Super Special Photo - American Robin Babies

American Robins can be found all over Oregon.  Early in the morning,  I can hear one or two already singing away. 

Both female and male Robins together build a nest.  Their eggs are blue without markings.  A female takes 12-14 days to incubate.  Once they hatch, both female and male feed youngs for 14-16 days till fledging.

 

I had a very special opportunity to see the Robin's babies in the nest, still sleeping away most of the time, and once in a while being fed by their mother.  It was at my neighbor's garden where there is a fish pond, trees, flowers, etc.  This month they found a Robin's nest right next to the house, just covered by the wisteria branches and leaves.

Two Robin babies waiting for mommy to return with food.

Most of the time, they are dozing off.  They may be less than a week old ?

They are so precious.

So when I see a young one or two in a couple of weeks, I know where it came from.

Downy Woodpecker's Favorite

Some birds come to my backyard just to eat the suet, not bird seeds or sunflower seeds.  The price of a store-bought suet is going up,  so I decided to make a home-made one from scratch.

Bird Suet Recipe

Ingredients:
1 and 3/4 C flour
1/2 C bird seeds
1/2 C peanuts, unsalted, crushed
3/4 C lard or Crisco (veggie based solid oil)
1/4 C sugar

1)  Melt the lard or Crisco on a stove or microwave.
2)  Add sugar, and then bird seeds and peanuts.
3)  Add flour, and mix well.
4) If you have the store-bought suet's plastic square container, pour into two of these containers.   Or you can make any simple shape.
5)  When cooled and hardened some, take it out from the container and slide  into the suet feeder.

Ready to drop into the suet feeder

One of the birds who like the suet is the Downy Woodpecker.


A week ago, a pair of Downy Woodpeckers stopped over after many months of absence.  Mr. Downy was on the apple tree, looking over the suet hanging at the wisteria.

"Is there any suet left at that feeder?"

I got a bad news for you, woody.  The other day a herd of European Starlings raided on that suet.  It took them only one day to finish.  Being so discouraged, I could not replenish it.  But if only I had known you would be over, surely I could have placed one for you ...

"Oh, no....  Nothing left.  I just have to scrape the left overs on the metal."

To make the matter worse, he was with his mate!!

"The backyard owner has been generous in the past.  So she must be out of town."

Backyard Owner:  "How kind of you.  I will try to be a better backyard owner for you.  So come back again before too long."

New Nuthatches

The other day the temperature shot up with the blue sky all over.  We all welcomed the summer day.   The raspberries are quickly ripening and I picked up a bowlful.  So with some blueberries and Chinese snowpeas.

Early in the morning I saw three Red-breasted Nuthatches.  A mother Nuthatch had a couple of toddlers in tow.

Hiding behind the apple leaves

"Who is staring at me?  I don't know you."

A toddler Nuthatch has a yellow color on the edge of the mouth.  Being so fearless, it came flying so close to me.  I thought it was just about to land on my shoulder.

Waiting on mommy to get food.

"Suet is so yummy."

Less yellow on the beak.  Maybe a bit older?

"I am independent.  See, I can dig on the fence like a grown up."

Lavenders are almost ready for lavender wands and saches. 

A butterfly is visiting a tiny clover flower. 

All are signs of true summer.

Like an Angel

Looking like an angel.... Who could it be?

"I am spreading the tail feathers."

"It's me, a young female Anna's Hummingbird. 

Ha, ya!!

 "Did I scare you?"

"Sometimes, I like to meditate on the clothesline... Just being quiet and calm for a short while instead of buzzing all the time..."
(Notice the eyelid is closed.)


After the mind all cleared, she darted to the red flower.

"Hard to resist this sweet nectar."

In a month, bee balms and Crocosmia will be in bloom with their sweet, red blossoms.   I hope you'll enjoy their nectar, too.

A Bird Way to Eat a Delicious Blueberry

The American Robin likes to eat earthworms, insects, and berries.  You must have seen a Robin pulling out a worm out of your lawn.  Now that our summer has finally arrived and the blueberries are ripening, I found a Robin stealing the first ripen berries in my backyard.   It is OK because I believe in coexistence and sharing some with my bird friends.  In addition, they do some good deeds like eating some insect pests from around here.

"Hi, I am a Robin, your friend.  Mind my eating your berries?"

"Usually,  I get one already dropped on the ground, not off the branch."

"Then, I swallow it, appreciating your work of fattening the berries."



To tell the truth, he first had one berry in his mouth when I saw him.  Then seeing me coming out with a camera, he dropped it on the ground, picked it up, and ate it as if he wanted me to take photos of his eating.

In the past, blueberries did not take too much care and used to produce a lot more than I needed.  But nowadays the bushes are getting old, so in spring I gave peatmoss and during summer, have to use the home-made compost once a month.

Hummingbirds' favorites

A neighbor across the street found a hummingbird nest in his yard a month ago.  But I did not venture into seeing it, afraid to harass the bird at the most vulnerable time.  Meantime, the hail storm came and hammered down the tiny nest to the ground.  I just hope the young ones already left the nest before the storm.  One Hummingbird blog mentioned the rate of fledging was  25%. 

