BirdCam on Cheltenham

Early Morning New Years Visitors

2012-01-01T20:32:00.000-08:00

Here are some new years revelers that stopped by the ground level birdbath in the early morning hours.

Raccoon

And then a black cat showed up for a drink of water.

House Cat

Dolphins

2011-12-30T21:47:00.000-08:00

The other day I was walking through the Douglas Preserve that is situated on tall bluffs overlooking the Pacific Ocean. At first I just enjoyed the view and didn't notice the dolphins in the lower left hand corner.

View of Pacific Ocean from Douglas Preserve. Look closely and you can see some dolphins in the lower left hand corner.

As I continued along the path at the top of the bluff, I could see the dolphins in the ocean. I walked farther along the path so that I was looking down to the dolphins. They were basically swimming back and forth in the same general area. I was glad I had my telephoto lens since I was so far away from them. I decided to watch the dolphins awhile instead of looking for birds.

The black dots are dolphins

Common Dolphins

Common Dolphins, you can see the spray from this one's exhale.

Common Dolphins

They didn't breach while I was watching, but this did a bit of a roll.

Common Dolphins

This dolphin below was by itself the whole time and basically stayed in the same position. It slowly drifted to the west. One or two of the other dolphins would approach it and then quickly swim away. A woman who stopped and watched with me explained that this dolphin was in labor. I never saw it give birth, but if that is the case I hope mother and baby are now doing fine.

Common dolphin

Common Dolphin

Common Dolphins

Warblers in the Douglas Family Preserve

2011-12-29T21:00:00.000-08:00

Here are some Yellow-rumped Warblers that I saw in the Douglas Family Preserve.

Yellow-rumped Warbler

This Mockingbird was watching me from the bushes.

Northern Mockingbird


Northern Mockingbird

View of the Pacific Ocean from the Douglas Family Preserve. UCSB is in the background.

Bufflehead ducks

2011-12-28T18:57:00.000-08:00

I liked watching these Bufflehead ducks in the Goleta Slough. They are in Santa Barbara for the winter and will migrate back to Canada for the summer breeding season. They nest almost exclusively in holes excavated by Northern Flickers and on occasion, by Pileated Woodpeckers.

Bufflehead

The larger Buffleheads with the white spot on their head are adult females. The smaller ones are immature Bufflehead ducks.

Bufflehead

Mallard and the reeds

2011-12-27T21:15:00.000-08:00

I was at the Andrea Clark Bird Refuge and took this picture of a Mallard duck. I like how the reeds are in the background and reflect in the water.

Mallard

Immature Broad-winged Hawk

2011-12-26T18:35:00.000-08:00

I believe this is an immature Broad-winged Hawk. It has a tail of an adult and the breast of an immature bird.

Broad-winged Hawk

I was amazed how it could turn it's head and look back.

Broad-winged Hawk

Carpinteria Salt Marsh Nature Park

2011-12-16T22:26:00.000-08:00

Late one afternoon I took a short walk through part of the Carpinteria Salt Marsh Nature Reserve and here are some pictures.

Blue-Gray Gnatcatcher

Blue-winged Teal

Hutton's Vireo

Carpinteria Salt Marsh Nature Park

Snowy Egret

Least Sandpiper

Northern Mockingbird

Savannah Sparrow

Lake Los Carneros

2011-12-14T21:37:00.000-08:00

I went for a short hike at Lake Los Carneros and here are a few pictures of birds that I saw that day. I don't know how Lake Los Carneros got its name, but Carneros translates into rams. I didn't see a ram all day.

Lake Los Carneros

Canvasback duck among the Mallards


Ring-billed Gull

Ring-billed Gull

American Kestrel

Red-winged Blackbird

Red-winged Blackbirds

Black Phoebe eats a bee!

2011-12-11T09:14:00.001-08:00

I was taking some pictures of a Monarch Butterfly when I saw this Black Phoebe fly by and land on this dead branch.

Black Phoebe

Then it flew over to this rope that is strung up between two fence posts.

Black Phoebe

I watched it jump to the ground and catch a bee.

Black Phoebe with bee

The Black Phoebe then proceeded to beat the bee on the rope to stun it before eating.

Black Phoebe with bee.

Birds at Ellwood Grove

2011-12-11T08:55:00.001-08:00

Here are some birds that I photographed when I went to Ellwood Grove to see the Monarch Butterflies.

