BirdBrains of Austin

Midnight Mockingbirds?

2009-05-07T00:27:00.002-05:00

Here it is 12:22 a.m. and there is a male mockingbird calling at the top of his voice. Very strange. Over the last week I've heard him calling for a mate any time from Midnight to 4 a.m. Never heard of this before. Talk about desperate. ;-)

Waxwings again tonight

2009-05-04T23:14:00.002-05:00

They are still in the yard. This evening in the neighbor's pecan tree and the other neighbor's Mulberry tree.

Retro: May 9 to May 15, 2008

2009-05-04T23:05:00.003-05:00

We had a dove's nest low (about 5 feet) in our Western Red Ceder last year.

This is the second brood on that same nest.

Here's the egg. May 9

Here's the mama WW dove, after having been hit by a hail stone.

Here's a CU

She's shealed up by May 15

A CU.

WaxWings again today

2009-04-28T22:43:00.002-05:00

Saw the Cedar WaxWings up in the backyard neighbors Pecan tree again. You hear them before you see them. They're almost always in flocks and they have a high, thin almost whispered call note. The flock sounds almost ghostly.

I didn't get any pix from today, but see my other post from today for pix from last year.

Retro: May 2 to May 8, 2008

2009-04-28T22:24:00.004-05:00

Just getting around to posting these shots from last year.

May 2

House finch preflight (at Barton Oaks Plaza)

house finch in flight (at BOP)

May 3

Monarch on Lantana at my house

May 4

Male Lesser Goldfinch at thistle feeder

Yellow Crowned Night Heron (48th and Harris)

Yellow Crowned Night Heron chick

Parent and chick

May 8

Cedar Waxwing duo

Cedar Waxwing trio

Cedar Waxwings

2009-04-23T14:41:00.002-05:00

Saw them for the first time this year in the backyard neighbors pecan tree.

Over the weekend, I saw a male American Goldfinch at the sock thistle feeder. First time I've ever seen the males in summer plummage in my yard. Haven't seen him since.

Saw the ruby-throated hummers in Early April for about a week, but not since.

The female red-wing blackbirds are back in force at the front yarder feeder this week and I've seen song sparrows feeding on the ground under the thistle feeder.

Lots of lesser goldfinches. Pretty sure I have at least two breeding pairs in the yard or nearby.

Have taken loads of pictures. Will try to get them up ASAP.

Great backyard bird count coming up Feb. 13-16!

2009-02-08T09:17:00.002-06:00

I know. Long time, no blog. Got caught up since taking a day job in April. Still, I've been checking out the birds.

The migration is starting. I've seen a ton of ruby-crown kinglets in the yard, and the elm's are budding so I've got my eye out for Cedar Waxwings. Just saw a red-winged black bird at the feeder today.

Next week is the GBBC. Really easy to do. Just stand in your yard for at least 15 minutes, note the birds you see, and then report them. Go here for more info and rules.

I will try to post bird pics that I took but didn't post here. Stay tuned.

Late March through Arpil roundup.

2008-07-13T15:01:00.013-05:00

Culled through my pictures to update the old bird blog.

Here's a sampler.

Here's a few cedar waxwings from a flock that kept coming back to my backyard pecan tree to feed on the tassles March 29 through March 31.

The next dates for pictures in April 4. Still gettting rain back then, this year often accompanied by Hail. Plus, I found a dove nesting above 5 feet off the ground in my juniper tree in the front yard.

Splurged on a new camera, a Nikon D60 10.1 Megapixel, and the dove on nest photos from 4-10 are among the first I took:

Django, my Chow-mix conered this Possum on 4-15. Took me a while to figure out how to use the new camera to ge this shot.

April 20th was a big day. Here are all the photos from 4-20. Two baby doves on the nest with pin feathers. Momma on the nest and a starling in flight.

The waxwings had plenty of food this spring so they stayed. Here's a pic from 4-25 in my backyard.

Now near the end of the month, here are the baby doves with feathers this time, 4-27.

My new workplace is right on the Barton creek greenbelt right next to Zilker park. Here are male and female house finches, male and female Cardinals, and what I believe to be a pine warbler, though I never got a clear shot as it hopped and moved so much. Pix from 4-28 to 4-30.

Not pictured here are the numerous house sparrows, great tailed grackles, white wing doves and starlings that visited the house in huge numbers. Also plentiful were cardinals, bluejays, Carolina wrens, Carolina chickadees and mocking birds.

Major Gap!

2008-05-28T11:34:00.002-05:00

Between work, a screenwriters group, a new play and volunteering at wildlife rescue, I've scarce time to update this blog. But I have taken some cool photos that I'll get up here as soon as I can. Noticed that the cedar waxwings have stayed through mid may eating mulberries and pecan blossoms even. Also have finally gotten lesser goldfinches to hit my feeders. Pictures with dates will follow, I swear.

Apr 3 at new work place

2008-04-03T23:05:00.007-05:00

Got a job down at the Barton Oaks towers near Zilker Park.

got these blurry shots of a ruby crowned kinglet.

Also this 'dillo right below the tree the kinglet was in.

March reacp post

2008-04-03T22:06:00.014-05:00

I went down to SA Feb. 29 on some bixness and my car broke down. While waiting for the repair shot, I chased this mocking bird all over the parking lot. This was the best shot I could get.

Here's a downy woodpecker I shot in my back yard March 2

Here's a carolina wren singing for his territory March 2

Here's a shot of a commom grackle (top), then a female redwinged blackbird clockwise from there, and finally a male redwing blackbird at the feeder March 12.

March 13 brought these colorful Northern Cardinals.

On the 25th, I saw my friend the mitred conure and his two monk parakeet friends.

March 28, Cedar Waxwings eating berries

Another Waxwing on the 31st.

Not pictured in March was a few more visits of the myrtle yellow-rumped warbler through about the end of the month eating peanut butter from my feeder, lots of house finch visits, more redwinged blackbirds and a few more visits from the orange crowned warbler.

Bad Orange-Crowned Warbler pix

2008-02-28T18:16:00.004-06:00

Pretty sure that was the bird at the feeder today, but this fuzzy blog was the best pic I could get. Didn't take another picture, but I saw the Myrtle yellow-rumped warbler female again at the peanut butter feeder.

Better American Goldfinch pix

2008-02-28T18:12:00.003-06:00

Here's some better pix of our little American Goldfinch friends. Took these today.

Coopers Hawk?

2008-02-27T18:52:00.002-06:00

Check this guy out. Is this a Coopers or a large Sharp Shinned? I think it's a Coopers.

Sat in the bare tree for about 30 minutes. Then it dove out of the tree and spread its wings when it was just 10 feet of the ground. Very pretty.

New Bird pix

2008-02-27T18:16:00.008-06:00

Some new guys at the feeder:

This is the winter plumage of the a female Myrtle Yellow-Rumped Warbler.

How about these winter plumed American Goldfinches

How about these Purple Finches:

And this guys not new, but this is the best photo I've even gotten of my Carolina Wren. Usually, these guys are after insects, but I spied them eating peanut butter too.

6th checklist

2008-02-18T15:22:00.002-06:00

Limited my observation to my front yard feeders. Two species I've never seen at my feeders before. (Female American Goldfinch and a pine siskin). Here's what I got:

Here is the information you gave for this observation.

Record ID: S3565164
Email: tomas13.geo@yahoo.com
Locality: 78751, Austin, Travis County, TX
Observation Date: FEB 18, 2008
Start Time: 2:15 PM
Total Birding Time: 30 minutes
Party Size: 1
Skill: good
Weather: excellent
Habitat(s):
urban
Number of Species: 9
All Reported: yes
Checklist:
White-winged Dove - 10
Carolina Wren - 2
Ruby-crowned Kinglet - 1
Northern Cardinal - 2
Great-tailed Grackle - 4
House Finch - 2
Pine Siskin - 1
American Goldfinch - 1
House Sparrow - 2

Information submitted through February 18, 2008 will be included in online reports within 60 minutes. Information submitted after February 18, 2008 will be included in online reports within 2 hours. To see how your results fit into the big picture, go to the Great Backyard Bird Count home page http://www.birdsource.org/gbbc/ and click on "Results." If your bird checklist included unusual species or high numbers of individuals, you may receive an email from a regional editor requesting more details.

5th Checklist

2008-02-18T15:19:00.001-06:00

Went to ponds at Central Market again today. Here's the list I uploaded:

Here is the information you gave for this observation.

Record ID: S3565055
Email: tomas13.geo@yahoo.com
Locality: 78756, Austin, Travis County, TX
Observation Date: FEB 18, 2008
Start Time: 9:15 AM
Total Birding Time: 45 minutes
Party Size: 1
Skill: good
Weather: excellent
Habitat(s):
deciduous woods
coniferous woods
urban
freshwater
Number of Species: 9
All Reported: yes
Checklist:
Mallard - 10
American Kestrel - 1
Rock Pigeon - 46
Ruby-crowned Kinglet - 2
Northern Mockingbird - 1
European Starling - 2
Red-winged Blackbird - 35
Great-tailed Grackle - 20
House Sparrow - 38

Information submitted through February 18, 2008 will be included in online reports within 60 minutes. Information submitted after February 18, 2008 will be included in online reports within 2 hours. To see how your results fit into the big picture, go to the Great Backyard Bird Count home page http://www.birdsource.org/gbbc/ and click on "Results." If your bird checklist included unusual species or high numbers of individuals, you may receive an email from a regional editor requesting more details.

