Hello from my backyard!
It’s been quite a long time since I posted from here (since March ’21!) … sorry about that. I wasn’t feeding the birds much this past summer because of bears in the area. Then, in late summer, my yard was hit with a Trichomoniasis outbreak for the first time ever and I had to put all feeders and birdbaths away for nearly a month. I just put the feeders back out about a week or so ago and the birdbath just went back out a couple of days ago. I will be watching closely for sick birds again as freeze-up nears.
This post will be a sort of catch-up for the summer & fall with photos.
We’ll start with this little cutie. This Groundhog visited my backyard for a few weeks over mid summer. It had a feast in my neighbour’s garden (!!!) and took a major liking to the petunias & nasturtiums I had growing in pots around the yard. I didn’t mind having it around one bit but my neighbours weren’t thrilled.
I nicknamed this cute Groundhog ‘Clover’ as it enjoyed nibbling the plant in my lawn.
It was a very good season for nesting birds near my yard. Lots of youngsters later in the summer!
Immature Yellow Rumped Warbler
Immature White Throated Sparrow
Immature Ruby Crowned Kinglet
Immature American Goldfinch
Immature Crow
Immature Chipping Sparrow
Young Tree Swallows
Adult Evening Grosbeak feeding its female young
I had lots of Hummingbird activity in the yard the whole summer.
Female Ruby Throated Hummingbird at Monarda blossoms
A Sandhill Crane family wandered all over town in mid to late summer, adopting our old high school track field to feed every day for a few weeks.
Adult female (right) & immature Sandhill Cranes. The adult male was there too but kept his distance & remained watchful.
I had a very good number of Goldfinches around the yard for much of the summer. Not much sounds cuter than the call of a Goldfinch!
Male Goldfinch
I was so excited one day when not just one but TWO Black Throated Green Warblers discovered the fruit in my Mountain Ash tree this summer! I’ve never had this species in my yard before, that I know of.
Black Throated Green Warbler in late summer.
I hardly saw any Woodpeckers this summer at all since I had to keep my peanut feeder put away most of the time. This one returned last week, shortly after the peanut tube went back out.
Male Hairy Woodpecker
Some very exciting visits to my yard this summer were Vireos …… a TRIFECTA of Vireos, actually! Vireos are most certainly some of THE prettiest birds in the region. It’s an exceptional year when I see a few Red Eyed Vireos. It’s truly amazing when all 3 of these Vireos show up in my yard AT THE SAME TIME!
Adult (top) & young Red Eyed Vireos
Blue Headed Vireo
Philadelphia Vireo!
And now that we are well into fall, the White Crowned Sparrows have moved into the yard with many Dark Eyed Juncos.
Adult White Crowned Sparrow
Once again, it’s a good season when I get to see American Pipits. I only ever see them during fall migration but I don’t get to see them every year. Last week, a flock of about 20 moved through my neighbourhood and lawn.
American Pipit
Another migrant I seldom get to see is the Harris’s Sparrow. This handsome young fella has been in & out of my yard for a few days now. He is certainly one of the more striking Sparrows!
Immature Harris’s Sparrow
I’ll end this month with a report that Cornell’s webcam in my backyard will be coming back online soon to stream worldwide for the upcoming Project FeederWatch season, running from mid November ’21 to the end of next April. Watch on social media for announcements when we go live in the next couple of weeks!
Thanks so much for reading and viewing. Until next time ……