Blue-gray Gnatcatcher

Quote on bench, "This preserve is a goldmine when it comes to getting to know your neighbors." Hurston Buck.

Nutmeg Mannikin

American Kestrel

This American Kestrel didn't like me hiking in its direction, so it quickly flew away.

American Kestrel

Over my head was a Turkey Vulture.

Turkey Vulture

Turkey Vultures

White-crowned Sparrow

The Monarchs have returned!

2011-12-08T21:37:00.001-08:00

The Monarch Butterflies have returned to Ellwood Grove and I was able to take a few pictures.

Monarch butterfly feeding on a eucalyptus bloom

The temperature was very cool so the butterflies were clustered in the trees with very little movement.

Monarch Butterflies

As the sunshine warms the cluster of butterflies they start to open their wings and fly around.

Monarch Butterflies

Monarch Butterfly

Goleta Slough

2011-12-06T21:01:00.001-08:00

Here are a few pictures of birds at the Goleta Slough.

Goleta Slough where it meets the ocean

Gulls and Stilts

Black-crowned Night Heron

Black-crowned Night Heron, Juvenile

American Coot

Double Crested Cormorant

Black-Necked Stilt


Mallard

Northern Mockingbird

A Surprise Guest in the Birdbath!

2011-12-05T22:25:00.001-08:00

This Lessor Goldfinch has a surprise guest in the birdbath!

More activity in the birdbath

2011-12-05T22:02:00.001-08:00

Here is a White-Crowned Sparrow getting a morning drink out of the birdbath.


White-Crowned Sparrow

A Lessor Goldfinch and two House Finches.

Lessor Goldfinch on left and two House Finches on right.

And I can always count on a Scrub-Jay to visit the birdbath.

Lessor Goldfinches in the Birdbath

2011-12-05T21:44:00.001-08:00

Here are some Lessor Goldfinches in the birdbath.


Lessor Goldfinch

Townsend's Warbler in the birdbath

2011-12-04T17:23:00.001-08:00

Townsend's Warblers winter in Santa Barbara and here is one visiting the birdbath.

Townsend's Warbler

Here is a 39 second video.

Unkown bird in the Cape Honeysuckle

2011-12-03T21:33:00.001-08:00

I was able to get a few pictures of this unknown bird eating the nectar of this Cape Honeysuckle flower (Tecoma Capensis). I had the lens on manual focus, so I was able to get these four shots rather quickly. The bird was only around for about 15 seconds and I never saw it again.

Lessor Goldfinch

2011-12-03T21:21:00.001-08:00

Here is a Lessor Goldfinch that I photographed in the garden.

Lessor Goldfinch

I really like this one in the pine tree.

Lessor Goldfinch

And then it flew away.

Lessor Goldfinch

Lithops and Tiger Jaws

2011-11-27T21:01:00.001-08:00

My Lithops are in bloom. These are also called stone plants and they are native to Namibia, Africa.

Lithops

One of my Tiger Jaws (Faucaria tigrina) has been blooming for the last few weeks. It is native to South Africa.

Tiger Jaws (Faucaria tigrina)

Color by the front door

2011-11-27T20:53:00.001-08:00

Here is some color by our front door. The Japanese Maples are in full color and starting to drop their leaves.

Autumn leaves are not the only color we have by our front door. This begonia called Dennis Franz is in bloom. Yes, it's named after the actor. As you can see it has bright pink blooms and white spots on the leaves.

B. Dennis Franz

Scrub-Jay at the Bird Bath

2011-11-27T20:50:00.001-08:00

I caught this Western Scrub-Jay at the bird bath with my SLR camera.

Western Scrub-Jay

Pups on the Run!

2011-11-27T20:44:00.001-08:00

When I was at the UCSB Lagoon the other day I noticed this guy walking his dogs on the beach. I think the dogs enjoyed their run on the beach!

UCSB Lagoon

2011-11-27T18:47:00.001-08:00

I stopped by the University of California Santa Barbara Lagoon the other day and took the following pictures.

Black-Necked Stilt


Brown Pelican


Greater Yellowlegs

Greater Yellowlegs

Great Blue Heron

Great Egret

American Coot

A few birds in the garden

2011-10-26T21:21:00.000-07:00

Lesser Goldfinch

House Finch

Blue-gray Gnatcher

A hike at Ellwood

2011-10-25T21:29:00.000-07:00

It was a foggy day on my hike at Ellwood. I saw some California Towhee's.

California Towhee

They really blend into the environment.