4th checklist, but not from home

2008-02-17T22:46:00.003-06:00

I decided to check out the pond at Central Park, behind Central Market and was seriously surprised at the lack of bird activity.

Still I did see a flock of red-wing black birds there. Here's the complete list.

Here is the information you gave for this observation.

Record ID: S3543711
Email: tomas13.geo@yahoo.com
Locality: 78756, Austin, Travis County, TX
Observation Date: FEB 17, 2008
Start Time: 2:45 PM
Total Birding Time: 45 minutes
Party Size: 1
Skill: excellent
Weather: excellent
Habitat(s):
deciduous woods
coniferous woods
freshwater
Number of Species: 4
All Reported: yes
Checklist:
Wood Duck - 2
Mallard - 10
Rock Pigeon - 18
Red-winged Blackbird - 25

Information submitted through February 18, 2008 will be included in online reports within 60 minutes. Information submitted after February 18, 2008 will be included in online reports within 2 hours. To see how your results fit into the big picture, go to the Great Backyard Bird Count home page http://www.birdsource.org/gbbc/ and click on "Results." If your bird checklist included unusual species or high numbers of individuals, you may receive an email from a regional editor requesting more details.

3rd GBBC checklist submited

2008-02-17T11:16:00.002-06:00

Beautiful day today. Lots of sun and the birds were out and loving it. My early morning checklist follows. Since then, I've seen Carolina Chickadees and a Turkey Vulture.

Here is the information you gave for this observation.

Record ID: S3535713
Email: tomas13.geo@yahoo.com
Locality: 78751, Austin, Travis County, TX
Observation Date: FEB 17, 2008
Start Time: 8:45 AM
Total Birding Time: 30 minutes
Party Size: 1
Skill: excellent
Weather: excellent
Habitat(s):
deciduous woods
coniferous woods
Number of Species: 11
All Reported: yes
Checklist:
White-winged Dove - 8
Monk Parakeet - 2
Blue Jay - 4
Carolina Wren - 1
Ruby-crowned Kinglet - 1
Northern Mockingbird - 1
European Starling - 2
Northern Cardinal - 2
Great-tailed Grackle - 2
House Finch - 2
House Sparrow - 5

Information submitted through February 18, 2008 will be included in online reports within 60 minutes. Information submitted after February 18, 2008 will be included in online reports within 2 hours. To see how your results fit into the big picture, go to the Great Backyard Bird Count home page http://www.birdsource.org/gbbc/ and click on "Results." If your bird checklist included unusual species or high numbers of individuals, you may receive an email from a regional editor requesting more details.

Thanks for participating in the 2008 Great Backyard Bird Count. Please join us again for next year's count. Mark your calendars for February 13-16, 2009.

If you enjoyed the Great Backyard Bird Count, check out eBird at http://www.ebird.org, where you can report the birds you see every day of the year. eBird helps you keep track of your lists--and archives your sightings so they're accessible to everyone, including other bird watchers and scientists. It's easy and fun to use--and it's absolutely free!

The Great Backyard Bird Count and eBird are joint projects of the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and National Audubon Society. Please help support these and other efforts on behalf of birds by becoming a member. Visit http://www.birds.cornell.edu/Membership for membership in the Cornell Lab of Ornithology or http://www.audubon.org/gbbc/index.shtml for membership in the National Audubon Society. Thank you for your support!

2nd GBBC checklist

2008-02-16T14:00:00.000-06:00

I've submitted my 2nd check list.

Here is the information you gave for this observation.

Record ID: S
Email: tomas13.geo@yahoo.com
Locality: 78751, Austin, Travis County, TX
Observation Date: FEB 16, 2008
Start Time: 1:15 PM
Total Birding Time: 15 minutes
Party Size: 1
Skill: excellent
Weather: fair
Habitat(s):
deciduous woods
coniferous woods
urban
Number of Species: 10
All Reported: no
Checklist:
White-winged Dove - 1
Monk Parakeet - 3
Red-bellied Woodpecker - 1
Blue Jay - 2
Ruby-crowned Kinglet - 2
Northern Mockingbird - 2
European Starling - 3
Cedar Waxwing - 13
Northern Cardinal - 1
Great-tailed Grackle - 35
Comments ----------------------------------------
I saw a few flying flocks I couldn't indntify. About 15 to 20 birds. Might have been swallows, but not sure.
-------------------------------------------------

Information submitted through February 18, 2008 will be included in online reports within 60 minutes. Information submitted after February 18, 2008 will be included in online reports within 2 hours. To see how your results fit into the big picture, go to the Great Backyard Bird Count home page http://www.birdsource.org/gbbc/ and click on "Results." If your bird checklist included unusual species or high numbers of individuals, you may receive an email from a regional editor requesting more details.

Thanks for participating in the 2008 Great Backyard Bird Count. Please join us again for next year's count. Mark your calendars for February 13-16, 2009.

If you enjoyed the Great Backyard Bird Count, check out eBird at http://www.ebird.org, where you can report the birds you see every day of the year. eBird helps you keep track of your lists--and archives your sightings so they're accessible to everyone, including other bird watchers and scientists. It's easy and fun to use--and it's absolutely free!

The Great Backyard Bird Count and eBird are joint projects of the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and National Audubon Society. Please help support these and other efforts on behalf of birds by becoming a member. Visit http://www.birds.cornell.edu/Membership for membership in the Cornell Lab of Ornithology or http://www.audubon.org/gbbc/index.shtml for membership in the National Audubon Society. Thank you for your support!

First bird checklist in!

2008-02-15T11:40:00.002-06:00

I submited my first bird checklist in this years Great Backyard Bird count!

It runs today through Monday. And it's easy. You just go out side for at least 15 minutes, count birds and submit a checklist. See this site:

The following is from the email theysent me after submittal.

Thank you for entering your observation in this year's Great Backyard Bird Count. Below is a report summarizing the bird checklist you submitted.

Here is the information you gave for this observation.

Record ID: S3512088
Email: tomas13.geo@yahoo.com
Locality: 78751, Austin, Travis County, TX
Observation Date: FEB 15, 2008
Start Time: 10:30 AM
Total Birding Time: 30 minutes
Party Size: 1
Skill: excellent
Weather: good
Habitat(s):
deciduous woods
coniferous woods
grassland
urban
Number of Species: 8
All Reported: yes
Checklist:
White-winged Dove - 2
Monk Parakeet - 3
Red-bellied Woodpecker - 1
Carolina Wren - 1
Northern Mockingbird - 1
Northern Cardinal - 2
Great-tailed Grackle - 63
House Sparrow - 2
Comments ----------------------------------------
The grackles were flocking in the trees and very vocal.
-------------------------------------------------

Information submitted through February 19, 2007 will be included in online reports within 30 minutes. Information submitted after February 19, 2007 will be included in online reports within 2 hours. To see how your results fit into the big picture, go to the Great Backyard Bird Count home page http://www.birdsource.org/gbbc/ and click on "Results." If your bird checklist included unusual species or high numbers of individuals, you may receive an email from a regional editor requesting more details.

Thanks for participating in the 2007 Great Backyard Bird Count. Please join us again for next year's count. Mark your calendars for February 15-18, 2008.

If you enjoyed the Great Backyard Bird Count, check out eBird at http://www.ebird.org, where you can report the birds you see every day of the year. eBird helps you keep track of your lists--and archives your sightings so they're accessible to everyone, including other bird watchers and scientists. It's easy and fun to use--and it's absolutely free!

The Great Backyard Bird Count and eBird are joint projects of the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and National Audubon Society. Please help support these and other efforts on behalf of birds by becoming a member. Visit http://www.birds.cornell.edu/Membership for membership in the Cornell Lab of Ornithology or http://www.audubon.org/gbbc/index.shtml for membership in the National Audubon Society. Thank you for your support!

Grackles taking it on the chin!

2008-02-15T08:56:00.004-06:00

Normally, I'm not one to feel sorry for grackles, one of the most aggressive and plentiful flocking birds in our area. But yesterday, gust winds blew a large grackle chick out of the nest and into the jaws of my alert pup, Peaches. And today, I heard something crash against my home office window with a whimpery squeak. Birds don't crash against my windows, so I wnt out on the front porch and looked around the corner to see a red tailed hawk with a male grackle in it's talons taking off and heading around the corner behind the house.

Guess what? Not many birds in the yard now.

The only thing remaining of the grackle!

Where the birds crashed into the screen on my window!

Backyard Bird Count Starts Friday!

