Early Bird Gets the Worm

American Robin

The Robins are very plentiful this year and wonderful visitors to our yard!! They are one of the first to sing in the morning and the last to sing at night....

Depending on the area and the resources, Robins can have up to three clutches in a year....Sometimes the mother lays her second clutch of eggs before the babies leave the nest at two weeks of age.  The male assists with feeding the first brood for another couple of weeks until they are able to fend for themselves and are fully independent, while the mother tends to the second clutch, and if lucky, the third.

If you have a good supply of food, shelter and water on your property, you will be sure to attract all varieties of songbirds throughout the year....
 

Great Blue Heron

The Great Blue Heron, which is the largest North American Heron, is poised on top of this spruce tree by our fish pond.  His plan was to do a little fishing, but his view was slightly obscured this morning as he noticed our Pekin ducks were having their morning bath and there was a lot of splashing going on!! He only stayed long enough for me to snap a couple of quick photos and then he was off!!  He will return, as he does most days.  Great Blue Herons can hunt day and night.  They have a high percentage of rod-type photoreceptors in their eyes that improve their night vision.

The Great Blue Heron has a wingspan of almost 7 feet and stands almost 4 feet tall!!

Bad Hair Day

Female Purple Finch enjoying some sunshine at the feeder

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Then the next day....

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What a difference a day can make.... !!

Despite the rain, our feathered friends were visiting the feeders all day long!!

(although soaking wet, she's still a little cutie)

Feathers For Our Feathered Friends

Our Pekin duck and chicken feathers are in high demand these days........ They are plentiful and free for the taking!!

 

This adorable male Tree Swallow was playing with this feather before going to the nest box with it.... Clean, loose feathers are important for Tree Swallows. They line their nests with them, lots of them....It keeps the babies comfortable and dry.

They are everywhere... I found this feather hanging onto a dandelion.... The first thing in the morning when the ducks and chickens emerge from their house, is the best time to capture this spectacle!!  The Tree Swallows are not far; look up, and you will see them swooping and gliding everywhere.... In the meantime, they are in search of a freshly preened feather from down below.... don't blink if you want to witness the take, because they are fast!!

There he goes!!  As you can see, there are a few more feathers close by, but they won't be there for long....

The male Tree Swallow was having a little bit of a problem getting this feather in the nesting box.... He was trying so hard.... I looked closer and noticed that the hollow shaft, also known as calamus (the pointed end pictured just above his head) was too long to fit in the nesting hole.  I waited until he eventually dropped the feather.  I assisted by snipping the calamus off.  Then, I tossed the feather into the wind and a few seconds later, he caught it in mid-air!!

And there he goes with it to the nest... !! Oh, you're welcome, glad to help out (wink, wink)

We have been watching the Tree Swallows collect many of these naturally shed feathers and take them to their nest over the past two weeks.  Here's a peek when they arrived.

The female and male both work very hard in the nest making process....

Rise and shine.....

Say hi to Squirt....she is happy, along with all of the other Pekin ducks to contribute her soft downy feathers to the nesting Tree Swallows!!

Our Tree Swallows are Back !!

Our tree swallows arrived a couple of weeks ago and there are lots of them....they are so amazing and fun to watch!!  They fly so fast and are darting everywhere....They perform awesome acrobatics while chasing after flying insects...

This male tree swallow is stretching.  He has been sitting on this branch for a few minutes keeping a close eye on his female.

We have a breeding pair nesting in the box again this year....When the female is producing her eggs, she needs extra calcium, so we offer some crushed egg shells for them to eat.  We raise laying chickens, so there are plenty of eggs!! And, our pekin ducks help out too....When the tree swallow prepares the nest, they are looking for soft bedding and one of the supplies they seek are freshly preened feathers.

Here is the very dedicated female looking quite comfortable and ready to lay her eggs!! If you want to read some interesting facts about the tree swallow or see some more images of them, stop by over here and check them out!!

For the Love of Hummers ~

I am dedicating this blog post to my Grandmother....

She means the world to me and I love her very much....

We both share our love for birds.  Sometimes, I will call her and ask her if she saw this kind of bird, or that kind of bird, or I will say, "Can you check the bird book Gran", but one thing we know for certain is, we love our hummers.... and Gran always says, ''Make sure you put a little extra sugar in their water before they fly south.  It gives them extra energy to make their long journey".  So, that is what we do....

They are amazing little creatures.... iridescent powerhouses

This is an adult male....

He is called a Ruby-Throated Hummingbird

but I call him ''Sweetie'' because he is exactly that....

Hummingbirds are known for their ability to fly backwards, upside down, and to hover. Few other birds compare in their ability to perform such aerial tricks. They also possess the fewest number of feathers ever counted on a bird.

Hummingbirds are known for their ability to fly backwards, upside down, and to hover. Few other birds compare in their ability to perform such aerial tricks. They also possess the fewest number of feathers ever counted on a bird.