California Towhee

Overhead I heard the honking of a flock of Canadian Geese.

Canadian Geese

Foot path down to the beach.

A fishing boat was floating in the calm ocean surrounded by a few gulls, kelp and lobster trap bouys.

Helium balloons floating in the ocean. I hope a fisherman brings them in before they deflate and get ingested by wildlife. A reminder, do not release helium balloons into the sky. They end up in the ocean and whale, seals and other wildlife mistake the balloons for food.

On the way back I saw several Black Phoebes.

Black Phoebe

A short visit to Devereux Slough

2011-10-24T21:37:00.000-07:00

I made a quick visit to Devereux Slough which is located west of the UCSB campus. I wanted to check out the birding. The last time I was in the area was about twenty years ago. Back then you could drive past the Devereux School and park your car a short walk from the beach. That has now been closed to the public and there is UCSB permit parking only. It's now a good hike from the main road to the foot path that circles the slough.

Sign at Devereux Slough

The area is protected and you can only hike around the parameter of the place.

However, I was able to get some pictures of birds from the path the followed the road on the east side of the slough. It was a foggy day and will return on a sunny day to spend more time photographing the area.

American Coots

Snowy Egrets

Snowey Egret

Greater Yellowlegs, a large Sandpiper

Greater Yellowlegs

I believe this is an immature male Northern Shoveler. Notice the spoonbill shape of it's bill.

Northern Shoveler

Northen Shoveler

Northen Shovelers, Female and Male

Northern Shovelers, Females

Autumn is on it's way

2011-10-23T17:08:00.000-07:00

Here are a few closeup pictures that I took in the garden today showing that Autumn is on it's way. Some color is starting to show on the tip of this leaf.

The tree down on the hillside has more color.

California Thrasher returns to the Garden

2011-10-22T22:03:00.000-07:00

It has been one year since I have seen a California Thrasher in the garden. They live in the Santa Barbara area year round so I was surprised when they stopped coming to the garden. I'm glad to see this one back in the garden. The BirdCam took these pictures and video of the California Thrasher in the bird bath.

California Thrasher

White-crowned Sparrow returns

2011-10-21T23:21:00.000-07:00

The first White-crowned Sparrow as returned for the season. I have seen them in the garden, but so far I only have this one video taken by the BirdCam.

The Naked Lady from Mount Calvary

2011-09-18T19:48:00.000-07:00

About four years ago my friend Brother Will from Mount Calvary Monastery gave me some naked lady bulbs (Amaryllis belladonna). He had dug them up at the monastery and I planted them in three different areas on our hillside. This year one of the bulbs has sent up a stalk with some blooms and this is it. I was surprised to see one of the bulbs bloom in this location as it is a few feet from one of the birds feeders and there is a lot digging and scratching from the different birds.

Naked Lady, Amaryllis belladonna

It's especially nice to see these blooms emerge from the ground as Mount Calvary Monastery was destroyed nearly three years ago in the Tea Fire. That fire that burned 1,940 acres and destroyed 210 residences.

Just yesterday Brother Will stopped by and gave us some White Naked Lady bulbs. Now we will plant them on the hillside and look forward to both Pink and White Naked Ladies blooming on our garden.

Hummer coming in for a landing!

2011-09-13T21:41:00.000-07:00

I like this picture of a hummingbird coming in for a landing on the oriole feeder.

Anna's Hummingbird

Last Orioles of the Season

2011-09-10T22:15:00.000-07:00

Well I think this was the last of the Orioles for this season. I took these pictures several days ago and haven't seen or heard an Oriole since. Nesting pairs return to the same place each season so I look forward to their return next season.

Hooded Orioles

Hooded Oriole

Gazebo Flower Show

2011-09-05T20:13:00.001-07:00

The following posts are pictures that I took of the Gazebo Flower Show that was held August 19th and 20th. The show was put together by Mike Flaherty owner of Gazebo Plants and Flowers. He also grew many of the begonias on display. Paul Carlisle grew the award winning Tuberous Begonias and John Wullbrandt painted the beautiful paintings that were placed around the Garden.

John Wullbrandt, Paul Carlisle and Mike Flaherty, photo by Julie Vanderwilt

I have the show covered in the next five posts.

