Birding.

[MikeandRong]

And here comes the storm. Got a little over 6" in 2 hours, were ok but looking at the news a lot of other places were not so lucky.

 

[MikeandRong]

The storm really beat up some of the babies. Here is a yearling Red-breasted Woodpecker. It flew and called just fine, but the right side of his head and eye looks like he took a good hit to the head.

 

[MikeandRong]

 

Young Female Robin warming up in the early morning sun hitting the spruce trees.

[MikeandRong]

 

Adult Grackle catching the morning sun while looking for spilled seeds.

[MikeandRong]

 

Baby Downy Woodpecker looking just fine. It's 2 brothers are nowhere to be seen though.

[MikeandRong]

 

Looks like some baby Red-winged Blackbirds got blown away from home and are grouped up with the local birds. This guys right side of the head looks beat up, but he eats and flies just fine.

[MikeandRong]

 

Gorgeous clear bright blue sky this morning. This young Blue Jay came right to me waiting for food to be put out. He looks in great shape too.

Edited July 15, 2017 by MikeandRong (see edit history)

[MikeandRong]

 

Another young Red-winged Blackbird is here today. They only nest over lakes, ponds, and creeks. This guy has to be at least 3-5 miles off his home turf due to the storm. He is timid but looks in good shape.

[MikeandRong]

 

Nice Female Cardinal trying to scare off the Sparrow already feeding.

[amberjack1234]

Great pictures. I love every one of them. I never knew where the Red wing Blackbirds nested. When I was a boy they were like the Robins in the fall of the year. They would be what looked like millions of them in one flock migrating and almost block out the sun.

 

Young folks today do not know how many of them we have lost over the years as they just don't them like that anymore. Just a flock or two now and them. I use the see flocks of Robins and Black Birds that must have been at least a mile long.

[MikeandRong]

I remember those flocks, easy a mile long. As a kid I would visit with my grandparents who lived off the river and swamp. The calls of thousands of Redwings and the Blue Jays all summer long is something I will never forget. I get a kick out of hearing just a few calls a day now and trying to describe to the kids what it used to be like.

 

I know we used to have huge flocks of Crows here too year around, and now I may only see one a couple of times a week. I know the West Niles misquote virus killed off quite a bit of the larger birds over these last years. The local government people still request we call in dead ones, epically if they are larger birds, and they come out and collect them for testing.

[MikeandRong]

 

And speak of the devil. This is the first Crow to actually fly over the house this summer. Cawing all the way, he sure is ragged looking.

[MikeandRong]

 

This Nuthatch landed right over my head and just perched on the sheds roof edge soaking up the early morning sun.

[MikeandRong]

 

Speaking of the Blackbird flocks, this family group stopped in to eat after their morning Cicada run. It's neat to see how they all cooperate when the Cicadas hatch. Just after sunrise and when it's still cool and damp with dew, all the different family groups start a specific call and they all group up flying in a giant circle. Then they start diving into specific trees all together, maybe 100-150 of them. All landing on different branches and walking up and down them making the Cicadas start to chirp. It's too cold and wet for them (the Cicadas) to fly away and the birds grab them all off the branches. They clean a tree off in about 2-3 minutes and then all fly off to the next nearby tree. It's amazing how they all work together and how efficient they pick all the Cicadas off. After 20-30 minutes they all break off to their family groups and go their separate ways. As long as the Cicadas are still hatching the Blackbirds will keep this act up the rest of the July.

[Allon]

That picture of the Downy Woodpecker is a real treasure. They are rare and highly protected. Good catch. Keep'em coming. Birds have always been great stress relievers for me. It all started when I fell into a fishing addiction. First, since I fished salt water, the many kinds of pelicans caught my eye. Then when I went home, I raised geese and the seed they spilled brought in a lot of different birds but mostly cardinals and blue jays. Owls did their job and got rid of some citrus rats that were nested in a little doorway arch I could not get to. What a sound they made almost all night, eating up those rats. I loved it. Lot of owls around that little farm and all kinds.