Gray Catbird nest

The Gray Catbirds Dumetella carolinensis were in the wild woods last summer, sounding like cats mewing in the understory.  This year, we found their nest, hidden among dense shrubs.  For several weeks we've seen the adults as they ventured out cautiously to feed on suet and fruit.  Today, their eggs are hatching!

Eastern Bluebirds

There is enough open space among the lawns around the woods for Eastern Bluebirds Sialia sialis to hunt insects for their growing families.  The pair that nested in the bluebird box this spring had 5 eggs but only 2 hatchlings survived so far.

Black-capped Chickadees

 

The Black-capped Chickadees Poecile atricapillus nested in the tube, incubated six eggs, and now have all those chirping babies to feed.

birds nesting in the wild woods

The nestboxes and snag tubes are full of nests.  A walk through the wild woods helped locate a few more nests.  And, today we noticed a fledgling House Finch Haemorhous mexicanus in a tree, begging for the morsel his Dad was dangling as a flying lesson incentive.   
Top to bottom:  Gray Catbird eggs in nest, probable House Finch nest, Tree Swallows claiming a nestbox for their own, House Wren hiding among her twigs in a snag tube.

wildflowers in the wild woods

building a nest

a secluded nestbox

This "snag tube" is based on a design tested and recommended by researchers at Cornell.  http://www.birds.cornell.edu/
We have 3 of these tubes placed in the quiet seclusion of the wild woods. 

We positioned this tube about 12 feet up, in a young Ash tree that grows among Elm, Bitternut Hickory, and Boxelder trees.  Wild Grape vines and pesky Buckthorn provide additional coverage in the understory.

Hawks

This big gray hawk is probably an adult Coopers Accipiter cooperii.  He was very inquisitive, searching around in the adjacent back yards as well as in the exposed areas of the woods.  As a predator of smaller birds, he was not shy about being here, in the open and even perched for a while on a neighboring deck railing.

                 

                                    

The smaller hawk on the log pile is probably a Sharp-shinned Hawk Accipiter striatus.  He was also looking for smaller birds, but not as bold as the Coopers.



Red-bellied Woodpecker

The Red-bellied Woodpeckers have been at our feeders all winter.  Still nearby in the woods, we hear them calling to one another.  Today the male was making noise as he hopped around hunting insects in the gutters.

larch cones

The larch branches still bear cones from last year while this year's new cones open among them. The larch Larix laricina is also known as Tamarack .  It's cones are approximately one inch tall, upright, initially rosey red and then turning brown. The cones fall in the second year and have a pair of brown long-winged seeds. 

woodland flowers

The first Jack-in-the-Pulpit Arisaema triphyllum this season seems to be too green and bright; usually they are more secretive in shades of dark green and maroon. Maybe this one is a bit early, encouraged by the very warm winter?

maple flowers

The maple trees are blooming.  When the first blossoms on this variety Acer rubrum appear, they are golden; they become red in just a few days.  Once the seeds form they remain red in extreme contrast to the leaves that open gold and become green.

forsythia

early springtime

The warm winter continues!

Trees are budding, tulips tiptoeing up through the mulch, and shrubs are sprouting blossoms. Robins have arrived to demonstrate their usual exuberance at the bathing bowl.

scant snow

This winter, we have much less snow than normal. On one morning when there was snow cover, it was a bit easier to spot birds in and around the edge of the woods.

hunting hawk

The edge of the woods is home for mice and voles, so this hawk may find good hunting among the grasses and the brush pile.

warm sun, cold day

The Northern Cardinals Cardinalis cardinalis in the guild this winter gather in the sunny brambles to warm up. These two females were taking turns nibbling at the suet block nearby.

autumn beauties

The autumn colors on the maple tree make a beautiful backdrop for the peanut log, no matter the color of the birds feasting there.

sunflower

The volunteer sunflowers are blooming -- right under the seed station, ready for the birds, with a little extra protein.

mealworms for young Bluebirds

The bluebirds bring their young fledglings to the mealworm plate. This is only a small part of the parents' efforts to teach their young how to hunt; another lesson is patience to sit on the hummingbird feeder poles scanning the grass below for insects. It usually pays off. We hope they're learning the territory, so they come back next year and nest again.

fledglings

Although we did not locate their nests in the wild woods this year, Black-capped Chickadees Poecile atricapillus and Downy Woodpeckers Picoides pubescens have produced hungry fledglings. These two recently came to the feeders to introduce themselves.

I noticed an unfamiliar growth on my rhubarb. Turns out, the rhubarb is BLOOMING. New to me, but evidently common on plants that have been in the ground a while, as mine have. They came from my Dad's back yard, and have been producing delicious stalks for five years. Obviously, something I will use as a subject to create some art.  And the kids devised new ways to use the giant rhubarb leaves.

feeding young Bluebirds

The video below shows the adult female Eastern Bluebird that flew into the nestbox with a worm dangling from her beak. She fed the worm to one of her four young birds, then turned up to the opening and accepted another worm from the adult male.



In this way they can feed all four of the hatchlings enough so they'll grow to nearly full size in two weeks.

Eastern Bluebird hatchlings

In the Bluebird nestbox today, four little hatchlings instead of four blue eggs! Both adults are carrying worms to feed the little ones. The female especially likes the mealworms we put out for her to help feed them all.

nesting House Wrens

A pair of House Wrens Troglodytes aedon have settled in one of our nestboxes. They have three eggs so far; typically they lay 4 to 8 in a clutch.
UPDATE: May 27 -- 7 eggs in the nest.