Gazebo Flower Show – The Entrance

Gazebo Flower Show – Paul’s Tuberous Begonias

Gazebo Flower Show- Mike’s Garden

Gazebo Flower Show-Begonias, Bromeliads and more

Gazebo Flower show – Time-lapse pictures of the setup

You can see more of John Wullbrandt's paintings at his website http://www.wullbrandt.com/

Gazebo Flower Show - The Entrance

2011-09-05T20:13:00.000-07:00

Click here to see Paul's Tuberous Begonias

Gazebo Flower Show - Paul's Tuberous Begoias

2011-09-05T20:12:00.002-07:00

Here are pictures of Paul Carlisle's award winning tuberous begonias. They were the stars of the Gazebo Flower Show.

Tuberous begonias grown by Paul Carlisle

The grower Pau Carlisle adjusting the display.

Click here to see Mike's Garden

Gazebo Flower Show - Mike's Garden

2011-09-05T20:12:00.001-07:00

Here are pictures of Mike's Secret Garden at the Gazebo Flower Show.

B. Red Fred

Dalia grown by Larry Falxa

B. 'Rudy Tuttie'

B. 'Mission Bells'

A painting by John Wulbrandt

B. Sizemora grown by Laurel Carlisle

B. Mr Hunt

Click here to see Begonias, Bromeliads and more!

Gazebo Flower Show - Begonias, Bromeliads and more!

2011-09-05T20:12:00.000-07:00

These pictures were taken in the middle of the show and have a variety of plants including begonias, bromeliads, orchids and other plants.

Click here to see the time-lapse photography of the setup.

Gazebo Flower Show - Time-lapse pictures of the setup.

2011-09-05T20:11:00.000-07:00

I mounted a time-lapse camera so that it looked down on the courtyard and photographed the setup, show and tear down of the flower show. The camera was taking a picture every fifteen minutes from 9:00 AM till 6:00 PM, beginning two weeks before the show and ending a week after the show. I ended up removing pictures that didn't have any changes from the previous picture and then used video editing software to make this four minute and eight second movie.

No Tail Pulling!

2011-08-26T22:38:00.000-07:00

Watch the Crow pull the tail of a Band-tailed Pigeon in this short ten second video.

Who's Digging the Hole?

2011-08-18T22:11:00.000-07:00

So the other day I noticed this hole under a step in the garden.

I placed the BirdCam right in front of the hole. The cat was interested in the hole too and sat there for forty minutes before walking away.

Since there are a couple of bird feeders on a pole to the left of the hole several different birds came through the garden.

California Towhee

American Crow

Here is a video of the different birds milling about. First a Band-tailed Pigeon, then some crows followed by a scrub jay. Then some Mourning Doves amble through when the culprit shows up!

The hole digger!

Here is a video of the squirrel in action.

First Shot!

2011-08-13T17:33:00.000-07:00

Here is the first shot of a time-lapse project I have set up at Gazebo Plants and Flowers for the big flower show. It should be interesting watching the courtyard transform into a colorful display of begonias, bromeliads, orchids and other flower plants. The camera is taking a picture every 15 minutes from 9:00 AM to 6:00 PM. After the show I will take all of the pictures and make a short video.

Morning Oriole

2011-08-10T19:54:00.000-07:00

This morning I was greeted by the chatter from this Oriole.

Hooded Oriole

Passion Flowers

2011-08-09T21:05:00.000-07:00

I grew up in Missouri and as a kid we planted marigolds, zinnias and petunias around our patio. Basic flowering plants for Missouri. Then in my twenties I moved to California and was introduced to all kinds of exotic flowering plants. I'll never forget the first time I saw a passion flower. I was convinced that they were plastic flowers that someone had stuck on a vine. I was totally amazed to find out they were real. I had never seen anything like it before.

Passion Flower

This variety of Passion flower was the first one I saw and this particular vine grows on our balcony. The Passion Flower below is growing on the fence of a nursery in Los Osos, California.

Passion Flower

New Video Camera - Sony Bloggie

2011-08-08T20:45:00.000-07:00

I bought a new Sony Bloggie HD video camera. It's a small video camera that fits in a shirt pocket.

Bloggie Video Camera

I mounted the camera on a tripod and positioned it in front of an Oriole feeder.

I pressed the record button and walked away. Here is one of the first videos that I shot with this camera. A male Oriole comes to the feeder and then a juvenile Oriole shows up. Keep an eye on the pepper trees in the background as another male comes flying up to the feeder. Then at the 39 sec point a hummingbird does a fly.

The quality is really diminished after uploading the video to blogger. This isn't a good representation of the cameras resolution. I

Two male Orioles at the feeder

2011-08-07T14:06:00.000-07:00

It's very unusual to see two male orioles at the feeder at the same time. One moves out and the other one moves in.

