I have not been out birding much lately and have been very busy with some big changes in my life – I apologize for slacking with my posting! To make up for it, I will share photos of all of the nesting birds that I found locally this year. Most of the photos are not that great – this is because I observe them from a safe distance and do not want to disturb the nests!!
The only nest I found near my yard, so far, is a Red-bellied Woodpecker cavity. They made it easy to find by constantly calling from the tree. I am still waiting to see the fledglings come to my feeders.
Red-bellied Woodpecker in cavity
I found some nests while out in the field just by seeing birds fly into them.
American Goldfinch on nest
Red-eyed Vireo on nest
Blue Jay on nest
And others were pointed out to me by friends who already knew the location.
Canada Goose on nest
Wood Thrush in nest on my friends property
There is an abandoned building nearby that Cliff Swallows like to nest on every year. Unfortunately, right after we saw them this year the property owners knocked down all of their work.
Cliff Swallows building nest
While out on a trip with my local birding club, we found a female Baltimore Oriole building a nest right above the road. I re-found this nest over the weekend, but did not scout it out to see if it was active.
Baltimore Oriole building her nest
I’ve also found various birds carrying nesting materials – of course, they are very cautious when someone is watching them.
Common Yellowthroat with nesting material
Dark-eyed Junco with nesting material
American Crow with moss
To end this off on a cute note, I will share a non-avian nest – I found this Groundhog den at a local park. The young would crowd around the opening, forage and play.
I’m often highlight my backyard birds so today I will give my other backyard friends (and foes!) the spotlight. Along with the birds, I get a variety of mammals, amphibians and some reptiles. Having bird feeders attracts many of these non-avian guests – both predictable and unexpected.
My yard and woods are loaded with Squirrels, mostly Gray Squirrels along with Chipmunks and a couple of Red Squirrels.
Eastern Gray Squirrel
Eastern Chipmunk
Red Squirrel
I do not mind them foraging for fallen seed, but it was a long and frustrating process to fully squirrel-proof all of my feeders. I have also caught other visitors cleaning up messes that the birds leave.
Skunk foraging under my feeders at night
Northern Raccoon under my feeders at night
I get plenty of Eastern Cottontails and Groundhogs during the summer. Both of them seem to like to eat some of my nicer garden plants so I can’t say that I am too happy to have them hanging around; however, I realize that this is their home too.
Eastern Cottontail
Groundhog on my deck
My neighborhood gets a lot of White-tailed Deer.
White-tailed Deer
I’ve never had issues with them on my bird feeders, but I do have an even larger mammal who wants the seed.
Black Bear making his way to my feeders
Last year, a bear family of four visited us on multiple nights. This month was the first time I saw one of them during the day. We scared him away by making loud noises out the window.
Black Bear
I do have an unfortunate visitor as well. I found a mouse inside my home only once – after my cats already drowned it (don’t ask…). This particular one photographed below one made her nest in my grill cover when I had it folded under a table. I lifted the cover up and this mother mouse and her small babies fell out along with the nest. She quickly scurried away.
Mouse family
After she disappeared, I noticed that she left behind one of the babies! Even though it is just a mouse, I felt bad. I put the baby mouse and the nest inside a small box and left it near the bottom of my deck. Mom came for it shortly after and all were safe.
Mouse baby left behind
My best mammal visitors were a huge shock for me. I saw a Gray Fox walk past my yard one morning. I did get a couple of photos, but they were taken in a hurry. Later that day, I ran into an even bigger surprise as soon as I walked into the woods. I had TWO Foxes – a mom and her teenager.
Mom Gray Fox and her grown up Kit
All three of us stopped in our tracks. I was shaking when I took my initial photos, but they came out well enough. I ran across these foxes every day for a week and ended up getting some better photos, despite the dark, yet brightly back-lit woods.
Gray Fox
Young Gray Fox
I have one reptile yard visitor who I often find in my grass and under the rocks.
Ring-necked Snake
And many amphibians who visit – more so when I had a small pond in the back. I get American Toads, Tree Frogs, Wood Frogs and Peepers.
Eastern American Toad
Birds, Bears, Foxes and Frogs – I wonder who else will show up?