The other day, I saw a hummer busily collecting spider webs for another nest.  A tough bird.  Their spirit doesn't get beaten up.  Hooray!

As the temperature climbs up, hummers enjoy sucking flower nectar.
What are their favorite flowers? They like small, tubal flowers.   Red is the most attractive color.


Just to name a few of the flowers in my backyard:

Double petal pink Columbine

"Yum, yum, yum."

Iris

"I'm looking at you, and you're looking at me."

Salvia (Texas Sage)

"Too many blossoms.  Which one to get first?"

Cape Fuchsia (Phygelius) 

"I just love these trumpet-shaped blossoms.  Ta, la, la, la.  Ummm, good."

As always, fuchsias are one of the best tasting flowers.

"Nothing tastes better than a real nectar!!!  I got tired of sugar water last winter."

 Little Petunia

"These little petunias are a new addition to my favorites."

Now that you know hummers are delighted to drink genuine nectar from flowers during the summer in Oregon, why not add some of these favorites in your garden, too?  They will truly appreciate your efforts.

A Macho House Sparrow

The signs of summer come in many forms.

Early Dawn

"Good morning, everyone.  I am a very early bird."

Berries

Raspberry is ripening now.  It makes a scrumptious jam.

Veggie plants

These are tomato flowers.  By the end of August I may begin harvesting early tomatoes.

A bird nest

I bought a new bird nest box at a Saturday Market.  It's made of recycled wood. 

At the time of purchase, I wanted to buy one with a small hole for a wren or a chickadee.  What the bird box maker told me was rather surprising.  In the past, he had made small holed boxes, but House Sparrows always pecked to make the hole bigger to hop right in.  What a strong beak they have!!!  So he suggested to place an aluminum plate with a smaller hole to keep the hole as is.

House Sparrow, Girl:  "I still like your old nest box.  With the new one, I just can't fit in."

House Sparrow, Boy:  "I just caught a dragonfly.  See, how swift I am.  With the new nest box, you may hear the sound of my work.  I am a strong Macho bird."

Backyard Owner:  "It's made of metal!  Just don't hurt yourself."

I hope your summer is progressing nice and warm.   Ours is a mixture of sun and rain showers.

Growing Up Time

June is the time for the Rose Festival in Portland, Oregon.  All the roses here begin to bloom this time of the year.

And so with my roses, adding bright, colorful spots to my backyard.

During summer, I often see Mom and Dad birds busy feeding young ones.

Lesser Goldfinch Dad:  "Ok, ok, ready for you."

Lesser Goldfinch Mom:  "Just don't flap your wings too much this time."

Gradually baby birds learn not to flap the wings, and eat on their own.

House Finch toddler:  "I'm grown up now.  I can eat on my own."

(Notice a couple of baby feathers sticking out on the head.)

European Starlings used to come with Mom, Dad, and siblings.  But now

I see one young European Starling stopping over by itself.  Often it hangs around with a robin.  One day, I saw that Starling napping on the fence.

"After stormy days, a sunny day is so special."

Then, suddenly it woke up as if startled by a dream.

"Where are my mom and dad?  I haven't seen them for a while.  I miss them...."

In nature, everyone has to grow up fast.  There's no time to waste.  No time for spoiling.  Just like the lion king kicking a young one off a cliff to let it go on its own.

I can learn a lot from observing the bird world.

Summer Mornings

In the early morning, up on the tree top, many birds like to gather and make a plan as to where to go and eat.

A dozen of Banded Pigeons just flew up, ready to preen the feathers.

A large flock of Waxwings just came in.  After a little while, the left half took off to the left and the right half to the right.  They must have decided on a separate plan of looking for food today.

Remember Western Tanagers like to hang around the upper canopy?  Sure enough, a couple of the Tanagers were up there with the male jumping into the air many times to catch bugs.

Down below in the backyard, a bee was collecting nectar from the marigold.

 A yellow jacket, too, was buzzing busily.

 Watch out, bees,  because you are listed on the Tanagers' favorite food.

A Short Trip to a Hillside

There is a hillside in a nearby city.   Since the area is closer to the Mountain range, more birds will visit there.   Finally today I had an opportunity to go there.  The weather was overcast, but warm.   Mostly grass fields have trails to go by for the ease of spotting birds.  Many birders enjoy walking around.   

From the top of the hill, Mt. Hood with a cloud cap was visible.

Can you see a hawk perched on a bare tree on the left?

A friendly American Robin wanted to show me his catch.

"I just caught a worm.  It's yummy."

In the grass field, I saw a Savannah Sparrow for the first time.  It has yellow eyebrow and a pale median crown stripe.

On a dead branch around the corner, one Song Sparrow was about to sing.  This has broad grayish eyebrow.

A Northern Flicker just flew in to the old stump.  He did all the feather cleaning and now ready to take off.

"See you later."

And when I was ready to leave after a little rest on a bench, I saw a Western Bluebird on a nearby tree for the first time.  Unfortunately, it's the Murphy's Law:  when I really wanted to have a nice shot, it blurred....
 

 "I am a mystery bird today."

Next time, I will be here in a better lighting condition.  Now one objective for this summer is set.  To try to get a better photo of a bluebird!!!