A good time to post an update - Spring birds are here!

 This Pandemic has made for an odd 13 months. Fortunately there are birds to keep us company! Here are a few of the birds showing up in our yard over the last month, some for the first time since last summer.

It is mid April, Spring is in full swing and the birds are coming to visit!

The blog title is Hummingbirds and Orioles - but I get a little off topic depending on who shows up ;-)

We'll start with a male Allen's hummingbird - he is looking very sharp in his fine brown, red, and green. Allen's and Anna's hummingbirds are here year round - much to our pleasure!

A viewing hint for those who might not know - click on an image to see a large view!

The Hooded orioles have just recently arrived from their winter hangout in Mexico. They are so entertaining once several show up and get playful! First is a young male - noted by his dark gray but not quite black bib and his pale yellow and light gray coloring.

Next - an adult male Hoodie in full color (bright yellow/orange with black and white). He seems to be deciding whether to go for the grape jelly - spoiler - he did!

Another favorite backyard bird is the California Scrub jay. Very vocal, friendly, and has a big taste for mealworms!

Back at the jelly feeder, a Northern mockingbird has become very fond of the grape jelly as well! It seems to be singing its praise in this photo :-)

Also just showing up - this male Black-headed grosbeak. I think this is quite an over the shoulder 'come hither' look! Probably using it on a nearby female grosbeak ;-)

Still another bird just arriving from a winter home in western Mexico - a Lazuli bunting. I call him Mr Lazuli and I have been waiting since the end of last summer for his return.

Still with wings - but a little off topic (I warned about that!), the first pale swallowtail butterfly this season! We will also get Western Tiger swallowtails. Hint: it pays to plant a nice butterfly/pollinator garden ;-) We also have a year round population of Monarch butterflies that visit. The Spring/Summer numbers are bigger than over the winter. 

Back to the feathered friends - this is a juvenile Cooper's hawk, could be a juvenile Sharp-shinned hawk, I'm not positive. The young ones are harder to ID, so sometimes I just say a Shooper (combination of Sharp-shinned and Cooper's)  ;-) We have a few of both species that will stop by the yard in hopes of a quick meal. Fortunately, for the smaller birds, the hawks miss most of the time. 

Thanks to all that stop by and peek 👀 at the various visitors we get!

A long step away from the blog

Has it really been 3 years?? Life happens - and for the last 6 months, Covid happens! Fortunately it has stayed away from our household, I hope all of you have been safe. The normal routine is not so normal anymore. Fortunately, many of the regular birds have been very regular. A welcomed constant to the changing world.

This has been an Oriole and Hummingbird blog from the start and they have been constant companions in our backyard - well, the hummingbirds are constant. The Hooded orioles, of course, are migratory but have been returning every year in pretty good numbers. This year we have around ten orioles - between the adults and juveniles. And as playful as ever.

Here are a couple photos of the Hooded orioles over the last couple months. They are such a pleasure to see as they arrive in March and stay through August - oh my, just realizing this is now August and I only have a few more weeks of their company 😞 

The adult males are so striking in their bright yellow with the dark black bib!

Here are a couple hummingbirds snacking. These are both Anna's hummingbirds, and both adult males with their dark gorgets (special throat feathers) that reflect brilliant colors when the light angle is right.

Some of the other yard birds that have been stopping by - male Black-headed grosbeak, a Dark-eyed junco who is fond of mealworms. Juncos usually are just here over winter, but a couple resisted the urge to fly north for the summer. Mr lazuli, as we call him - a Lazuli bunting. A favorite visitor over the summer. what great colors! the second photo is most recent and he is in the middle of a molt so he looks a little scruffy - still adorable though! And a Nuttal's woodpecker! A fairly rare visitor to the yard, but can be heard pecking on the nearby avocado trees, especially in the morning.

I'll finish off with a couple larger birds seen from the yard. First is a Sharp-shinned hawk! The smaller birds do not appreciate when Sharpie or Cooper (Cooper's hawk) drop by looking for a quick snack. next is a Red-shouldered hawk. This was just after a rain and it was enjoying the sun to dry out its feathers, putting on quite a display. And largest of the birds that land in the yard - a Red-tailed hawk. There are a couple that make our neighborhood home, quite impressive. The smaller birds don't pay them much mind as birds are not really on their diet.

