Mockingbirds are going to have an amazing late summer of grapes from our cultivated California grapes. These have an amazing assortment of bugs too. Still have ladybugs in them. 🌱
Birds
Pineapple guavas have been blooming for a few weeks now. The Mockingbirds love munching on the flower petals.
Area scrub jays have really got the hang of our feeder. Although, recently one jay tried to peck at the seeds through the transparent canister.
Eurasian Collared Dove drinking party.
After weeks of warmer than normal weather, weather swung the other way and we had freezing temps for a few days. Had to cover up the weaker & less freeze tolerant trees. I don’t see damage to my earlier than normal blooming trees yet: all citrus, all stone fruit, one avocado 🌱🤞
California Towhee from this morning. First sighting ever in the backyard but have seen these around the neighborhood. They don’t seem to care much for the white crowns & house sparrows. This is my kind of bird.
Took a walk around a small lake today and saw: 1) turtles sunning on a log; 2) a western meadow lark; 3) redwing blackbirds; 4) long billed curlews; and 5) a duck with a cool hairdo (hopefully).
I looked out into the backyard just in time to see a Nuttall’s Woodpecker investigating our cultivated elderberry and Ceanothus bushes. So cool!
A few different birds & a landscape from today’s nature walk. One vulture and one 777.
Today I had to remove a trespassing & bird harassing “Happy Birthday To You” balloon from our mandarin tree and then dispose of it. A birthday card can say as much. 🙄
Honey bees are apparently feeding on bird seed dust. Never seen this behavior before. More photos on Flickr.
On today’s walk, there was a very photogenic & easy-going Black Phoebe. This one did not want to leave their tree.
Soggy house finches and house sparrows (maybe a fox sparrow too) sheltering on grape vines from the wind and desperately needed rain.
My partner in crime sure does know how to cook a golden, juicy bird.
No rest for birds this time of the year. Here’s a Yellow Rumped Warbler (lower right) and Lesser Gold Finch (upper left) in our cultivated native grapes.
Bird bath mirror.
Sharp looking (spotted bird?) grasshopper! It was resting in our California buckwheat.
Our first backyard Spotted Towhee!
Sunflower seeds ready to be eaten by backyard birds. Bet the scrub jays will cache them all.
Saturday, September 25, 2021 →
California fuchsias still blooming, and that makes our hummingbirds very pleased.
Grapes are now turning to raisins but the birds still love them.
Mockingbird.
Mockingbirds enjoying our grapes (these cultivated California native grapes are for the birds!).
Mockingbirds love our cultivated native grapes 🥰 It’s the best seeing them swallow a large grape whole. We’ve seen at least five in our backyard. They mostly get along. We have a kind of neutral zone
Western redbud has to share soil with a bird planted sunflower.
This morning, two Northern Mockingbirds briefly hung out on our backyard patio. It seems super rare to see a pair of them.
White Crown borb soaking in the warmth of a cinder block & preening outside the slider.
Possibly a Cooper’s Hawk casing out bird feeder and really freaking out the House Sparrows and White Crowns. We’re honored to have a hawk visit our backyard. Amazing.
Lesser Gold Finch picking at raisins that are softened from the rain and dew.
Backlit senescing cultivated hybridized California grapes (“Roger’s Red”). So far the Northern Mockingbirds are its prime visitors for raisins. We’ve seen Lesser Gold Finches seemingly drinking water or eating bugs out of the raisin’s nooks and crannies.
