummingbird.net stated for males to start adult plumage. (and I'd better plant more cannas and zinnias on the deck) TY, Claire.

Mrs. Mallard laid eggs right behind my garden boxes out behind the pond. I discovered her, and the eggs, by accident. The eggs have hatched or were eaten. I see all the empty shells, but no babies swimming in my pond.

Pixie - Is Mrs. Mallard still there without ducklings or are they all absent?

The mortality rate for Mallards is high, but maybe the family has moved on. I choose to think they found a bigger pond.

Unfortunately, pixie_lou, it looks like your mallard babies have gone the way of the snapping turtle eggs last year... although it's always a nice thought that they've "found a bigger pond" as Jane suggests.

Claire

jane - i'm with you. believing they have moved to another pond. i've seen mr. mallard a few times, but haven't seen mrs. mallard.

i feel so bad that i "discovered" her. I had no idea she was behind the garden box. I know I scared Mrs. Mallard - she didn't fly away until I was literally 2' from her. I'm not sure if she abandoned the eggs after I found her - I didn't want to go check on her again.

There are 3 Cat Birds here daily (all day long) and it appears that two of them may have a nest in the old yew bush on the corner of the house - which is also where my office windows are. The vocalizations are a gift. I'm not hearing much of that cat-enticing mewing, but rather, very intricate songs that I'm guessing cover at least 2 1/2 octaves.

This morning within 19 seconds (the photo data says so) these two had an interesting, non-aggressive exchange. If anyone is interested in seeing the full exchange, I hope the link below works.

Jane

Here is a link that might be useful: Cat Birds - Flickr set

Maybe they were discussing the day's To Do list? Interesting interchange.

Claire

That's a beautiful series of photos of your catbirds, Jane. They look like a garden ornament perched atop the shepherd's hook. We have catbirds. Their catlike calls are one of the few birdsongs I recognize.

Mr Tunnels! Ha ha! Great name!

Claire, your dragon looks wonderful in his new tri-colored metallic coat of scales.

In addition to being the summer of the trees here, it also is shaping into another summer of the birds, even more so than last year. The house finches have babies in last year's swallow nest on the outside ledge under the porch roof. I think the female is building a second nest in the nestbox inside the porch while Dad cares for the first batch of babies. The barn swallows meantime are feeding little ones in the original ancestral swallow nest inside the porch. And, oblivious to the nesting birds, the hummingbirds are constant visitors to the nectar feeder hanging from the eaves. All these different birds, and others (goldfinches and occasional Baltimore orioles) perch on the branches of our crabapple tree in the front yard, and they look like brightly colored jewels amidst the pink blossoms. I really need to take some pictures with a better camera.

In the barn, a pair of tufted titmice have refurbished their nest from several years ago and are in some stage of rearing little titmice. They are supposed to be cavity dwellers, but I guess their nook up in the eaves is close enough. Their nests are such delicate affairs with moss siding, like filigree.

Perhaps the nicest surprise is that I have a pair of tree swallows nesting in my birdhouse, on the sawed-off utility pole out in my "orange garden." I had boarded up the entry hole to the house in frustration during my battle with the English sparrows. Since I hadn't seen an English sparrow in several years, I cautiously unblocked the door, hoping for bluebirds or tree swallows, and my wishes were rewarded.

With the birds in residence on the porch, I scheduled the house painting until August or September, explaining to the head painter that his guys could just take down the nests prior to painting because the birds would be gone then.

He asked "Do you want us to try to remove the nests so they can be put back up?"

I replied, "No... demolition!"

His somewhat relieved reply: "Ah demolition! That's a word I understand!"

LOL! It made me laugh! These birds are master carpenters. They will rebuild next year from scratch, I've no doubt.

spedigrees: So nice to read about your bird nesting saga again. I hope you'll post some pictures when the eggs have hatched.

Maybe your porch painting will inspire the birds to build fantastic new nests; although probably not painted to match your house.

Claire

This thread is getting long so I'll start 2013 #5 soon.

Claire