Here is a short video of a Black phoebe who has been a regular for a week.

Thanks to those stopping by to see a little of the birdlife that we enjoy in Southern California.

First Day of Summer or more globally correct - The Solstice!

Happy Solstice everyone! And for those that qualify - Happy Father's Day!

It has been a couple months since the last update from the backyard, here in San Diego county, U.S.

Eventful in the backyard and work, as well - thus no updates recently ;-)

It has been a very big season for the orioles so far, though it seems of late, some of the families may have moved to a less crowded area! At one point, I counted a solid 8 maybe 9 adult male Hooded Orioles at a single time, very hard to keep track.This was after some of the fledglings began to show up, so not a huge leap to imagine 18 to 27 or more birds. At any rate, more adult males than I have seen before. The antics have been very entertaining :-)
Here is a male caught just this afternoon.

From last post, the number of Rufous hummers was at a high, though I think now all I am seeing are Allen's. The Rufous are probably further north, may see them on the way back south the end of summer.

Another first for the backyard - though we have had a pair of Scrub jays hanging around snagging peanuts for a couple years now, this year we have fledglings!
Here is a shot of the pair squabbling at the fence, as siblings do! They are notable for their gray heads, adults have blue head feathers.

Back to the orioles for a moment - another first is seeing 2-3 of them climbing around in a blooming Mallow plant in the yard. They seem to be picking bugs off the branches, clearly not getting near the flowers.
Here is a shot of the mallow, have not managed to catch them while camera was in hand - of course! The mallow is the thin branchy? plant with purplish blooms. The orioles tend to weigh the branches way down almost curving to the ground, if they work their way too close to the ends!

Here is a shot of a few soggy lesser finches enjoying bathtime.

I'll leave with a comment - Ernie Cowen, longtime contributor to our local papers (now San Diego Union-Tribune) wrote a very cool article this weekend about Spotted Towhees, shy, but found in this area. I have not seen them for a little while, but have heard one regularly Saturdays at the Safari Park.

Labor Day Breakfast

Oct 17 Wed 2012
Orioles are long gone, plenty of Hummingbirds and Lesser Finches. Bees are still a problem. Temperatures are up and down a lot - 70s last week with a bit of rain, upper 90s to 101 last couple days but maybe 70s by the weekend. Once the night temps drop another 10 or more degrees, the bees should be less of a problem.
We had a new visitor to the backyard today. I missed it, but my better half got a photo -

Hope it did not catch any of the several lizards we have running around back there!


Sept 15 Saturday 2012

I just looked back to last year September to check when the Orioles left. In deed, it was mid September, BUT last year Labor Day we were having cool drizzly weather. A far cry from the extended heat wave we are having now. This afternoon while filling hummingbird feeders and a couple of the oriole feeders that the hummers use, I heard the unmistakeable oriole chatter from the back corner of the backyard where the oriole favorite feeders are. So there is at least one, and I think maybe a couple, orioles left since they generally chatter when there is a group.



Sept 12 Wednesday 2012

It has been a day since I have seen any hooded orioles, last sightings were a couple females near the plum tree. Vary consistent, mid September was the last of the orioles last year. Lesser Finches seem to be taking up the slack. Time to take down the oriole feeders and concentrate on hummingbird feeders that bees can not get to.

Sept 3 Labor Day -

A week into the 2 day heat wave, a few more days to go..

Labor Day breakfast for the birds is attracting at least one hooded oriole, too many hummers to count, and 15 or so lesser finches. Here is an encounter I call Beak to Beak!

Update Sept 2 Sunday

September is the end of Oriole season here, I've only seen one adult male and one female today.
I rotated but did not crop the out of kilter photos.  

Update August 20th - Here is a link to a video from a friend taken in his backyard of a 'birdie in the birdbath' http://www.youtube.com/watch?list=ULsT6t58XCPp0&feature=player_detailpage&v=sT6t58XCPp0 . The birdbath video is short, then a short night video of 'Kitty' plays in rotation.


