Really Random Wrap-ups of Recent Events

Sometimes I think I should let you know what's happened since I posted about a topic.  For instance, have you been wondering about our house wrens or bluebirds?  I know, this is probably not upper most in your mind.   But just in case you have wondered, here are the wrap-ups.

Our house wrens... I still see them around-- though not in our yard anymore, and they always scold when I happen to be too close for (their) comfort.  They seem to have found safe places to hang out since they left the nest box.  Can you find two of them in the next photo?

The bluebirds are easier to see, as they like to hang out on the wires over our yard and swoop down to catch insects in the grass.  They are more graceful than when they first fledged and can hang onto the wire now without any trouble.

But they still seem to 'play' at times like the youngsters they are.  How about a game of hide-n-seek?  One is hiding, one seeking:

Early in the morning of August 28th, we had a whole bunch of barn swallows on the wire...

They might have been voting on whether it was time to head for southern climes, and I guess the vote was positive, because I have not seen one since then.

Other birds are showing up because they are migrating though.  Bald eagles migrate early - August and September.  This one made a brief stop in our swamp on August 23rd.

It caught something in the water and flew into this dead snag to eat for a few minutes.  All the other birds flew off in alarm except for one Canada Goose.

As I approached, the eagle flew off toward the south, carrying the remainder of its meal in its talons.

I'm still seeing hummingbirds but not as many.  Some of ours may have started their migration, others may be stopping here on their way south from farther north.  I will keep my feeders out for awhile yet.  And the regular bird feeders are getting busier again now that our year-round birds are (mostly) done raising their babies and are all coming to eat sunflower seeds.  I say mostly, because even today we've had fledgling goldfinches and cardinals.  

"Feed me!  Feed me!"

Warblers don't eat seeds, but sometimes they are attracted to the feeder area by all the other bird activity.  I was really glad I happened to be watching when this juvenile Prairie Warbler showed up on September 1st.  It is species #105 on our year list!

Another good sighting was the Giant Swallowtail in my flowerbed on September 2nd.  (That's a week after the first time I saw it).

 

I also saw a second Monarch today-- while I was mowing the lawn.  I had mentioned in my recent butterfly post that I hoped to get a photo if I saw another one.  Of course, I don't carry a camera with me on the mower... so I watched it for a few moments to make sure that's what I was seeing (and not just wishful thinking making a blowing orange leaf into a butterfly!)  It was definitely a Monarch!  So I turned off the mower and ran into the house to grab my camera.  But by the time I returned, it was gone.  It might have been migrating, too.

I have one final bit of random-ness for this post.  Bald birds.  Yes.... bald birds, though not as in bald eagle, more like bald songbirds.  

I had a photo of a bald blue jay, too, but it was just too weird and ugly to post!  Now,  I could pretend to be an expert on this subject, but I'm not.  I had to read up on bald birds on the internet.  You really can find anything on the internet!  I found a very interesting article.  So, if you want to learn about this peculiar topic, here's the link.  And if you are completely uninterested, I understand that, too!