2008-02-14T22:21:00.004-06:00

Audubon along with the Cornell Ornithology Lab are running the 11th annual Great Backyard Bird count The 15th through the 18th, and you can help. All you gotta do is go out in the back yard for at least 15 minutes on any or all of those weekend days and note the birds you see. Then you report them online. See this site for details. I did it last year and had a blast. The site explains how to do it, even if you aren't super confident identifying birds.

Sharpshinned Hawk video

2008-02-11T18:55:00.000-06:00

Taken February 6 in my neighbors yard.

Lots of activity!

2008-02-11T18:22:00.000-06:00

Only a week away from the 2008 Great Backyard Bird Count, the ol's back yard is brimming with activity.

Lots of species are staking territory and calling for mates. Cardinals, Wrens, Chickadees, Blue Jays and Mocking Birds immediately come to mind. And the flocking bords are back in great numbers. Lot's of white-winged doves, grackles and starlings. A few house sparrows, but not in great numbers yet.

I finally got a shot and some video of the sharpshinned hawk that's been hanging around the yard snatching unsuspecting birds at my feeders and bird baths.

I'll post th videos when I get them cut down to manageable sizes. Was really bummed, cuz I thought I captured a downy woodpecker on a neighbors tree on video, only to find that the dang thing didn't record properly. First downy I had seen in a long tine.

Female Red Bellied WP

2008-01-19T12:59:00.000-06:00

Dipu took this shot of a female red-bellied woodpecker in his backyard just minutes ago.

Sharp shinned Hawk and Owl Pellet exploded!

2008-01-19T12:22:00.000-06:00

Was moving a water bucket along the side of the house when I heard a song bird in the Juniper. I looked up just in time to see an explosion of wings and noise to match as a hawk came out of the tree about 12 feet from me and flew under the branches and up to the peak of the neighbors roof. It sat there looking at me, so I could get a good look at it. It's wings were grey, belly was pale and it had a small head. And it was relatively small. It had been skulking about the feeder trying to take an unsuspecting songbird.

Was gone by the time i retrieved my camera, but judging by the descriptions, I think it was a Sharp-Shinned Hawk. Could have been a Coopers, but I think it was smaller. I've been seeing lots of Red-tail action in the'hood too, but they seem to prefer doves and Jays, while this hawk wasn't much bigger than Doves or jays.

Also pulled apart the owl pellet. Looks like he ate a dark grey bird. Found feathers and a whole foot along with hollow bones.

Pictures to come.

Great Horned Owl and More

2008-01-12T17:41:00.001-06:00

Just a few nights ago, I was awakened at about 4:15 a.m. by loud hooting in my backyard. @nd time in a week I'd heard an Great Horned Owl back there. Today, I was transplanting a few shrubs when I came across a 3.5 inch long owl pellet that I'm assuming came from a Great Horned Owl. See Pix below:

A pellet is what the Owl regurgitates after eating a meal whole. It contains the indigestibles-bones, featers and such. What's cool about them, is by picking them apart, you can discover what the meal was. I did that before on a smaller pellet and posted the result on this blog. Stay tuned, I'll pick this one apart as well and let you know what I got!

Oh and I saw another Ruby-Crowned Kinglet a couple of days ago in the back yard Pecan tree.

Back from too long a layoff....

2008-01-04T16:53:00.000-06:00

Wow. Didn't mean to away so long.

Got busy with a DVD project, Thanksgiving and then Xmas and my brother 50th brithday that was combined with New Year's celebration.

This is a bit of a down time in the backyard as mostly the year round birds dominate and aren't to interesting to blog about. Lots of flocks of grackles and starlings in their blander winter garb, and the occasional white wing dove and house sparrow.

I have had daily visits from Carolina wrens looking for insects on the front porch every morning. And I hear Carolina Chickadess in the juniper trees almost everyday.

And I've seen Redtail hawks more frequently including a close fly by a few days ago as we drove downtown.

As for visitors, the ruby-crowned Kinglet has been back since Dec. 3 (my first sighting anyway) checking the bark of Pecan trees for insects. And today, I heard a single note call I didn't recognize. It was high-pitched and sharp. After looking around for a while, I found it in the bare Pecan tree in my neighbors back yard.

He didn't look familiar either, so I grabbed my binocs and camera and sure enough, he was a new sighting!

A Northern Flicker, a fairly large bird in the woodpecker family.

Here's some snaps.

More on Insects and nectar eaters

2007-10-04T12:29:00.000-05:00

I mentioned the wetness being good for bugs. Well it's also been a boon to spiders. They are everywhere and so I took a photo of our most abundant, the spiny orbweaver,

This one is a boring white, but I've seen red, yellow and orange too. And they eat a ton of mosquitos, which are everywhere at dawn and dusk this year.

Not pictured are the toads that are also abundant this year.

And of course, it's been a good year for butterflies.

Here's a gallery of what I've seen.

Giant Swallowtail

Eastern Tiger Swallowtail

Monarch

Unclouded Sulfur

Wet Year means bonus for nectar and bug eaters

2007-10-04T12:01:00.000-05:00

After 9 months here, where we average 34 to 36 inches of rain for the year, I've recorded 57.3 inches.

The grasses never died back in the summer like they normally do in July and August. Plants that should be done flowering aren't. Nectar, bugs and the birds that eat them are having a really good year.

Lately, I've seen swarms of hummingbirds and Wrens so abundant that they are fighting, nastily over territory.

Here's an immature ruby-throated hummer I saw today at the Turks Cap.

And every day, I hear nasty fights between 2 to 3 to 5 Carolina Wrens over breeding territory.

Here's a blurry image I caught of one sounding off.

Also quite abundant, Blue Jays, Inca Doves (pictured below)

and at least one hawk that has the white winged doves very nervous. It was Dark headed and backed, white from the throat to the tail and reddish-brown in between. Swainson's Hawk? Don't know. I know I've seen red tails around, but this was not one. I only saw it in flight, but it might have been a falcon or kite due to more pointed wing tips than round. But I'm just not sure.

Hooter is back

2007-09-18T13:58:00.000-05:00

Heard the great horned owl in the back yard this last weekend. As usual, I couldn't get a shot of him in the dark, but I did get these shots of a GHO at the Aquarium in Vancouver. This was an injured captive female used for public outreach.

We were in Vancouver for our Honeymoon, Aug. 11-15. These we're taken on the 12th.

The next day we went on a whale watching boat ride down to Victoria. As we got close to Victoria, we wound through some of the coastal islands. That's where I got these shots of Bald Eagles.

Those were the most exotic. The most common were the Glaucous-Winged Gull and the American Crow. Pictured below.

Also saw a female mallard, a mute swan, canada geese, a black-capped chickadee and some common loons. All of which are pictured except the loons as they came out pretty fuzzy.

Best I could do

2007-09-11T10:15:00.000-05:00

For some reason, I've had hard times getting decent pix of the birds I'm seeing, especially house finches and Carolina Chickadees. Today for instance, a male house finch was feeding at the sunflower seed feeder and all I could get was a blur. However, I did get those nice ruby throated humming bird photos in that last post.

Here's a female house finch at the thistle feeder July 31.

Here's a chickadee I shot 8-23-07.

Here's some Inca Doves on the phone line about my back yard, shot 8-31-07.

Hummers

2007-09-11T10:07:00.000-05:00

Finally got some pictures of hummers in the yard. Been seeing them in numbers over the last month or so as the chicks have matured and are now busy finding stuff to eat. Last year they were at the feeders on the side of the house. Now they seem to like the oriole feeder on the front porch.

More Friend photos

2007-08-30T11:42:00.000-05:00

Since I showed off Stephanie's White Pelicans in Lake Winnebago, I thought I'd do the same for Dipu's pictures from his July trip to the Lake Tahoe area. These pictures are on his blog (look for Blogacharya in the links to the right), and you can find them there, but I thought I'd give you a direct link.

You'll see a lot of birds we don't have here: Northern Harrier, Stellar's Jay, White Crowned Sparrow, Audubon's Warbler and the Western Tanager.

Lots to share

2007-08-29T16:36:00.000-05:00

I got permission to show off those White Pelicans from Wisconsin Stephanie shot 7/28/07.

Here they blow:

For some reason, I didn't have much luck shooting the birds in Austin in August. Saw lots of house Finches, wrens, chicadees, and ruby throated hummingbirds, but the photos came out pretty poorly, so I won't post them.

However, I did get these shots:

Check out how pollen laden that bee is.

I can't identify the B-fly feasting on the fig with the eye spots. It looks like a Satyr or nymph, but it doesn't exactly match any in my field guide.

The orange b-fly is an eastern comma. Purty. By the way, wanna attract the B-flys? Lay out your apple cores, orange rinds and figs for that matter. They love rotting fruit.

Here's some more wildlife from the yard.

Okay, close up of the pollen laden bee.

Another shot of the comma.

A juvenile cardinal in my vegetable garden.

A male tropical checkered Skipper.

