Posts Tagged: birds

Bluebird Update April 11, 2022

On April 11, 2022 - Bluebird Cam

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.

bird video, birding, birds, bluebird, bluebird nest, bluebird video, bluebirdcam, eastern bluebird, new hampshire wildlife, vermont wildlife

Bluebird Update April 10, 2022

On April 10, 2022 - Bluebird Cam

Our bluebirds continue to work on their nest this morning.

You can now follow me on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/uppervalleyphotos/

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.

bird video, birding, birds, bluebird, bluebird nest, bluebird video, bluebirdcam, eastern bluebird, new hampshire birds, new hampshire wildlife, vermont birds, vermont wildlife

Mrs. Bluebird Works On Her Nest

On April 7, 2022 - Bluebird Cam, Uncategorized, Wildlife Photography

You need to add a widget, row, or prebuilt layout before you’ll see anything here. 🙂

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.

bird nest, bird video, birding, birds, bluebird, bluebird nest, bluebirdcam, eastern bluebird, wildlife video

Our Bluebirds Have Returned!

On April 6, 2022 - Bluebird Cam, Uncategorized, Wildlife

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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birding, birds, bluebird, bluebird nest, bluebird video, bluebirdcam, eastern bluebird, new hampshire wildlife, vermont wildlife

Checking In With The Loons, August 4, 2021

On August 4, 2021 - Loons, Wildlife Photography

Our loon family with two chicks was receiving visitors yesterday morning, August 3. The chicks are now 46 & 47 days old. They both appear to be doing well. They’re diving, and occasionally catching food, on their own. But, they’re always hungry and encouraging the parents to feed them.

The loons will have to take a brief hiatus. I’ll be down at the League of New Hampshire Craftsmen Fair for through August 15. I’ll resume the story as soon as possible after the Fair.

The loons were foraging at the far end of the pond from the boat launch, I ran into some of the usual suspects along the way to see the loons. This is the most common view I get of common mergansers.

The fishing wasn’t very good this morning. Hank caught just one small fish while I watched.

This osprey made seven or eight dives without catching anything before perching to watch for a meal.

This was the largest fish I saw the parents hand off to the chicks.

The parents were foraging fairly far away from the chicks. They were covering a good portion of their pond.

One of the loons took some time off from feeding the chicks to preen….

The chicks are getting big. From a distance, it is hard to tell them from their parents. Their fluff is going and their feathers are growing in.

The chicks were actively foraging in the shallow water. They both managed to catch food. There appeared to be several dragonfly nymphs, but most of what they caught was too small for me to ID.

And one last shot of the chicks before I had to head out.

birding, birds, loons

Swallow Update July 15, 2021

On July 15, 2021 - Tree Swallow Cam

Another day, another egg for our tree swallows.

birds, nest cam, swallow nest, tree swallows

Piping Plovers On The New Hampshire Coast

On June 14, 2021 - Wildlife Photography

Piping plover chicks have hatched on the New Hampshire Coast. I visited last week. In the short section of beach I visited, I found two families with chicks, one with three and one with four chicks. There were also a number of common terns terrorizing the beach denizens, winged, armed or legged.

What’s your vote for cutest bird? Piping plover chicks have to be on anyone’s list.

Let’s start with the terns. They nest in the sand dunes not far above high tide. They make a shallow scrape for their eggs. And, they defend their territory with gusto! They’ll swoop, peck and sometimes poop on intruders. Once one tern gets upset about an intruder, it seems like all the terns on the beach join in the commotion and find some critter to drive off.

A tern looking for someone to divebomb….

And a tern escorting a gull from the premises.

Adult piping plovers are handsome birds. They’re not very large, about 7″ long. They hunt for small crustaceans, worms and insects along the beach. You probably won’t see them until they move. They run – very fast – for short spurts. They live along the northeastern coast and in the Great Lakes. They’re endangered. I’ve seen the figure 6,100 individuals, but never with a citation.

Here’s mom – or maybe dad, only they know – overseeing the chicks running about on the beach.

They seem to coexist with some of the other plovers, and drive others away from there territory. Perhaps they come to terms with their neighbors, but still view others as threats. This plover has spotted another plover it wishes would go away.

Chicks are born ready to forage, the parents take turns supervising them as they run about the beach. The parents seem fairly laissez-faire about watching the chicks. They chicks are often well out of the parent’s sight. The parents call occasionally, probably to keep the kids relatively close. Every so often, the parent baby sitting decides the chicks are cold and calls them in and they duck under the adult and everyone sits for a few minutes.

This parent reacted to its mate returning to sit the kids by scrunching down and fluffing.

And the chicks are just darned cute. They run about the beach exploring, foraging, stretching and fluffing. They run in short spurts, changing direction on a whim.

Here’s one practicing being cute.

It takes them a while to grow into their feet.

Watching them walk, I can’t help but wonder if they were the inspiration for the two-legged walkers in Star Wars.

Exploring along above the high-tide mark.

This little guy may have some more learning to do….

birds, piping plover, piping plover chick, shorebirds

A Second Bluebird Egg April 17, 2021

On April 17, 2021 - Bluebird Cam, Wildlife Photography

Mrs. Bluebird returned to the box on schedule late this morning to lay a second egg. She’ll likely lay one a day for until she has four or five eggs. She won’t start sitting on them until they’re all laid.

I’m still looking for mammals to photograph this spring. If you know of a den – fox, coyote, bobcat – or have a racoon, mink, fisher or bear on some sort of a schedule I’d love to know.

Here’s Jeans settling in to lay her egg.

We’re looking inside a nesting box with the bluebirds in West Newbury, Vermont. The camera is permanently mounted in the box and we can watch without disturbing the birds.

bird video, birds, bluebird nest, bluebirdcam, eastern bluebird

Ruby Valentino on Guard

On July 6, 2020 - Wildlife Photography

We’ve got a hummingbird feeder just off our deck. It is a favored feeding spot for the neighborhood hummingbirds. There is always competition between a few males to protect the feeder. This afternoon, Ruby Valentino claimed the feeder and stood guard protecting it.