We have had a few monarch butterflies visiting our nectar-laden plants and bushes this summer. Last year, I don’t recall seeing any, though we have butterfly bushes and pollinator attractors as well as milkweed necessary for the monarch larva. We have enjoyed seeing other butterflies, however, including lots of orange ones in recent weeks. I believe most of the orange butterflies visiting our yard … [Read more...]

In the past, my catbirds always fly away in early September, as soon as the chicks are up and at ’em. And they did again this year, except for one. A lone, single catbird has decided to stay. I expect he or she is a young bird, likely hatched in the thicket behind our house. There were two catbird families that used our yard and feeders. Nancy saw him a week or so ago and told me. Can’t be, … [Read more...]

  They’re at it again. Every year, one hummingbird assumes squatter’s rights on any and all our backyard hummingbird feeders. He visits them frequently, but he absolutely stands guard 24/7 lest an intruder sneak in for a sip of sugar water. And one always does. I guess they draw straws to see whose feeder is whose. But they battle every day, throughout the day. So why this violence? They … [Read more...]

While we have a few of Atticus Finch’s mockingbirds, we have a gazillion house finches. I expect I have more finches per square foot in my yard than anyone else in North America. I have over a dozen that camp out at my front yard feeder and twice that many in the back. Fortunately, they are little fellows and don’t eat that much or I’d have to take out a second mortgage to buy bird … [Read more...]

For about 50 weeks out of the year, cardinals are majestic birds, gracing of all our backyards. But the first two weeks of August are not kind to these red beauties. I saw a cardinal at my feeder this morning that looked like he got into a bar fight and lost. His top knot was missing, he had several bald spots, and all his feathers were disheveled. Cardinals are now molting, a natural … [Read more...]

More than ever, you should be putting sunflower hearts or chips in your feeder/feeders. It’s one of the few seeds that all young birds can eat. That’s because the sunflower husk has been removed and it’s basically a fruit. The chips and hearts are a little pricey and when there were 10,000 grackles hammering away, I had to stop using chips or take out a second mortgage. But they are gone now, … [Read more...]

  The bluebird babies from the second next of my resident birds fledged on a Monday afternoon. The next morning, I saw Mr. Blue on a crook near their feeder and later went out with a handful of mealworms. I put the mealies in the bowl and expected him and Mrs. Blue to immediately swoop in and gather the worms for the baby birds. But they didn’t. Rather, they perched high in the tree limbs … [Read more...]

We are entering the drought season of hot dry, weather, and sporadic rain. During dry weather, everybody worries about lawns and shrubs, but I worry about the birds. Birds require water as much as food. That’s why we keep several sources of water in our yard and the birds are thankful. Interestingly, birds lack sweat glands, so they need less water than mammals, but they lose water through … [Read more...]

I knew I was feeding live meal worms to my family of bluebirds. They have their special feeder and I keep it well stocked. I also started feeding a catbird family when the female lit at my feet while I was feeding worms to my frogs. So, she is now a regular. Then, a tiny wren joined in the “begging”, and I am feeding her clan as well. I didn’t even know she had a nest, but it’s about 10 feet … [Read more...]