A dragonfly nymph? Not sure. Anyone know for sure?

Recently, I decided I needed Barn Owls in my yard. I have a bit of a rodent problem and one brood of these amazing owls can eat 2000 rodents a year. So I built and installed a barn owl box. Put it up Aug. 1. Will let you know when I get tenants.

Boston Mass birds

2007-07-28T22:31:00.000-05:00

As I mentioned in the previous post I had to go to Boston on Family business. While I saw a beautiful red-tailed hawk along one of the highways, I couldn't get a photo of it. Nor did I get a shot of the many gulls.

However, I did get a shot of some robins, who apparently summer up here.

I'm not posting the shoot of Starlings and house sparrows, since they are plentiful enough here right now. I didn't think I could say this, but they may have 10 times the starlings we have. I saw a flock of about 500 hundred at one time. Pretty amazing.

Chimney Swifts Revisited

2007-07-28T19:02:00.000-05:00

Man, I apologize for the long, long layoff. Got super busy with video editing and a trip to Boston, Ma. But better later than never. On July 20, my kitty, Tortuga was staring at my fireplace. Since I had heard lots of twittering from the chimney in the last week, that could mean only one thing. Chimney swifts in the fireplace again.

Unfortunately, a nest had come down with the newborns. See the pix.

I scooped them all up and placed them on the ledge above the fireplace in hopes the parents would attend to them. They have in the past, so I thought I'd try it again.

Sure enough, the parents did attend. However, they have this tendency to come below the ledge, and aren't smart enough to go back up. Then I have to let them out the front door. Check the parent I had to let out.

This happened are few more times over the last few days. Some of the little guys didn't make it, but I think at least 2 did. Nature is a cruel master/mistress depending on your point of view.

Lesser Goldfinch

2007-07-17T09:00:00.000-05:00

As reported earlier, my Sunflower fields have attracted 3 to 4 pairs of lesser goldfinch to the yard. Unfortunately, I haven't gotten great shots. Here's the least blurry.

Digest: Sunflowers to Orioles

2007-07-03T08:26:00.000-05:00

The sunflowers I've been encouraging in the backyard have paid off. Though I haven't yet gotten a picture of them, I saw a male and female lesser goldfinches picking through the flower heads for seeds. Will put a Thistle feeder back there to see if they'll feed on that too.

Here are photos of the 4.5 inch birds from the Cornell site:

Besides the goldfinches, house finches are visiting too, and the monk parakeets.

Friends who live a few blocks down had what they thought was a Robin nesting in a Mulberry tree in their backyard. So I went over to take a few pix. I mean these birds don't nest here. We usually only see them during the spring migration.

So I found the nest, where Amy told me it would be, and took a few snaps.

I heard the parents calling to the chicks, so I looked around for movement and finally saw a bird, dark on top and red on the belly calling and rotating in jerking movements on every call. I took a few snaps, but I couldn't get one when it went to the nest. It only stayed a second to deliver its worm and flying off. I can only attribute it's nervousness to our presence.

When I got home and looked at the pix, I only then realized it wasn't a Robin, but and Orchard Oriole. Check out the pix.

Here's what the female looks like, from the Cornell site.

Digest for June 11 to 17th

2007-06-17T15:26:00.001-05:00

Babies. Lots of babies.

This is the blue jay fledgling I found in my yard. It flew up to a tree when I approached.

The morning of the twelfth. I saw these Chimney Swift eggs in my fireplace.

Moments later I heard some flapping and the parent was in the firs place, held only by the firescreen.

I had to rush to work and returned that afternoon to find the swift didn't go back up the chimney, but instead found a gap in the screen and was now clinging to the window trim of my home office.

I had to open the door to the outside and then leave the room. It left within 20 minutes.

The on the 15th, the parents made a reappearance. Both of them. This was in the fireplace.

Again I opened the front door and leave the room. Then I saw they had left a baby on the fireplace floor.

I put him in a makeshift nest and put him back into the chimney on a ledge, hoping they would attend to him.

That same day, a very pretty male house finch came to my thistle feeder

On the 16th, got this sequence of a parent mocking bird feeding his fledge. These weren't the ones from the nest in my yard. I hear them every day, but I don't see them. Instead these guys were on east 49th street

That same day I was at the main post office off of 290 East and I witnessed a veritable nursery of mockingbirds and a Kingbird nest. No camera with me, so no pics, but it has lots of small oaks there and almost everyone has a mockingbird nest in it. Not kidding. By now, most are fledging. The kingbirds, likewise like immature trees and were in the top of a small oak, just like they were in the HEB parking lot.

Had a nasty storm overnight the 15th (knocked down a pecan limb in my yard) and dove babies paid the price. One was dead on the ground when I found it. The other was injured from the fall. I put it in a make shift nest and put it back in the tree from which it fell, nearby the original nest.

I know there are cardinals nesting too, but I've not found their nest. Soon, I'll see the fledges, I'm sure.

Empty Nest

2007-06-08T10:46:00.000-05:00

Went to see my three Mockingbird baby friends today and found the nest empty. They must have fledged. Didn't see them anywhere though.

Carolina chickadee was back at the Sunflower seed and thistle feeder.

Saw 2 chimney swifts flying over the yard. Wonder if they will try nesting in my chimney again.

Mitred Conure

2007-06-08T10:07:00.000-05:00

Also seen yesterday was my friend John, the Mitred Conure who lives with the Monk Parakeets at the IM fields. Here he is on the power line above my back yard with his friend the Monk with a Sunflower seed head.

Here's the Monk close up.

Here's some CUs of John.

More Kingbirds...

2007-06-08T09:55:00.000-05:00

I went Back to HEB Hancock yesterday, where a nice associate store director came out shook my hand and asked me why I was taking pictures. While I toyed with telling her I was casing the joint for a terrorist attack, I told her instead that I was trying to get decent shots of the Kingbirds nesting in their young oak tree. Lest you think I lie, see this photo.

See? The bird, the oak and the HEB all in one photo.

This is the best shot I was able to get of a parent and at least 3 chicks.

Those little orange blobs beneath the parent are baby mouths.

Now some shots of the parents, a couple in flight. Pretty birds, no? They catch their food right out of the air, hence their classification as flycatchers.

More Baby Photos

2007-06-06T20:19:00.000-05:00

I was at the Hancock HEB Monday (the 4th) morning when I noticed a pair of Flycatchers in a small juvenile oak near the entrance. They were Western Kingbirds and they were busy catching flying insects, unconcerned with the commotion around them.

I had no camera so I couldn't get any shots. But I went back today and not only got some shots (not very good, the light was way too harsh) but I found out why they were in the tree. They had built a nest there. And the little guys were visible from the ground. Just fuzzballs right now. Very young. Check out these pix.

Didn't get great shots of the parents. Here's a couple though.

I get harassed by the mockingbird in my yard now anytime I'm out there. Here's the latest squawk photo.

Here are the latest of the little guys. Look how much they've grown!

Butterflies April 29 to June 3

2007-06-03T17:37:00.000-05:00

As a result of letting my side yard "go native" with lots of wildflowers, I've seen a lot more butterflies and bees. Plus, the birds have a lot more to eat.

Here's a gallery of the Butterflies I've seen from April 29th to June 3.

April 29--Pipevine Swallowtail (female)

Red Admiral--Likes Apple!

Hackberry Emperor (Two Variants)

Common Buckeye

Injured Black Swallowtail Female

Texan Crescent

Gray Hairstreak

Little Yellow (female)

(male)

Pearl Crescent

Question Mark Folded

This butterfly is looks like a dull gray/brown leaf when folded. Is a bueatiful orange and black when open. Just hard to photograph that way.

Also so a lot of Giant Swallowtails, but haven't been able to get a snap yet.

Eyes Open and lots of swooping

2007-06-03T16:33:00.000-05:00

The defensive mockingbird parent knows where I live and is now keeping an eye on me. Here's the bird squawking at me as soon as I came out the front door.

I went over to the nest to get a shot of the babies. Their eyes opened June 1st and then know I'm not mama or daddy, so they hunker down now. Here's the best shot at a swoop I could get.

Here's the nest.

Here's one brave baby bird while the rest hunker down.

May 31st MBird baby and Parent Update

2007-06-03T15:59:00.000-05:00

Since that day, the parents have been less tolerant of me. One of them tracks me around the yard when he/she sees me. The other goes on feeding the babies as usual, but one keeps an eye on me and if I turn my back, dive bombs me. I haven't gotten a shot of it doing that. But here are some shots I took as it tracked me around the yard.

Same day, I heard beautiful singing in my front yard. Went out to see this gorgeous Robin in the pecan tree.

Here's a shot of the mockingbird babies on the 31st.

Owls babies, House sparrow babies and more babies

2007-05-30T13:20:00.000-05:00

Well, Owl Cam Fest 2007 is over as the Owlets have left the box and are learning to be adults. See the owlcam link to the right to check out pix of the owlets and the owl box.

