This Week...

Yesterday, I noticed a robin's nest not far from my deck in a nearby tree. Pretty cool. I noticed it because I saw two robin's around the nest, then looked in my binoculars and spotted the large nest. If I had a decent camera with a long zoom I would take a picture of it. Unfortunately, I dropped my binoculars with an integrated (crappy) camera and ever since then the focus has been off slightly on one of the lenses compared to the other. It may still take a decent picture but I have doubts. I'm looking to get a Canon with a 12x+ optical zoom soon and a wireless camera.

Today, I noticed a Carolina Wren collecting dog hair on my deck. Pretty cute. I'm not sure where the nest is, but it has to be nearby. I took a short 5-second video but it's so out of focus it's not even worth uploading.

The cardinal has been in the nest still, off and on. I'm not sure if the eggs have been laid yet or not because I can't see inside the nest, but I'd assume it's very close or some or all have already been laid. I've uploaded a short video here:

Update on the Cardinal Nest

I hadn't seen the female cardinal at the nest in a few days, but a few minutes ago I noticed she was in the nest, this time laying in the nest, not building it. She definitely appears to be done building the nest and I assume she is about to start laying eggs or possibly even has already laid (one).

For This Earth Day...

...which happens to be my birthday also, I think we should all respect and protect nature, the environment and our planet Earth more. I've been slowly realizing how beautiful and important nature is. I plan on making a small contribution with my birdfeeding, providing birdhouses, and learning more about gardening and eventually grow some really pretty and beneficial plants. The only thing I, myself, have grown so far, or should I say my birds have grown, are some dropped sunflower seeds have been sprouting various places in my yard. How cool is that?! But I'm going to do some actual intentional planting so I can have some cool berry-producing shrubs for the birds that don't normally visit feeders and eat seeds or that just like berries, like robins, mockingbirds, etc. I have a lot of robins around here but they don't touch the feeders, not even the bird bath, yet.

The Cardinals

This morning I saw the male singing his heart out. It's probably the first time I've actually been able to confirm that a bird is singing territorially, because I know he's mated and has been seen chasing another male away yesterday. After I saw him singing I checked the nest-in-progress. What do you know, she was hard at work, building. Here's a video from today of the female building the nest:

I just saw...

...the two cardinals building a nest near my house MATE! The female lifted her tail high and then saw the male "mount" her, getting on top of her. After getting off of her I saw her flutter her wings a few times. I almost had a video of it but by the time I got it they were done. A few minutes later I saw her fly to the nest she's building and put more things in it.

One Year Later... The BP Oil Spill: The Most Powerful Photos

View the heartbreaking images here.

Exciting and Action-packed Day for Nesting!

Well, I've discovered two cardinal mates building a nest in a conifer shrub/tree close to my porch and right by a window. The is the same shrub/tree that I've video-recorded and posted I believe the same male roosting there in the winter. It may be the same cardinal mates that used to come to my feeders first thing in the morning that used to live in the woods, or it may be the young cardinal that I watched grow and get fed by their parents. I'm not sure which it is. This is VERY exciting, though, to have an actual nest being built where I can watch it and the baby cardinals. Just awesome.

After I discovered the nest I saw a female Eastern Bluebird, presumably the mate of the male bluebird that I just saw today for the first time and that has been hanging around my yard all day. I think they're looking to nest in a birdhouse/nestbox!

I will have a video of the cardinals building the nest posted soon.

Hard-boiled Egg

I'm offering my birds a hard-boiled egg for the first time. Exciting to see if they'll peck at it right away or if it'll take some time. I had a few last night. Boy, were they good.

My First...

...Bluebird! And at around the same time I saw a hummingbird for the first time since fall! I wonder if it's the same one from last year... So, been a very cool day today and recently with all of the new birds.