Color Outside our Kitchen Door

2011-08-07T07:57:00.000-07:00

Mike's tuberous begonias are blooming like crazy outside our kitchen door. Right now it is very colorful.

Tuberous Begonias

Tuberous Begonia

Tuberous Begonias

The only downside to all of this is that we can't do any cooking on the grill until fall!

Tuberous Begonia on the Grill!

Hummer in the Sun

2011-08-05T09:48:00.000-07:00

I thought this was a nice video of a hummer buzzing back and forth to the feeder. The angle of the sun shows off it wings.

Siblings at the Oriole Feeder

2011-08-03T21:39:00.000-07:00

Here is a short ten second video of a couple of Oriole siblings at the feeder, acting like a couple of siblings.

Heres another video were they act more like siblings!

Two Hummers at the Feeder

2011-08-03T21:21:00.000-07:00

This is a short ten second video of two hummingbirds at the Oriole feeder. One just sits on the feeder while the other one buzzes around. The sound of the neighbors chain saw adds to the show!

Juvenile Oriole Outside the Window

2011-07-27T20:56:00.000-07:00

I have an Oriole Feeder outside the living room window and this evening I watched a juvenile Oriole visit the feeder. There is a lot of foliage between me and the bird with a palm in the living room and outside a passion vine and blood orange tree, but I'm still able to see the young bird. It stayed much longer than an adult bird. The second an adult bird notices any movement within the house, it will fly away.

Hooded Oriole

Mark your calendar!

2011-07-25T22:02:00.000-07:00

The Gazebo Plants and Flowers in Montecito California is having their Begonia Show in August! This a very artistic presentation of many types of begonias and other exotic plants. It has been compared to the world famous Chelsea Flower Show in England. It's the best little flower show in California, so don't miss it.

Who built this nest?

2011-07-19T23:10:00.000-07:00

I was visitng my friend Irene and she showed me this nest she found on a shelf next to her house. She doesn'tknow what kind of bird built this nest. I don't know either. It doesn't look like it has been used, no broken egg shells, feathers or poo are inside the nest.

Mourning Dove in flight

2011-07-14T19:12:00.000-07:00

I was out on the balcony one evening and took this picture of a Mourning Dove that was flying by. The sun was low in the sky and made an interesting effect.

Mourning Dove

Black-headed Grosbeak at the Oriole Feeder

2011-07-07T21:54:00.001-07:00

Here is a female Black-headed Grosbeak checking out the Oriole Feeder.

Just another Oriole at the feeder

2011-07-07T21:54:00.000-07:00

The Hooded Oriole is my favorite bird and I like watching them at the feeder. This was the bird that first got me interested in putting out feeders. One day I saw the beautiful yellow bird in the eucalyptus tree so I went to the local Birds Unlimited store to find out what it was and bought my first Oriole feeder.

Here's a video of an Oriole just drinking nectar.

A Male Oriole is busting out with some dance moves

2011-07-06T22:03:00.000-07:00

I found this video amusing. The male oriole is busting out with some dance moves. Bob to the left, now bob to the right!

Young Male Oriole

2011-07-06T22:02:00.000-07:00

Heres a video of a young male Hooded Oriole at the bird feeder. Notice the black feathers that are coming in on his bib.

Crows love the new Birdbath

2011-07-05T20:07:00.000-07:00

So I got a new birdbath and it's a hit with the crows!

American Crow

Here is a video of the Crows checking out the new "watering hole".

A few Band-tailed Pigeons have been to the new birdbath. Here is one bravely taking a drink with a crow looking on.

American Crow and Band-tailed Pigeon

Band-tailed Pigeons are the largest pigeon in America and this one is about the size of the Crow. However it is no match to the crows attitude and beak. Here the Band-tailed Pigeon has decided to move on.

American Crow and Band-tailed Pigeon

Here's a video capturing the tension between the two birds.

4th of July 2011

2011-07-04T22:26:00.000-07:00

Here are some pictures of the 4th of July fireworks in Santa Barbara. Between the fog rolling in and the smoke blowing in our direction, it made for some interesting pictures. I started out using my Canon EOS T2i, but it automatically raised the ASA up to 3200 and it looked like the city was on fire. I didn't have time to learn how to manually set the ASA, so I ran down stairs and grab my old Canon EOS XT and used that camera body. The T2i does a fantastic job of shooting in low light without any noise. This just happened to be one of those rare situations where it was a disadvantage. I'm glad I kept the old camera body and was able to find it quickly.