My neighbors, Mike and Barbara have two House Sparrow nests, where else, but in there house. Well, the outside, near vents. Here are the photos.

Well the builders of nest one weren't so adept. At least two, and possibly three, of the tiny young 'uns fell out. One broke his leg and was sent to hospital where he got a toothpick splint and is expected to recover. The other got shoved back into the nest by me and Mike. Eventually, the stopped pouring out. Here's the non-broken leg fella.

That was the weekend of 19th. This last weekend, my neighbors to the south, Fernando and Nate had a little house sparrow on their front porch too. But this fellow was a fledgeling and was supposed to be out there. The parents were never more than about 20 feet away.

This weekend, I kept seeing this mockingbird on the fence between Fernando and Nate's house and mine. Being quite dull, it didn't occur to me that that meant there was a nest nearby. Duh. I took a picture of it though.

Today though, I saw her again with an insect in her mouth just sitting on that fence. I approached and she didn't move. I got really close to my Afghan Pine tree as I was maneuvering for a good shot and the bird got a little agitated. Only then did it occur to me that I was not only between her and her nest, I was probably right next to it.

Sho'nuff. For some reason they prefer smaller trees and nest from 5 to 8 feet off the ground in these smaller trees or bushes. I looked into the pine, saw a tangle of twigs, pulled back a branch and saw 3 little mouths stick straight up for food.

Eyes aren't even open.

Mom swooped at me a few times but not too close. Her she is eyeing me.

In 2 or three weeks, they'll fledge and look like this fellow I snapped at the main PO a few weekends ago. Not a great picture, but it gives you an idea.

Lastly, I went to pick up my brother at the airport on Memorial Day, and saw a scissortailed Flycatcher as I drove down to the pickup zone. I was just sitting by the curb. Didn't get a picture, but here's one I stole from the web.

Ton's of birds out there including cliff swallows and lots of field birds. Might have to head out there just for the birds sometime.

Chard 'n Eggs?

2007-05-12T08:43:00.000-05:00

My Friend Suzanne gardens, as I do, and this Tuesday, the 8th, she sent me this:

Did some bird get confused and think my chard was its nest? Just found this seemingly intact egg in my garden this afternoon. There really aren't trees nearby so I am not sure what's up. I guess I'll just have to keep watching.

Check out the pix:

I went over and checked it out. Sure enough, what looked like a white-winged dove egg was just sitting there. No birds around. Strange, no?

Hummers, Woodpeckers, Owls and Red Tailed Hawk

2007-05-11T14:06:00.000-05:00

Since the last blog, over 2 weeks ago, The hummers continue to come and feed, but I still haven' gotten a shot of them. Only see them in the morning and in the evening.

The Wrens have stopped their calling. Perhaps this mating season is over and done for the moment. The cardinals, however continue to call, mark territory and attract mates.

Now, the Mockingbirds are getting into the act. Took a shot or two of them, but they didn't come out well. Did get a shot of Grackle love though! Well, actually Gracklecourting. Thess pix show the male dancing in display to the female. These were taken last weekend.

Also, a red-bellied wood pecker is back to work on my front pecan tree. Also, the starlings that chased the woodpecker from their other hole are making frequent trips to the hole. I suspect they are rearing young in there.

The big excitement was Wednesday the 9th. I heard a dove screaming holy murder, turned to look in that direction and saw a red tailed hawk cruise right over my head, about 30 feet up. Beautiful bird, but no chance to get a shot as the cruise lasted less than 5 seconds and I didn't see him again.

About two weeks ago, about 5:40 a.m. I heard the great horned owl hooting outside my bedroom window. Never saw it. Just heard it. So they remain in the area.

Also the screech owlets are getting big. Click the first link in the Links List to the right of this blog. Very cool.

More news as I get it.

More Wren obsession

2007-04-28T12:13:00.000-05:00

The little guy was at it again so I took more shots of him singing on the wire. Pretty good detail in these.

Wren music

2007-04-26T22:31:00.000-05:00

Carolina Wren are little birds with hyperactive metabolisms and remarkably large voices. They are frequently much louder than birds twice their size. The little male pictured here was making such a racket marking territory and trying to attract a mate, that I had to go outside to look for him. Even with that moth in his moth, he was singing. One shot up on the power line actually catches him in mid song. Check it out.

Not so secret Squirrel

2007-04-26T13:54:00.000-05:00

When I turned around from shooting the wren, this guy was 10 feet away, sitting perfectly still. just barely caught my eye, he blends in so well.

Mocker Fledge and Baby Owls

2007-04-26T13:50:00.000-05:00

Here's a shot of a mocker fledge I took in the back yard this weekend.

Also, the owlets have hatched! Three out of four anyway. Check out Chris' owlcam.

Wrens are LOUD

2007-04-26T13:40:00.000-05:00

So loud that I heard them calling while I was typing the last blog entry. So I went out with my camera, stood patiently listening to the constant calling and got these shots.

Caterpillars are in good supply now. See the shot of the juicy green one in the sunflower leaf below. Got a lot of hungry mouths to feed.

Hummers back, Breeding season in high gear

2007-04-26T12:48:00.000-05:00

Sorry folks. No new bird pix for you. I tried to get a few shots of the cardinals as they were fighting over mates this last week, but the pix were low quality. The wrens are also very active right now, but won't stand still for a shot. Saw a Mississippi Kite over head but didn't have time for a shot. A breeding pair of hummers showed up at my feeder Wednesday, the 18th and have been by daily for meals. They fly off before I can get a shot.

Saw a tiny bird flitting about a tree and thought it too small to be a wren, but never got a clear enough look to find out. Moved about like a wren, so maybe that's what it was. I'll keep trying.

Owl box!

2007-04-11T00:26:00.000-05:00

No. Not mine. Not even in my neighborhood. But good friends of mine that live over in Allendale have a neighbor with a fancy nest box that has tiny monochrome cameras that work day and night. Eastern Screech owls are incubating 4 eggs in there. Not hatched yet, so check it out. Plus, Chris (the proprietor) has a link to nest box sites hosted by the Cornell Ornithology department, so you can check out many other kinds of nest boxes. Here's the link. Check it out.

Chippy O'Cardinal, Owl leavings and Parrakeets

2007-03-20T12:16:00.000-05:00

Didn't do much for St. Pat's day, but I did see this cardinal wearing the green.
Lot's of cardinal activity in my back yard. At least three males competing for females in the backyard.

Went by the UT intramural fields (Whitaker Fields) and was surprised to see almost every light pole with a deck on it had a parakeet condo on it. I'm not 100% sure, but I think this signifies expansion. I don't remember this many separate condos before. Oh and by the way, I saw the Mitred Conure that flocks with the monk parakeets again. First time I'd seen him in at least a year. I feared he was dead. Didn't get a new shot of him but here's an old one.

But I digress. At the base of tower 31 at the IM Fields was 4 or 5 bits of gray fluff. It took me a while, but I recognized it as an owl pellet. The Owl eats the prey whole, the prey gets digested and the pellet (hair, feathers, bones) is regurgitated. Here's a shot of the bits I found.

Here's the pellet separated.

Here's the beak and feathers that identify this meal as a bird.

Man the Whitewing Doves are out in numbers now. I hear then singing in the morning and I saw 100 of them easily on my walk with the dogs to the PO. Also saw about 5 incas, 1 bluejay, 3 cardinals and 5 carolina wrens. Starlings? You bet, about 20. 10 Great tailed grackles. 20-25 house sparrows. 100 monk parakeets. No Robins or Cedar Waxwings. I hear a blue outside and 2 whitewing doves as I type this.

Owls Waxwings and the old battle.

2007-03-13T14:36:00.000-05:00

I can't yet get a good picture of the great horned owl living in the hood. This ghostly image was the best I could do so far, taken March 7. But I hear him every night. Hoot hoota hoo. The across the street neighbors Mike and Barbara haven't seen their screech owls yet this spring. I hear them though. Last night I hear one north of my house, maybe two houses up. Don't know where they'll nest this year. The hollowed out branch in Mike and Barbara's yard has disintegrated, so last year's nesting hole is a know go. To see these owls check out my June 2006 posts.

The Waxwings were here in large numbers up to Monday. I got this new photo over the weekend. They've eaten all the berries in the tree they were pictured in a few posts ago. Bird book says they move on when the berries are gone. Raining heavily today so I haven't seen them.

The pair of Reb Bellied Woodpeckers that has been in my Pecan tree for 3 or 4 years now made a new hole and occupied it, but house sparrows, pictured here, and later and more ominously, Starlings have been vulturing the hole since last Friday. By Sunday, the starlings had turned the poor woodpeckers out of their own home. I actually saw a starling go in and start cleaning out the woodpecker nesting material. Brought over from Europe as a pretty cage bird in the 1890s, they have now spread to the whole of North America and evict popular native song birds, especially the eastern bluebird, and harrass Purple Martins. House Sparrows, also a introduced pest, do this too. It is legal to destroy these birds as invasive species, and they are among the most hated birds among birders.

