Mine knock at the patio door for raisins.
This actually is not a blurry picture, that’s smoke from the Western Canada fires. In southern Minnesota.
Good on you, they are not shy!
And, just for the heck of it, a bunch of Grosbeaks, 3 male and 1 female. Unfortunately, they are usually just passing thru.
I miss the goldfinches and grosbeaks that would feed at my old house.
@purplehorseshoe You can get a feeder for cheap and lure more goldfinches to your home. They sure are cheerful bits of sunshine, aren’t they?
My big news for today is that at least two of the peregrine falcon eggs hatched today. One in the wee hours of the morning, one later. Two were visible this afternoon. Parents were keeping them warm and under wraps for the rest of the day and the light is fading now, but just wonderful to see.
The rose breasted grosbeak’s return, usually paired with orioles, is always a cool sight for us.
I checked on the peregrines this morning. Still only two chicks. Two hangry chicks. Dad brought in a mouse, thank goodness.
I love them too, great colors all around. Something I don’t usually see here, but I had an Orchard Oriole here yesterday. I’ll post a pic when I get a chance.
We have had a bumper crop of bird babies here this spring. Multiple wren and finch nests, there’s at least one cardinal nest here somewhere, and a mockingbird nest in the loropetalum. The bluebird nesting box on our back fence currently has babies too - I hear them begging when mom or dad show up with food. I know songbird populations have been declining but the birds here are working hard to keep their species going.
A robin repeatedly tried to pull an earthworm out of the ground, but wasn’t able to get it all the way out. Finally the robin flew away.
Well, it looks like two baby peregrines are all we get. There’s a third egg that has not hatched and the fourth egg has disappeared, so I assume the parents knew it wasn’t viable. Those two voracious babies sure are keeping their parents busy.
My friend’s home now has a pair of mallards hanging out in the small back yard. The female apparently does not have a clutch.
Today I saw tomato plants and what I think is a squash vine growing in my back lawn. Husband was mowing and came in to ask me if I’d planted anything in the back corner - said he saw some ‘stalky things’ that didn’t look like weeds there. I went out to see the ‘stalky things’ and identified them. I’d filled several divots in the ground back there over the winter with compost after we’d had some cypresses taken down and the tree company’s equipment had torn up a few spots.
I guess the compost wasn’t quite composted enough.
I saw a groundhog run across a busy road without getting hit. I didn’t realize they could run that fast.
I saw a baby bun (who froze when s/he saw me), and a catbird at the mealworm feeder, which is something I hadn’t seen before. It would grab a few worms, toss them on the ground, and then go eat them.
Just back from a walk in the woods with our dogs. At one point they were sniffing deer poop. Up ahead I saw a turkey, the dogs missed seeing it.
When we reached the spot where I saw it, they were extremely excited, sniffing and looking around, wanting to follow the scent trail. I was the party pooper, taking the walk in a different direction.
Squeeeeee! What a beautiful baby!
The catbird is adorable.
Squirrels. Which I realize are not exotic animals. But during an eight block walk today, I think I must have seen close to twenty of them.
Nothing like spotting a sweet little baby bunny.
So the King Rail isn’t really a “rare” bird but more one that is tough to find because it is really good at hiding in marshes and tall grass. Official classification is Near Threatened so there are reasons for concern. It is the largest member of the Rail family and is about the size of a skinny chicken. I basically stumbled across this one purely by accident. It was near a dirt path and was going in and out of the tall grass. A very exciting moment and the only time I’ve ever see one.
I call them Fluff Buns!
Walking Simi just now I/we saw a killdeer. She tried to convince me her wing was broken, but I’m onto their ruse.
It must suck tho to be a killdeer with a broken wing for reals, and nobody believes you.
One term I’ve heard for a group of rabbits is a ‘fluffle.’