Bluebird Update April 12, 2022
We’re having a rainy morning here in Vermont. Looks like momma bluebird took a rain delay before getting to work. Since she got started, she’s been coming into the box every few minutes. She’s adjusting the grass in the nest and pressing her belly down to form the cup for her eggs.
We’re watching eastern bluebirds build their nest in a camera-equipped nesting box. We can watch without disturbing the birds.
Bluebird Update April 11, 2022
Momma bluebird has been hard at work again this morning. She’s been hauling in more grass and getting things squared away.
There’s a spider in the box, you can see a piece of grass caught in her web on the left side of the video. The question is, how did the spider get in the box? Just chance? A couple years ago, we had wrens in this box. Mrs. Wren brought a spider into the box but didn’t eat it. A quick web search suggests this is common behavior for wrens, apparently the spiders prey on mites, fleas and ticks that annoy the birds. Let’s see if Mrs. Bluebird cohabitates with this spider, or if it becomes a snack.
Have critters showing up regularly? I’m always looking for critters to photograph. I’m always on the lookout for mammals bigger than a squirrel, especially with a family. For birds, I’m looking for owl and woodpecker nests this year. It usually takes me several trips and many hours sitting and waiting to get the photos I want. If you’ve got critters someplace I can come and go without bothering them or you, I’d love to know.
We’re watching eastern bluebirds in a nesting box that I built with a camera mounted inside so we can watch without disturbing the birds.
Bluebird Update April 10, 2022
Our bluebirds continue to work on their nest this morning.
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There are some background noises that you may hear in the videos. There’s often the wind making a rushing or roaring sound. The thumps and scratches you may hear are one of the birds on the outside of the house.
I’ve built bird boxes with cameras installed in them to allow us to watch the birds without disturbing them.
More Work on the Bluebird Nest
Another busy morning for our bluebirds. Mrs. has been hauling in building material and is starting to form the ‘cup’ in the nest for the eggs. She’s pressing her underside down into the grass and fluttering her wings to get the right shape for the cup. Mr. Bluebird peeks his head in from time to time to make sure everything is going well.
I’ve installed cameras in several bird nesting boxes in the yard to allow us to watch the birds without disturbing them.
Bluebird Nest Progress, April 8, 2022
Mrs. Bluebird got an early start on nest building this morning and is still at it midmorning. This clip shows her making several trips into the box and sort things out. Dad makes an appearance to see how things are going.
I’ve built several nesting boxes with cameras install in them to let us keep track of their progress without disturbing the birds.
Mrs. Bluebird Works On Her Nest
Today is the third day that Mrs. Bluebird has been working on her nest in our camera equipped nesting box. She made several trips in with material this morning before taking a midmorning break.
I installed a camera inside the box to let us watch their progress without disturbing them. Today’s video is in black and white because the camera has a automatic exposure sensor that switches to B&W in low light. We’re having a gloomy morning here in Vermont and there isn’t much daylight.
Our Bluebirds Have Returned!
Our bluebirds are back and they’ve selected a bird box for their nest. They’ve started building this week. Check back regularly for updates as we follow their progress.
I put a small video camera in the box to let us watch without disturbing the bluebirds. I’ll post updates regularly while their building the nest and raising their family.
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Sometimes I Think They’re Hiding From Me
One of the toughest challenges for a nature photographer is to show how well a critter’s camouflage works. If the critter has blended-in nearly perfectly, they’re hard to highlight. Here a couple examples and how I handled them.
The great gray owl was almost invisible against that evergreen tree he was in. With his eyes closed, or nearly so, there wasn’t much of a shot. Patience paid off when he finally opened both eyes while half in the sunlight.
With the American bittern, the solution was to get in close (actually with a 500mm lens and a big crop) and use a wide aperture (small F-stop number) to blur the foreground and background.
Attract More Birds With Homemade Suet
You can make homemade suet quickly and easily to attract more birds to your yard. You’ll find lots of birds love suet, not just woodpeckers. Here’s a recipe you can make at home.
Our woodpeckers love our suet!
We’ve had thrashers, nuthatches, chickadees, titmice and more feeding at our suet feeder.
Yield:Â Â 5 cups
Time: Â Â 10 Minutes
Ingredients
   2 cups quick-cooking oats
   2 cups cornmeal
   1 cup flour
   1 cup lard or melted suet
   1 cup peanut butter
Directions
Melt the lard and peanut butter together over medium-low heat on the stove. Keep the heat low, cleaning up scorched peanut butter is a mess.
Combine the dry ingredients.
Add the dry ingredients to the melted fats.
The original recipe suggests pouring into a square pan about 2 inches deep. I found a few commercial yogurt containers (that hold a couple gallons). I make a double batch in one of them. It stores nicely in an unheated garage.
To serve, just scoop out some of the mix and press it into a rough square and put it in like a commercial suet cake.
Options
Some people use bacon grease instead of the lard. I’ve seen suggestions that the salt may be bad for birds. I suspect few birds live long enough to worry about atherosclerosis, but you may want to err on the side of caution.
Several of the recipes I found suggest chopping up raw peanuts. I substituted crunchy PB.
You can add dried fruit, berries or mealworms to the mix. I’ve experimented with a variety. Birds eat it readily with or without the additions.
Norfolk Southern 11R at Tunnel, NY
Norfolk Southern train 11R (Ayer, MA to Harrisburg, PA) emerges from the tunnel in the aptly named Tunnel, NY, behind SD70ACe 1191 on November 4, 2020. This is a perfect example of why you need to ‘be prepared’ and camera ready at all times.
I was on my way to Cass, WV, and driving down route 88 and as I passed Oneonta, my scanner gave a burst of static. I got several more useless squawks as I went south, eventually getting close enough to figure out there was a train stopped by the hot box detector near Unadilla. Dropping down onto NY 7, I found him just before he got going south again.
Track speed isn’t what it was back in the real D&H days, staying ahead of a train on the main is much more of a challenge these days, the grab a shot, stop for gas, head for the next spot days are gone. I took off and headed to Tunnel, hoping there would still be some light.
Luck was with me, there was one spot of late afternoon light left just before the signals. With the 400mm, the framing was right for a nice vertical with the tunnel as the background. The rail gods cooperated and he managed to arrive before the light died.
So, after a short detour, I ended up with pretty nice shot on the fly, no planning. Packing the scanner and gear proved worthwhile.