A Summer Update

Activity in summer continues to be strong after the spring that briefly lacked in activity; it was quite strange but apparently normal since most birds and nesting and have an abundance of natural food and insects. The hummingbird feeder has been getting more activity, being visited daily by a hummingbird, with apparently a mate that doesn't go to it much, if any, but always meets up and fly together after the hummingbird drinks at the feeder. They did this last year. Not sure they're the same hummingbirds, but I want to say they are.

In some bad news that's happened recently, on July 4th weekend, either Monday or Sunday, I was walking out of my garage and saw a cat get a bird on the ground, I think a robin. I didn't even think, I just ran after that cat. I heard either the bird or cat make a faint cry or gargling sound. The bird was trying to get away. It was horrible to see annd hear. The cat ran off with the bird into the woods. Made me mad and sad. Then a day or two later I found a dead finch by my window. It was under a bench so I didn't notice it probably for a few days until I bent down to refill my ground feeder. The wings were still open, so it probably hit the window and broke it's neck. It had already started decomposing and being eaten by tiny bugs. Other than those two things there hasn't been that much drama.

Fledglings

I was watching a female cardinal feed her baby at the feeder. It reminds me of last year when I would watch a baby cardinal being fed in the morning. Kind of takes me back. Now it's started all over again, a year later. How time flies. I still wonder if these are the same two cardinals that raised another baby last year. I would assume so. The female built a nest near my house this spring but abandoned it before laying any eggs. But it's nice to see the cardinals again at the feeder, especially seeing a baby being fed again. I also saw a fledgling House Finch, fluttering it's wings and wanting food from the parents today. And I've seen quite a few fledgling Common Grackles and a Red-bellied Woodpecker being fed by their parents and getting food on their own.

My First Homemade Suet, Third Batch

I went shopping and picked up more crunchy peanut butter, oats and a tub of a mix of lard (meat fat) and vegetable shortening. I mixed them all together on the stove. Put it in the freezer overnight. I put it out and the birds really seemed to like it, although it started melting in the heat, even though I had it in the shade under a covered feeder. Maybe adding some flour, etc. would help it stay more solid in the heat, I'm not sure. But if it were cooler, this suet I made would be the perfect one. Tastes good, too. I will definitely be offering this in winter.

Butterfly & Bumble Bee on a Coneflower

House Finch Make Out Session

I saw two mated House Finches look like they were having a make out session. They just both kept pecking softly in each other's mouth. They may have been exchanging food, though, I'm not sure. It was the cutest and sweetest thing.

Bumble Bee Sleeping on a Sunflower Head

Late at night before going to bed at about 2 A.M. I was refilling my feeder for the morning and I noticed a cute little bumble bee sleeping on a sunflower head, one of the smaller sunflowers growing. That made my night. The only reason I saw him was because I had my flashlight with me for seeing what I'm doing outside and just happened to notice him.

That wasp I was telling you about with the missing set of wings...

I woke up this morning about 11:30 A.M. and checked on the wasp. He had moved or fallen to the ground from the hose he was clinging to. He was on his side, not moving and dying. When I picked him up his stinger was doing a pumping motion and his limbs and other body parts were just moving very slowly or not at all. I decided to put him out of his misery. Yesterday, when I first noticed him, he seemed like a friendly, healthy wasp other than the missing set of wings. It's sad.

Planting More Sunflower Seeds

I planted nearly 10 sunflower seeds this evening. Just got the urge to plant some more and give the bumble bees and other bees more nectar, plus when they are done growing I can get many more seeds back from the heads of them all, so it's truly a win-win for me.

It's Been One Year of Birdfeeding and Birdwatching

I took and uploaded my first bird video in June of 2010 and probably got into birds sometime around May 2010, or maybe even late April. It's been a full year of being into my bird hobby. Crazy. Never would've thought I'd be into birds, but here I am. It's been wonderful. It brings happiness and a smile to my face every day.

A Wasp Missing Left Side of Wings

I saw this wasp on my porch steps, then I noticed he didn't have the left side of his wings, appearing one or both of his ripped-off wings were stuck or on his intact right-side wings. I went to my computer and google'd if wasp's wings grow back, which I read they don't, unfortunately, and that they will die without being able to fly and find food. But I also read they eat a lot of insects, which a lot are found on the ground. This is when I learned they have four sets of wings, by the way.

I really feel sorry for this wasp. Maybe it was the recent heavy rain or something else. I thought briefly about putting him out of his misery and inevitably slow death, but when I realized he might still be able to live by finding food on the ground and adapting I decided killing it was not the best option at the moment. I tried to put a dead insect near him but he just walked passed it, and then I put a sunflower heart on the step.

I've never seen any insects that I can think of that were not able to fly anymore because of missing wings, etc. It's kind of pitiful and makes me a little sad.