To send you off into the new year,
here are the Judgy Gracks of July (a personal favorite), August, September and October. Be safe tonight and see you in the new one.
I will continue
to post the birds of the calendars in the coming days, but there are still some Gracks left for this year. July, August, September and October are always fun months. The babies emerge, and Grack babies are super cute, many birds undergo dramatic molts, and the landscape changes color too.
Goodbye, 2023!
There were fun moments this year and I absolutely enjoyed the garden this year but I hope that next year will be a bit more exciting again when it comes to birds. The last four months of the year show a Chipmunk, a Chickadee, a Bluebird and a Junco. I hope for some snow in January, just for some fun photo opportunities, and would love a return of a Chickadee nest and of course the Blues.
May for the Gracks
had to be something special, and in the non-judgy calendar, you see the OG, Count Grackula himself. He has stopped coming this season, and I think he may have just gotten too old, but his white markings made him very recognizable. The good thing is, the legacy is carried on, there are more like him with white spots. All other photos show why I had to make two Grackle calendars, I just like their poses but they are so awesomely goofy when they look straight into your face.
All calendars will be on sale from tomorrow until January 2nd 2024 here: https://tinyurl.com/ff6bj43m
The summer months
are one of my favorite times for birding because it is the height of variety, and there are so many baby birds too. For July and August, I had a hard time choosing photos, so here you see some of the alternatives I considered, along with the two final choices, the Red-bellied Woodpecker and the dramatic Blue Jay (taking a sun bath). The immature Orchard Oriole was a fabulous surprise, and I always love the look of the immature Red-winged Blackbirds. Well, and I love Blue Jay babies in all their loud, demanding and adorable glory.
When the warm weather returns,
Grackles also make a comeback here, they are one of the earliest migrants to arrive. The weather is wild during the early months of the warm season, which means that there are tons of great Grackle photos with rain but also their beauty sticking out in front of the barren yard. Here are March and April of the regular Grackle and the Judgy Grackle calendars. The top two are some of my favorites I have ever taken, and I absolutely love the last one.
I am a May child,
so naturally, the calendar bird of May is something I can identify with or find particularly fun, and this time, with the regulars, it is a MoDo. The June bird is a juvenile Rosebreasted Grosbeak. I love the mix of patterns and colors that are going on with this one while the baby plumage is still there but the adult one is coming through. (The red on his beak is grape jelly.)
The Grackles
for February are for one, yet another that came on a snowy day, and the judgy one with a very intense stare. Photos like the second one are why I decided to make a judgy Grack calendar, they just have the best poses, and the world needs to see them.
March and April
of the "regulars" calendar are a beautiful male Cardinal and a gorgeous Goldfinch in breeding plumage. Spring is my favorite season, I just love when everything sprouts and blooms and great things await. I forgot to post the February bird here yesterday, so that is here now, a Whitebreasted Nuthatch with a nice big peanut. You can get my calendars here: tinyurl.com/ff6bj43m
It's getting a bit late,
but I still wanted to take the time to introduce the calendar birds. There isn’t much else going on here right now anyways. Now as you know, this year I made three calendars, so there are three potential images to grace your quarters in January. For the “Grackles through the seasons”, you’ll get a beautiful and sceptical Grack whose feathers shine gloriously against the white background. The male House Finch is the January bird for the regulars calendar. I loved the head tilt and all that snow! Choice 3 is a judgy Grackle, also in the snow. I have added links to the calendars on my homepage here.
I hope everybody
had a wonderful Christmas time. On Christmas Eve, I put out some milk and (homemade) cookies to lure Santa here, and added some kitty food in case he brings his favorite opossums along. It seems like this plan has worked well 😂
Bird activity remains slow
for this time of the year but I do enjoy having the Pine Siskins around. People seem to often mix them up with Goldfinches and House Finches, so I compiled some photos to show them from front and back. As I said before, good ID marks are Goldfinch size, pointy beak, yellow on sides and tail and a feisty spirit. The other two photos show a (very adorable) female House Finch.
I like
moving cams around when the weather isn’t muddy, it gives me insights into areas I can otherwise not watch. It’s not always exciting stuff but the different background and perspective is a nice change from the ordinary. Here are some of the visitors from yesterday, the furry ones are very happy 😆
And one more
for the House Finch file. I saw this one in the bushes today, and to my surprise, he visited a camera as well. I think he looks really cool with all the orange and some tiny bits of red creeping in. Come good into the week!
There is a leucistic Junco around,
and Birdsy has captured it on video (you can watch on my Youtube and my social mediachannels, video uploads are always a bit of a pain here) but so far I was not lucky with photos. I have set a camera on the ground in the thicket for that, and even if it did not lure in the Junco yet, it has still gotten some visitors. It almost feels like the birds need to learn to not be shy with my cameras again, it’s been so long since a Downy has visited. The Cardinal is one of several that are hanging around.
It is always so neat
to see how different individual birds of a species can look. With House Finches, the color and vibrancy of the males depends on what they eat. We have Mulberries and other red berries as well as Mountain Ash around here, and it feels like you can tell from these two. One has orange undertones and a more subdued red, while the other is mostly red and very vibrant. The stripes on the belly as well as the non-red wing bars are certain indicators that mark them as House Finches. Tomorrow is the last day of my calendar sale, make sure to get what you want in time.
Slim pickings still
this week but the Christmas deco is up and temps are going to go down soon. Here are some of the recent visitors. My calendars are all on sale this week, by the way - they are 15 % off and you can get them at the link on my home page and in my shop here.
December 1 on a Friday
is just as good as any occasion to post some Tufties. They’ve been very busy building their winter stashes, all the while entertaining with their looks and sounds. Have a fabulous weekend and stay warm!
I always find it interesting
how, along with vegetation, the light changes throughout the year, and each season has something special. And while the lushness of summer and spring are wonderful, the cold season also has some pretty aspects. The morning sun gives everything a magical glow while the afternoon sun creates lens flares that make otherwise more boring photos more fun.
As a lovely surprise,
the King and Queen of the Yard finally visited the photo setup again too. It was cloudy so things look a bit murky. Today, the sun is out, let’s hope they come back for more. Stay warm and have a fabulous Tuesday! If you’re shopping for Christmas presents, check out my calendars here.