Seen lots of Starlings, White Wing doves, House Sparrows, Great tailked grackles, and Inca doves in the last week. Saw two Carolina Wren this morning and hear them marking territory every day. Saw three Cardinal pair yesterday. Saw a Turkey vulture in flight over the weekend. Lots of Monk Parakeets. And about 5 female redwinged blackbirds. haven't seen the males yet. haven't seen a tufted titmouse or Carolina Chickadee in a while. Hear them though. No hummers yet.

Owls by night Cedar Waxwings by Day

2007-03-04T12:03:00.001-06:00

I have not been able to get a picture of the great horned owls that are living in the neighbor but I'm hearing them every day now, usually at dusk (6:30 to 8:30) and just before dawn (this morning I heard him in my back yard at about 6 am). The great horned has the "hoo hoo" call that we teach children is the sound owls make. Actually they are the only owl that makes that distinctive sound. The other common owl in the area and which was featured prominently in this blog last year is the Eastern Screech Owl. It makes a very different sound. Go here to play it. You will actually here two distinct parts: A descending, whiny hoot, (beginning) and a lower repetitive monotone (near the end). The birds in our area make the second sound 90 percent of the time.

Was pleased to see the Cedar Waxwings are sill munching on the Elm buds in my area. If you have an elm in your 'hood check for this pretty bird (crested, small than a cardinal and usually in flocks). Here's a pic:

Note the black mask, greenish yellow belly and bright yellow tail tip. Yes they like berries too.

I put out a mix bird seed and all the pig birds came: 20 to 30 house sparrows, 15 white wing doves, 10 grackles, 10 Starlings. and 5 Monk parakeets. I haven't seen the mitred conure that lives with the monks at the nearby UT Whitaker Fields in about a year. I've put out a finch feeder but have only seen one dead house finch. The oriole feeder has attracted no one. The hummer bird feeders are feeding no one yet that I've seen.

A red bellied wood pecker family lives nearby and is frequently tapping on my Pecan tree with the dead top branch. I've also heard what sounds like a yellow bellied sapsucker but I haven't seen it. Still looking. The Jays are out in force now as are the cardinals, Carolina wrens and chickadees. Haven't seen the tufted titmice yet. The ruby crowned kinglet has apparently moved on. Haven't seen one in 2 weeks. After seeing Robins for the last 3 weeks, haven't seen any this week. Nesting is going on in earnest, though. More as it happens.

Cedar Waxwings!

2007-03-01T17:04:00.000-06:00

Cedar waxwings were still here as of yesterday. Here's some pix that show their beauty. They have been here about 2 weeks at least and always hang around in flocks of 20 to 50 or so. Here they are feasting on berries on an ornamental in my yard but more often they've been feasting on the buds of Elm trees. Bird book says they'll leave when the food source dwindles. Check 'em out!

Dead house Finch

2007-02-26T11:58:00.000-06:00

Found a dead house finch under my feeder today. Looks like it had a head wound.

Here are the pics

Great Backyard Birdcount 2-18-07

2007-02-26T11:43:00.000-06:00

First time I participated in this thing but I'm glad I did. This is migration time around here, the end of winter. I went out for an hour and saw:

1 white winged dove
6 inca doves
2 carolina chickadees
2 carolina wrens
1 eastern bluebird
3 Amercian robins
120 Cedar Waxwings
1 northern cardinal
10 Geat tailed Grackle
3 monk parakeets
10 house sparrows.
10 European starlings
1 ruby crowned kinglet

Was most excited to see the waxwings as we only see then during spring and fall migration.

Here's 2 bad pictures of them. (My digital camera loses all kinds of clarity when I go with a high ISO number). Just figured that out.

Since then I've seen Red bellied woodpeckers, more cardinals and I've heard the Blue Jays and Mourning doves.

Way too long since my last post

2007-01-22T10:54:00.000-06:00

The great horned owls are back. Can't get a picture of them as I never see them until it's too dang dark to photograph them. The screechers are back too. I've heard them the last week or so in the back yard. They must be nesting nearby. Most of the other birds I've seen lately are the year-rounders: Chickadees, titmice, cardinals, Blue Jays, Wrens. Of course the house sparrows and starlings are ever present and on nice days, the grackles and white-wing doves show up. I'll stick some p[ix up soon.

Possum Sept 20

2006-12-06T23:12:00.000-06:00

Django wouldn't come in one night. This is why. Check out the teeth on this guy!

Splotchy and Bondie!

2006-12-06T23:01:00.000-06:00

These were taken Sept. 3 and 4.

Juvenile male Cardinal. Blonde Scquirrel.

Last hummer photos this year

2006-12-06T22:53:00.000-06:00

Here's a nice series of shots I got of the Ruby Throats September 3 and 4,

Check it out.

Anhinga!

2006-11-22T12:36:00.000-06:00

Yesterday (11-21-06)Virginia and I were picnicking on Roast Beef sammichs from the Kitchen Door (very excellent by the way) at Red Bud Isle just below the Tom Miller dam. We heard so chipping sparrows in the trees, but I didn't get a good enough look to confirm. What we did see though was the South American Anhinga, a cormorant-like bird that gets up here along the coast and on large water ways during the summer. I thought it odd he would be up here this late, but his fan tail, long slender neck and dart like head and beak was pretty unmistakable. (I only saw him flying, low over the water, and originally thought he might be a cormorant, but the book confirmed he was an Anhinga. Pretty cool.

Beautiful day, but those were the only birds we saw.

Wren Family Moves in!

2006-11-22T11:57:00.000-06:00

You may wonder at the exclamation point in the heading. Why all the fuss over a nesting pair of Carolina Wrens on my porch?

Well, it's because it was these energetic little birds that got me interested in learning about avians in the first place. While laid off in January of 2002, I noticed a nest in the shelving of my back porch built in a space between two power tools. Then I noticed the parents, little brown-red birds flitting in and out with nest material and later insects in their bills. I later found one dead in my house, no doubt the work of my wily kitty. While I regretted the loss of one of the parent birds, the silver lining was I got to closely examine it and was armed with excellent info when trying to identify it.

I went to the Bookstop and leafed through bird books, trying to find the little bird. Most of the books were bewildering. I had no idea how to classify the bird and thus refine my search to the proper part of the book. (Luckily it wasn't a sea bird, so that eliminated about half the birds in the book.) I knew it was only 4 inches long or so, so that eliminated larger birds, but still, all the sparrows and warblers and other small songbirds were still in play. And most books used drawings, and not pictures, and were of no help to me at all. To my brain, the drawings were totally misleading.

Finally, I found Kenn Kaufman's Field Focus guide and there it was! Under Wrens. In a minute or two, I narrowed it down to the Carolina and Bewick (pronounced Buick)wren and then decided it must be the Carolina.

Well, inordinately excited by this I went home and monitored the nest very closely. Soon I heard cheaping in there and noticed that there were 5 little chicks. Soon, they were fledging, leaving the nest. Three were strong enough to follow dad around and learn to feed. Two weren't so strong but were forced from the nest nonetheless. Kitty was really interested in them. I rescued them and put them up in a tree away from the cat, but am pretty sure they became food for some animal.

Last winter, a wren again built a nest in my back porch, but for some reason he abandoned it. Either he couldn't attract a mate or he felt it unsafe, I don't know. I was disappointed, but I never disturbed the nest.

I got to meet Kenn Kaufman at the Wildflower Center this spring and while in line to get him to sign my book, someone mentioned they couldn't keep wrens out of their hanging basket planters. That stuck in my brain and while at Home Depot for another item saw one on sale in the garden center, so I grabbed one, hung it on the front porch, and then carefully removed the old nest from the back porch and placed it in the planter.

I had no idea if a wren would come and use it, but about 2 weekends ago, I saw a wren on the front porch, early morning, flitting about, eating insects and flying up to the hanging basket. I saw him again this weekend but I didn't think he had occupied the nest until Monday, when I showed Virginia the nest. She asked me if it was occupied, and right as I said no, a wren popped out of the nest entrance and flew away!

Then I took a close look at the nest and it was obviously modified and renovated. The entrance hole was even moved and rebuilt. I'll try to get a picture soon.

Hopefully, this means chicks are coming. I'll try to provide pix as it happens. More as it happens.

Hawk!

2006-11-15T23:22:00.000-06:00

Okay, this wasn't taken in my back yard but it was taken nearby in a residential area of central Austin. (Arroyo Seco and Justin Lane) Looks a lot like the guy in my back yard.

Wow, long time no blog. Hummers Gone, Hooters here

2006-11-15T16:38:00.000-06:00

Well, the hummingbirds have been gone for about a month and a half now. Just yesterday evening about 6:30, my neighbors Mike and Barbara called me over to their house. They had the Eastern Screech owls living and breathing in their yard this spring. This time, they heard hooting. That's an owl, but no little screech owl. It was a pair of Great Horned owls two house up in an Elm tree. I tried to get a shot but no luck.