 It's the middle of August and it's been above normal hot for almost two weeks. A lot of the hooded orioles that visit for the summer have left. There are a few left, have seen males and females.

 This morning saw lots of action at the fountain. Usually I see lesser finches splashing or drinking, this morning it was hummers and a oriole.

 

 The finches kick it up pretty good!

 Rub a dub dub, three hummers in a tub..

Sad to see that the orioles are heading back to Arizona and Mexico, over the winter will be a renewed effort at bee resistant oriole feeders..

Hummingbird Madness

It's the middle of July and the hummingbird population is close to maximum. Feeder mix is going at 2 1/2 to 3 gallons per day, phew! Several male Allen's hummers are spotted so probably as many females. They are a bit small than Anna's and the males have a lot of brown, especially on the tail feathers as well as breast area. They really stand out when sighted in the right sun direction.

Several families of Hooded orioles still visiting the backyard. Seems fewer than last month but not sure, they may be getting annoyed with the bees.

A nice group of Lesser finches are regularly visiting the 2 socks and making good use of the fountain for drinks and baths.

The web cam views have been down for a while but are up again. Not sure what the issue was, maybe the indoor network switch which is outside with the indoor cams locked up.

I have a big gap in the sugar log, will fill that in as I can from receipts.

Update July 26 - a snapshot from one of the yardcams. A couple adult male hooded orioles snacking.

Fledglings Arrive at Backyard

All these many years, well maybe all these few years, I have been unable to tell if any fledgling hummingbirds have frequented the feeders in the backyard. I would suppose they have, but I am not aware of any visual characteristics of 1st year hummers that would distinguish them from 2nd or later year birds. However, the Hooded orioles that spend the spring and summer here are a different story. A month and a week from sighting the first returning oriole, I have seen the 1st fledgling male(s). They are quite easy to spot, having the same dull yellow coloring of the females but having the distinctive black 'bib' on the neck and top of chest. I am presuming that thee are fledgling females as well, but they would be very hard to tell apart from their mothers.

The first positive id was Saturday 21st, multiple times then and Sunday, the young males have been sighted. As an additional indicator,  the number of orioles seems to be up a bit. Also, an adult male will fly up to a feeder and, seemingly, cajole or coax another bird to the feeder. 

This morning early, I caught a glimpse of a possible family unit in the middle of a high speed game of chase. A bright yellow male was in the lead and following close behind were two 'non-adult-males' (best id I could make). They came from the left side of the yard to about the center and abruptly made a 180 and made for parts unknown.

Plenty of honey bees around - the new style feeder with lightly spring loaded balls that cover the feeding ports is not especially effective. Also, as suggested by an online source, cucumber peels do not a honey bee repellant make.

The 'Sugar Log' has been going since Jan 27th, and I conclude my calculator must be malfunctioning. In about 2 1/2 month's time 275 lbs of sugar has been purchased! The last 25 lb bag has not been opened yet, but the last gallon of premix is in use so the birds (and bees, for sure) have consumed over 200 pounds or roughly 96 gallons of sugar water.

A New Month

It's April and the Orioles are beginning to show up in force. This afternoon, while relaxing in the backyard, I spotted 7 male Orioles at one time chattering at 2 different feeder locations. Such characters when they get a group going - clicking and whirring like R2D2 (quite different from the chatter of one or two), pointing their beaks to the sky! Later in the afternoon, a female showed up.

One of the male hooded orioles snacking. Photo shows the business end of the ip cam keeping tabs on the 'feeder tree'. Thinking of replacing it with a higher res cam, but it holds up well out in the elements - not meant to be outside! This cam view is on the blog and can run a 24 hour time lapse if you have a shockwave-flash enabled device.

I have decided to put up a finch sock, we'll see how long that lasts. Seeds are generally too messy, but very shortly several finches turned up - males (fairly bright yellow body with darker wings) and females.

A western Bluebird male also made an appearance. Based on the activity at a friend's backyard birdbath, we are trying out one.

Speaking of trying out, I bought a new type of oriole feeder today to try. It has an interesting plastic spring in the bee 'excluder' mechanism. Hopefully it works. That would be a first!