Get out of here! No, you get out of here!!!

Okay I wasn't happy years ago when they moved trashy trailers in across the street from me and really not happy when the one was raided for a meth lab but who would have known an abandoned trailer would be so amusing.

This past weekend I was out side and heard a crow going nuts. This isn't too strange but this one just wouldn't stop screaming. So I walked to the front of the house and saw him across the street at the 'meth' trailer fighting with another crow. I thought 'Oh, so that's the problem' and went back in the house. On my next venture out I still heard him and thought it should have ended by now. Upon walking back out front and looking that's when I notice it WASN'T another bird he was fighting with, it was himself in a mirror. Too funny!

I'm not sure how long it took him to figure it out but I'm really happy that whoever cleaned out the trailer put that mirror there. Sorry it's not a better picture but it be honest I didn't want to be sen taking a picture of a seized meth lab. LOL

I'm feeling mighty blue

I know it's an unwritten rule that you are not to show favorites when it's come to family, but I can't help it - my bluebirds are by far my favorites. It's been an amazing spring to have the bluebirds show up early, start to build, leave and then come back to build on the deck where I can watch them up close a personal all day everyday! The youngster hatched about one week ago and mom and dad are busy feeding them all. I believe there are five in there but really hard to count at this point.

I finally got up the nerve to open the house and try to get a picture of them but the door doesn't leave me many option of angles so the above is the best I can do right now. Anyway, hope you enjoy the images and look for more updates.

Out of their own

The yard is full of feathered friends - some hanging out at the feeders and some hanging in the grass. Some are very busy gathering food and making numerous trip to their nests and some are just out sitting trying to take it all in - those are the newest additions to the bird world. Watching the youngsters can be quite fun. They're not sure when to fly and when to stay where they are. Mom is still feeding them yet they have freedom. I have the great honor of watching them figure out what the reality of freedom is and I'm going to enjoy it all summer.

Dad and their home

Here a quick picture of the bluebird house so you can see what I mean about the location. I literally sit it there till I figure out where I might put it. The bungee was added after the eggs showed up. Plan it to raise the location to a safer place once these babies fly away.

Sound the trumpets...

...the big arrival has occurred. Finally after years, I have baby bluebirds. I've lived in my current home for almost 10 years and this is a first here - in fact a first for me period. When I was house hunting the main reason I settled for this house was because of the large overgrown field in the back. I'm wasn't looking at other houses just an old cow pasture let to grow which meant wildlife to me.

The first two years I had bluebirds around but they won't go near the many birdhouses I had put out. I moved them everywhere to try different approaches. It was almost torturous to have them around but I couldn't figure out the right match to get them to nest. Over the years it became a yearly challenge. Then about three years ago, they finally started building in one of the houses and I thought 'FINALLY' but for all those years they would start to build and then abandon their nest. This happened again this year, they built stayed a little while and then disappeared again as you can see from my first blog entries it was quite a high then low.

So again I was thinking 'what can I do differently.' So again I found myself in the bird supply aisle at Lowe's and once again I bought a new little different bluebird house. I came home that day and took down the one they NEVER use and replaced it with the new one. I took the old birdhouse and throw it in my garbage can. On trash day I had a change of heart about throwing the house out and figured I could put it somewhere later, so I simply sit it on the deck railing.

About a week later, there was grass sticking out the back of the old thing. I figured the chickadees had moved in. But a few days later the nest wasn't finished so I cleaned it out and left it there. Next day there was grass again but this time a full nest. I laughed and thought okay I'll let whatever it is use it. Within no time I saw them, the bluebird couple on the cable wires above and thought strange and then BAM she flew into the 'garbage' house. I laughed to myself and thought 'all these years and they build there' too funny.

So today is the record day. Bluebird babies in the 'garbage' house secured to the deck with a bungee cord - proving sometimes things just happen!

Yet another nest

Well, yet another shocker in the nesting arena. I've got a pair of nesting Brown Thrashers. They have chosen to nest right in the top of the hedge row beside my house. So I've marked where the nest is so that when I go to trim the bushes down I'll leave that area alone. It will look funny to those driving by but I'll know the real deal.

It's been quite a year here for nesting birds. I can now sit on the sit on my deck and watch pairs of chickadees, house wrens (2 sets), bluebirds and brown thrashers. Not bad and I've still got a few more houses for rent if there are anymore takers out there.

Attack....

So the indigo bunting was at the feeder and I decided to try again to get a 'good' picture of him which is easier said then done. I was snapping the shutter and watching him through the lens when BAM something freaked him out.

Well, the picture says it all. I guess this finch didn't want anything blue on 'his' feeder. Not the best picture but not one you can really plan for.