These are magnificent looking, impressive birds. We all involuntarily gasped when they took off and fly away, their wingspan is so impressive. That reminded me that I saw a hawk in my yard a few weekends back, attacking a sparrow nest in a bush in my side yard. Didn't get a shot of that either, darn it.

That same weekend, I saw a Carolina wren on my front porch, eating insects and checking out the nest I put up there in a hanging basket. I was hope he'd claim it as his own for breeding. But I haven't seen him since.

I put up two new thistle feeders in the attempt to attract finches. No luck yet.

My Oriole Feeder never attracted Orioles, just hummers. I'll try again in the spring.

And I'll try to stay up to date here from now on. Really. ;-)

Bonus bird pix!

2006-08-26T00:49:00.000-05:00

Check out these nice photos.
Ruby throated Hummer Male--Lynchburg, Va.

Ruby throated Hummer Male--Lynchburg, Va.

Ruby throated Hummer Male--Lynchburg, Va.

Ruby throated Hummer Male--Lynchburg, Va.

Ruby throated Hummer female, tail feathers--Lynchburg, Va.

House Finch Male--Lynchburg, Va.

GoldFinch Female--Lynchburg, Va.

Pair of goldfinches in crepe-myrtle-Lynchburg, Va.

Goldfinch Male--Lynchburg, Va.

Carolina Chickadee--Lynchburg, Va.

Turkey Vulture

2006-08-25T21:32:00.000-05:00

Speaking of dead squirrels, one in the road in front of my house drew a Turkey Vulture, who has an amazing sense of smell. They sniff out their prey. that's why they can show up outta nowhere. This shot shows it on a nearby house where it took the squirrel after being spooked by a car. I made it nervous after this shot and off it went with the prey in tow.

7-29-06 Django the hunter, ex squirrels and possum

2006-08-25T21:27:00.000-05:00

Back at home, the hummers were visiting in ever larger numbers, and my boy Django the great hunter preyed on young mammals. I saw this poor little squirrel in his jaws and asked him to drop it. He did. I buried the critter out back.

Later in the evening, he had something cornered in the back yard. Turned out it was this baby possum. I put the pup inside and the marsupioid-eventually-moved on.

July 24-Last Day and the Yard Fatty!

2006-08-25T21:23:00.000-05:00

Last Day in Lynchburg. Got some cool shots of Julie's and David's groundhogs, or woodchucks. Julie and David call them Yard Fatties. I can see why.

July 23 Peaks of Otter, and birds

2006-08-25T21:11:00.000-05:00

Today it was up to the Blueridge Parkway and a collection of mountains called the Peaks of Otter. On the grounds, I took this shot of a Raven.

Up on Sharp Top, once thought to be the highest peak in Virginia and the source for a piece of the Washington Monument, I took this shot of a dark-eyed Junco.

Back at the July and David and Julie ranch, I got these shots of Carolina Chickadees and Tufted Titmice and a Eastern Bluebird parent at the nest box.

July 22-Monticello and birds

2006-08-25T21:02:00.000-05:00

Went to Monticello today and had to bear a old white man guide who spent as much time trying to preserve the conservative view of TJ as he did telling us about the home and history. I'll discuss this on my SomeModestProposals blog instead, but he tired to apologize for Jefferson's liaison with Sally Hemmings, his proclivity to spend too much, and his deism. Anyway, the house is amazing. Check it out.

Also, took these shots of male and female house finches and a female cardinal back in Lynchburg.

July 21-Don't mention the War!

2006-08-25T20:49:00.000-05:00

We went to Appomatox Courthouse (the name of the town) to check out the last battle the Army of Northern Va. fought before surrendering to Grant. Lee's Army hadn't eaten in weeks and was heading here to hook up with trains full of food. Problem was the trains had been captured by Union Cavalry. They tried to bust through the Union lines once, but were repelled and then, surrendered.

But the populace seems not to have gotten the memo. On the way, we stopped at this place, a former motor hotel, now museum and gift shop. Check out these examples of southern resistance.

July 20-Virginia trip-birdwatcher heaven!

2006-08-25T20:06:00.000-05:00

Virginia and I visited her sister Julie and her hubby David Schwartz, who's a prof of Philosophy at Randolph-Macon in Lynchburg (Lunchbag) Va. Bee-utiful place full of decaying mountains, rivers and very large trees and forests too. They got a beautiful house and they have an excellent array of bird feeders that brings the cool flying fauna to their big, plate-glass windows. And of course, I couldn't resist, especially with birds we don't get to see in Austin.

Check it out.

All this sites showed up on our first day there.

House Finches. Now, we get these in our neck of the woods but not around my house so much, so I went nuts with the camera. At home I saw them at the Niger thistle feeder, but here they were at the standard feeder. Indulge me.

Now these American Goldfinches are extremely cool. We don't get to see them in our hood. We get the lesser goldfinches, which are cool, don't get me wrong. But check out the striking colors on these birds. Even the drabber female is dang pretty.

And check out the Ruby-throats! I was so jealous there were so many. Probably ten to twenty times what I get at my house. And, lots of males here where most visitors at my house had been females. (When I got back, I suddenly saw lots of males at home too. Go figure.)

And check out Dolly, their crazy 13 month-old chocolate lab. Pretty no?

Also check out this beautiful flowering vine. Don't know what it is exactly, but I was compelled to see shoot it.

Plus, they had a bluebird nest box and it had 4 little one in it too! Of course, the parent Eastern Bluebirds had to be nearby, Here's one bringing worms. Really, worms, like in the picture books.

7-13 to 7-18, More nest disasters and casualties

2006-08-23T17:06:00.000-05:00

Once again, I found a downed chimney swift nest and several smashed eggs. I have no idea what is ding this to the poor swift nests? Mice perhaps?

What's worse, I found a dead chimney swift in the front yard. I was excited to have the swifts in my chimney, so it was a bummer to see this dead bird.

July-9 Woodpeckers, Wrens and Chickadees

2006-08-23T17:00:00.000-05:00

The red bellied woodpeckers came back and to the pecan tree.

I've been hearing the Carolina wrens all around the yard for weeks. I went out with a camera and caught some blurry versions of a noisy male.

The chickadees in the hood have come back to my black oil seed feeders. I can't wait to get the chickadee houses up.

And, while I've been harvesting lots of figs from my two fig trees, they are also favorites of cardinals and starlings. Don't mind sharing at all.

July 8 - Screaming Blue jaws

2006-08-23T16:51:00.000-05:00

This day, I heard such incredible bird screaming from Blue Jays that I had to go out and try to figure out what was going on. Turns out they were juveniles (two to three) but I never saw what they were screaming at. One was on the telephone line in my yard and one was in my neighbor's yard (the one the owls were nesting in). I looked for the owls but found none. I still see the Blue Jays at my feeder and in my bird bath occasionally.

Later that evening, as the sun was setting, Virginia and I, looked up to see hundreds of cliff or barn swallows (I think cliff) were overheads swallowing up tons of insects. This lasted a few weeks at least.

Possums-7-14-06

2006-08-22T15:48:00.000-05:00

Lots of babies were born recently. Here's one who I found because my chow-shepherd mix mutt, Django, had him pinned next to a neighbor's out building. Cute no?

Lots of Male Hummers Now!

2006-08-20T23:37:00.000-05:00

Changed the nectar in the feeders today. Made a huge difference in visitation. Saw a large number of male ruby-throated hummers at the feeders this evening. I put a Oriole feeder on the front porch and while I was hanging around a male ruby throat came up on me and stopped. He heading for the feeder, but saw me and stopped dead, He hovered for a while, twisted his body just enough for me to see his apparently black throat go red, and then black again. This is the main problem telling a male ruby throat from a male black chin. At certain angles their throats can look darn similar. Throw in that they're the same size, have the same call, and don't behave all that differently and you have the makings of hard to distinguish birds. Just pleased that they are coming around in numbers now.

When I got back from Virginia, I changed the nectar in the feeders and accidentally made it a little sweeter. (I filled the water to the wrong mark.) Lo and behold, the hummers liked it so much, they came back often. Soon I saw more individuals, and all of a sudden I saw lots of males where I had seen only females before. I make the nectar like that from now on--a half cup of water per 2 tablespoons of sugar. (The recipe said to use 5/8ths of a cup). I used the same measure for the oriole feeder. We'll see what happens.

Crippled by dependency

2006-08-20T13:48:00.000-05:00

I haven't been posting because I can't get my iPhoto to work and I have it stuck in my head that I can't post without pix.

Well, of course I can. I just haven't. Silly me.

News? Well, the ruby-throated and black-chinned hummingbirds continue to frequent my dual feeders. Yesterday I put up an oriole feeder, which looks a lot like a hummer feeder except it's orange and has larger feeding openings that are covered by spring loaded bee guards. (This is where I'd add the photo if I could! Dang it!)

Will the orioles come? I don't know, but the Orchard Oriole and Bullock's Oriole range through here during summer and the Hooded Oriole comes close. The Baltimore Oriole migrates through here. We shall see what we see. They like the edge of woods. Perhaps they won't come to the city. Anyway, I have a feeder for them now.

