Getting ready to go South…a month to go:)
Last year the hummingbirds left on September 20th. We’ll see this year, as everything started so late. Maybe they will stick around longer…I hope;) Am I envious…oh yeah, ah Mexico;) The juveniles are all about battling with each other and the resident male and female. One cheeky little bugger got told off as I watched! Mama bird was taking NO flak at the feeder!
The two adults are molting so it’s easy to tell who’s who. It’s their fugly stage! The youngsters are exploring it all!
The Canna lilies and gladiolas are getting a workover!
It’s figuring out just HOW to get in there! Ha! He did some sitting and acrobatic moves to poke at it!
Often they just sit and guard, they make the best faces before chasing away any interlopers.
It’s nice to sit and watch. The bugs have been so bad on the road I haven’t been doing my daily walks…rain, rain go away! Or go to where you are needed!
I was happy to see a father Baltimore Oriole show up with a very beautiful juvenile! Such amazing colours! “Go on, try the jam kid, you’ll like it!” I often think they are not around much, but that jam is disappearing quickly, along with the orange halves and grapes I put out for them.
I saw a bird one morning as I was drinking my coffee and went, WTH, what the heck, OK, it was WTF! An Arizona Woodpecker?
Nope, I laughed; a juvenile Yellow-bellied Sapsucker was poking about in the trees:) I get caught up in bugs and mushrooms and flowers this time of year, but I haven’t forgotten my feathered friends!
Watching the juveniles learning the ropes is fun:) This Phoebe was trying to catch bugs!
The Red-bellied Woodpeckers arrive first thing in the morning when the suet block goes out! It’s quiet otherwise, but slowly the other woodpeckers are making an appearance; it’s molting time, so no one is looking their best!
The babies grow up so quickly!
The Krakens are gone, almost. An occasional adult shows up to squawk! Oops, I mean Grackles;) It has become so very, very quiet since the juveniles took off last week! The locals will soon have their feeders back:) The Goldfinches and Chickadees are starting to reappear, as well as the White-breasted Nuthatches! The Mourning Doves are cooing from the higher branches.
The juvenile Blue Jays, well, they still have a few feathers to grow in!
It’s time to go sit and watch who else is coming back from the forest! In the meantime, I need to keep an eye on Fitz Iron-beard and his buddy Bryn Stump-Toe, aka Oin and Gloin…they have a side business going on! Not only collecting and selling mushrooms but they were also trying to get the bluejays to buy their acorns and peanuts! Ha! Never a dull moment here! Mushroom and peanut dealers on premises;) Saludos amigos, I need to get a shot of a peanut transaction in progress now, Stay tuned;) Ha!