Hummingbirds are known for their ability to fly backwards, upside down, and to hover. Few other birds compare in their ability to perform such aerial tricks. They also possess the fewest number of feathers ever counted on a bird.

Hummingbirds are known for their awesome abilities....!!

They can hover, fly backwards and even upside down....!!

I remember last year, we rescued a hummer.... That turned out to be a lot of fun!!  And, she had a cozy crib for the night... You can read all about her adventure right here !!!!

I am hoping one of these days, that I will be able to find the female in her nest.  I would quietly photograph her from a distance with her babies....That would be awesome!!

Until next time.... or as Gran J would say "Loads of Love" xoxo

Duck Olympics !!

" Water Duck Race "

At the starting line:  "Lucky" our 1.5 pound call duck, and "Tony" our 10 pound Pekin/Mallard duck

ON YOUR MARK.... GET SET.... GO !!!!

Uh oh !! Lucky just stumbled !!

By the look on his face, it seems like he is fearing for his life rather than winning the race !!

Hey wait.... !! Look at Lucky go....he is back in the race !! .... It looks like he is running across the water....

Can he catch up ?

It's a race to the finish line and Lucky wins by a feather !!!!

Your race officials for the day !!!! (Three sweet chicks)

The Canada Geese Stopped By ~

A breeding pair of wild Canada Geese made their

designated rest stop in our pond this morning....

I was outside at the time letting our free-ranged ducks and chickens out of the barn when I spotted them. The female was very vocal when she saw me and our border collie. At that point, I thought they would fly away, but they didn't. They are sharing the pond with our ducks, Lucky and Squirt....

I managed to get a bit closer....

They swim by the rest of the ducks and chickens....

 

And, we cannot forget about Skittles....

he is our very friendly Barred Rock rooster!!

And there they go.... they will make their way to their nesting area and hopefully have a successful brood in about a month....

Northern Flicker Staking His Claim

These two male Northern Flickers are battling it out for top spot this nesting season!!

Who will win?

Northern Flickers come from the woodpecker family and these ones pictured are also known as Eastern Flickers and some also call them Yellowhammers !!

And the winner is....
We are hoping for another successful hatch in the coming weeks and happy to have front row seats to watch mom and dad prepare the nest and take care of the nestlings !!

Yellow-Rumped Warbler ~ (day 2)

The Yellow-Rumped Warblers were feeding all day around our pond....and I couldn't pass up the chance to photograph these beautiful birds once again!!

Yellow-Rumped Warbler ~

Adult male Yellow-Rumped Warbler (eastern "Myrtle")

The warblers are back and lots of them!!!! it is amazing to watch them catching the flying insects over our pond... they share their space with the tree swallows.... it is great entertainment and we are looking forward to another nesting season!!

Splish Splash ~

Getting ready for summer!

Our baby Pekin duck who we named ' Squirt ' was only a few days old here and having some fun splashing around in the water for the first time!!

The Common House Fly .................... Up Close and Personal

A large population of house flies were occupying our deck railing and performing their mating ritual.

• Did you know: 4 to 20 days after mating, females are ready to lay eggs.
• They lay an average of 75 to 150 eggs every day up to four days

That's a lot of eggs and a lot of flies!!!!

Heart Rock in the Sand ~

Found this neat heart rock in the sand today....

What a special find!!

Happy Easter ~

 

Easter fills us with hope, joy and warmth.

May your heart and home be filled

with the blessings of Easter!

 

 

After the Rain ~

 

Had a great hike to the falls today after the rain....We hike these falls regularly and this was the highest we have ever seen the water level.  The water was raging and went over the concrete wall and into the fish ladders.

With the spring thaw in full force, there is a lot of water and flooding from the ice and snow we had this past winter.

Frozen Tamarack Tree !!

This photo of our latest winter, (oops !! ) spring storm was taken on April 1, but this was definitely no April fools joke!!  It started off with two days of freezing rain and then lots of snow, oh and not to mention, the never ending wind!! But, we survived and there's no denying that it was also, in a way, very beautiful!! Now, if mother nature can just give us a little sign that spring is ''really here'', that would be great !!

Enough of Winter Already ?

I have two words..... HURRY SPRING !!!!

Blue Jay ~

Blue Jay posing in exchange for some sunflower seeds!

Male Evening Grosbeaks

Pair of Male Evening Grosbeaks

Assuming three is a crowd??

These plump, yellow-bellied Grosbeaks were a pleasant sight for us to see and hear while enjoying our morning coffee!!  They love sunflower seeds and flock to the feeders when there is a good supply.  They don't mind sharing with some of the regulars, mainly our blue jays, gray jays, juncos and chickadees and we cannot forget the downy woodpeckers.

Do you want to hear an evening grosbeak? click on this link for their unique chirps and calls!!