Got a mockingbird in the yard! I hope she nests. They are very cool birds, but I haven't seen them around the house much. They nest like crazy in small trees and shrubs up north where I work (Duval and Mopac). I have more small trees and shrubs now in the yard. Perhaps they will nest here too? Lord knows I got plenty of insects for them to eat.

Not much else to report. The intense heat and humidity keeps the birds from much activity during the day.

More later.

Lots coming

2006-08-09T12:25:00.000-05:00

The hummers are at the feeders hot and heavy right now. Don't know what changed, but they are. Plus, I got some great pix from a visit to the future in-laws in Viginny. Stay tuned. As soon as I get my crashed hard drive situation at home fixed, up here they will go. American Goldfinches, Ruby throated Hummers, Eastern Blue birds, House Finches and Dark-Eyed Juncos all on camera. Plus, ground hogs/wood chucks, baby possum and squirrels, all coming...

Carolina Chickadees

2006-07-04T18:16:00.000-05:00

I haven't seen these little birds for a long time, but my new feeder strategy seems to be paying off. A pair were at the black oil sunflower seed feeder and even visited the thistle feeder but didn't stay there too long. I tried to get a shot but it came out very blurry. Oh well. Now for a tufted titmouse.

Female black chinned Hummingbird

2006-07-03T11:43:00.000-05:00

Was at my feeders Saturday morning July 1 about 9 a.m. Stayed for a bit and then buzzed off. They're out there. Now to get them to come regularly.

The cardinals are prominent right now. See them everyday in the yard. One male seems to particularly like figs. The Starlings like these too, but the cardinal is a gentler and more welcome visitor.

This may acutally be female Ruby throat.

Hummer sighted and teenagers galore

2006-06-27T10:22:00.000-05:00

I've been very disappointed at the lack of hummingbird sightings this year. I've got two feeders out and the Turks Cap and honey suckle are in bloom so I expect to see a lot of the little birds. Yesterday was the first sighting since my last post about them way way back saying they were back from Mexico. And the bird wasn't feeding, it was buzzing around my juniper tree in the front yard. I've never found a nest, but I suspect the little birds nest in that tree. I'll keep my eyes peeled, and this blog updated.

Lots of teenagers out though. I got a nice picture of male and female cardinals last Saturday while it was raining. I've noticed Wrens and Blue Jays out in numbers too, not to mention the ubiquitous house sparrows, starlings and grackles. The house sparrows and starlings are ballooning in numbers this year and harassing native birds. I've seen some sights on starling control and I'll look at ways to reduce their impact on the native species.

Mockingbird central

2006-06-19T13:06:00.000-05:00

The area around my work is a veritable nursery for Mockingbirds.
There are lots of small trees (new landscaping) and bushes in this area and that seems to be the mockers' favorite place to nest. An amazing number of nests are at eye level.
I've learned to home in on the baby birds high pitched whistle call and find them. See my pictures. I managed to get a parent, a nest and a fledgling on camera. The parents didn't attack for some reason.

Starling babies vs. Sparrow babies

2006-06-11T16:19:00.000-05:00

Talked to Mike and Barbara today. Barbara gave up on the "starling" baby after 3 days of exhausting work. She turned it in to the wildlife refuge who said it was a house sparrow. They do have 2 nesting sites on their property. We were all surprised though to hear that because the baby's gape was so yellow. What we got wrong was that starlings are yellow not just around the mouth, like sparrows, but inside the mouth, like in this photo of 10 day olds for the amazing site www.starlingtalk.com.

I am an ignorant dork!

2006-06-11T15:45:00.000-05:00

Luckily, I keep looking for info to offset my ignorance.

Those were not two halves of one nest. They were two separate nests. And they didn't have "bottoms" cuz they attach like cradles against a vertical wall. They are the nest of Chimney Swifts and I obviously have a family nesting in my chimney. The mucilage on the corners of the nest is what attaches them to the wall. Here's are the nests. (I put the remaining egg in one of them to demonstrate what it would look like.)

Here's a close up.

I've seen the little guys flying into the chimney, but they are hard to photograph cuz they don't stop or light first. They just fly right in.

Here's a link to a swift webcam in Driftwood TX, (not far from my Central Austin home):

http://www.chimneyswifts.org/page2.html

Eggs are gone

2006-06-11T13:24:00.000-05:00

I left the eggs and nest outside and they were mostly gone this morning. Obviously, they were still a snack even without any liquid left. The yolks were the prize I think.

Nest Disaster, Dove redux, Flycatcher

2006-06-10T19:25:00.000-05:00

So, Virginia mentions that she saw a small bird go down my chimney. I had ash in the fireplace from the last fire of the season, so I decided to clean it. Here's a picture of what I found.

You can see the eggs in that photo, but you can't see the half nest I found in the ash. Here's a shot of the nest and eggs.

When I looked up the chimney to see what I could see, I found another part of the nest and another egg on a ledge just above the fireplace. Here's a shot of the whole thing.

These eggs were obviously very new when they fell. A dried yolk was still intact.

The nest was 8 cm in diameter and the eggs were just under 2 cm in length and white. The material in the nest was leaf stems from a pecan tree, The bottom of the nest was pretty none existent. I wonder what bird it might have been?

Later, I saw what looked like a nest in the Elm tree across the street. It was a Dove's nest. Perhaps a replacement for the one lost 2 weeks ago?

Finally, I saw this flycatcher in the elm at evening feeding time. Great Crested? He moved about so quickly, this was the best shot I could get.

6-09-06 Dive bomber! The Mockingbord

2006-06-10T19:06:00.000-05:00

I missed a great photo op this morning cuz I saw a mom, dad and fledgling mockingbird at their nest in a fruitless pear tree when I went into work at Duval and Mopac. This is a great breeding ground for mockers as they are everywhere, nest in the small trees, only 6 to 8 feet off the ground. I went to lunch close to home so I grabbed my camera in hopes of getting a good pic. But it was so hot, they were elsewhere and the baby was gone too.

When I came out of work around 5, I saw a mocker flitting about in a small oak when a woman went by on her way to the garage. I looped around to take it's picture and it was squawking at me the whole time. I took this photo right before it came at me!
(The second photo is a blow up of the first to show the passion in the bird's eyes!)
I was attempting a new shot and I saw, through my lens, it coming right at me! I missed the shot as I was ducking. The third shot is the bird after it pulled up from the attack and landed nearby, still squawking.

6-08-06 House Finch

2006-06-10T18:56:00.000-05:00

My thistle feeder attracted a house finch today. I've been hoping for gold finches, but I'll take a house finch. My camera has trouble focusing on little birds in busy situations and the manual focus isn't easy to use. This is the best focus I could get.

6-06-06 Woodpeckers!

2006-06-10T18:27:00.000-05:00

The red-bellied woodpeckers are back!

Here's a series of photos of the couple and their new home in my front yard pecan. Very happy to have them back!

The male has a completely red head and the female has red only on the back of the head. Check it out.

6-04-06 Cardinal!

2006-06-10T18:07:00.000-05:00

I never got a photo, but Barbara rescued a baby starling from her cat Leah. The rescue folks wouldn't tale it, so she decided to feed it by hand and care for it. It was doing great the first few days and the neighbor kids from two houses up were super interested. You can tell a your starling from the very yellow gape they have around their mouth.

Meanwhile, a juvenile from the long standing cardinal family came by the feeder and bath.

Here's a close up. He's still pretty fluffy and not too red yet, but her flies very well and is feeding himself. He's past the begging stage.

Meanwhile, here's the owl couple. Barbara reports the baby is doing well. I heard the Blue jay screaming at the owls but couldn't get a good shot of them. Oh well.

6-3-06 House Sparrows and Grackles

2006-06-10T17:20:00.000-05:00

While over at Mike and Barbara's looking at the owl family, I noticed many a hose sparrow landing on the phone lines near the owl tree. I had assumed they were heading for the nest they have in the attic vent of M&B's house. I was wrong.

They were heading to a nest they had made in a woodpecker hole in a lower branch of the owl tree.

That didn't seem a real good place to raise young, cuz owls have no problem eating sparrow, physically or ethically. And sure enough Barbara reports that she's seen the male owl attack the nest. The sparrows are still hanging in there though.

Later I was captivated by the grackles. This Juvenile was in the grass with his head way over to one side. What was he doing? Is that food in his/her mouth?

Then two Juveniles were following mom around begging for food as she was trying to bathe and drink. They can fly and all but they still demand to be fed. I notice the moms aren't having any of that this week. Juvies are own their own.

Finally, an interesting meeting of two males at the bath. Here's impressive great tailed grackle male 1

Here's no. 2

Here's the stretched neck dance they do together. I'm not sure of the purpose, because I've never seen them fight during this dance. Plus I think since the Juvies are on the wing, this doesn't have to do with mating. Anyone know, let me know.

After one left they other had a little drink.