Happy Fourth of July!

2011-07-04T08:58:00.000-07:00

These are pictures of the fireworks from last years 4th of July display in Santa Barbara. Last evening it was really foggy, so it will be interesting to see if we can see any fireworks tonight. Have a happy fourth of July!

Viola Timelapse Photography

2011-07-01T22:23:00.000-07:00

I thought it would be interesting to plant some Viola seeds under some grow lights and turn on the time lapse camera. From these pictures I have made two videos. The first video starts when the plant has just poked through the soil. It's eight weeks of growing condensed into 39 seconds of video.

Of course another plant was the first to bloom, so this second video is a different plant. This is seven days of growth condensed into a 30 second video.

The camera I used is called the PlantCam and its made by the same company that makes the BirdCam. I had it taking one picture every 30 minutes for 11 hours a day. I used video editing software to make the final videos.

Mike's Eagle

2011-06-27T22:36:00.000-07:00

Here is a picture Mike took this morning of an eagle sitting on top of a Eucalyptus tree. It wasn't there very long before the crows chased it away. I'm not sure what kind of eagle it is. If you do, let me know.

Western Scrub-Jays and Peanuts

2011-06-26T20:59:00.000-07:00

A few days ago I was feeding peanuts to the Scrub-Jays on the balcony and here are some pictures.

Western Scrub-Jay

This one was able to get the peanut without the shell into his mouth and another peanut at the same time. Here he picks up a peanut and then eyes the peanut without the shell.

Western Scrub-Jay

So he decides to pick up the peanut without the shell.

Western Scrub-Jay

Now with that peanut in his mouth, he can pickup one of the peanuts still in the shell.

Western Scrub-Jay

Now he has both peanuts in his mouth and flies away.

This juvenile Western Scrub-Jay watched the activity from the top of the hopper feeder. The blue feathers on his head, haven't come in yet.

Western Scrub-Jay

He wants someone to bring him a peanut.

Western Scrub-Jay

Other Scrub-Jays would get close but not come up to balcony railing for a peanut.

Western Scrub-Jay

Color in the Garden

2011-06-24T23:01:00.000-07:00

Alstroemeria

Plumbago

Begonia Mission Bells

Matilija Poppy

Statice

Begonia Tuttie

Pomegranate

Sweet Pea

Rose

Bushtit in the Cape Honeysuckle

2011-06-24T08:05:00.000-07:00

A small flock of Bushtits flew through the garden. As they were jumping from branch to branch, I was able to get a few pictures of this one eating some small bugs in the Cape Honeysuckle.

Bushtit

Rescued Baby Hummingbird

2011-06-17T21:18:00.000-07:00

Thanks to Diane for passing along this video about the rescued baby hummingbird. I saw this sometime last year on YouTube and he now has over a million hits.

Here is his update.
UPDATE!!! When she thought she was ready to leave (and she was) she flew off to her favorite patch of the back yard and her instincts instantly kicked in. Now she's just like all the other hummingbirds. For those that are concerned that she has imprinted on humans and wouldn't survive in the wild, don't worry, she is thriving. She has even successfully migrated and returned back to my yard. And for those who think I didn't know what I was doing, I did NOT feed her plain sugar water. I went outside 3 times a day and caught flies from my compost bin in big bags, crushed them and mixed them in as well. I also helped her learn to catch flies while flying (not in the video because you obviously wouldn't be able to see the flies). In the end, I don't think it could have worked out any better.

Good job kandwarf!

Officer "Cage" Byrd, Rescues Bird!

2011-06-15T20:49:00.000-07:00

Thanks to Mike for sending me this news story
PORTLAND -- An alert Portland policeman spotted a raptor chick with an injured left leg outside a downtown Portland hair salon Tuesday morning. Officer McCageor "Cage" Byrd (yes, his real name) was able to grab some towels and a box from a nearby hotel and take the young bird of prey to the Dove Lewis animal hospital. The bird was then taken to the Audubon Society.
The young red-tailed hawk likely fell from the nearby KGW Audubon Rator Cam, according to Audubon officials. KGW Raptor Cam fans have been following the exploits of three chicks that hatched this spring. Just recently, they had been disappearing from the nest for short stretches as they learned to fly.

Hooded Oriole

2011-06-13T23:09:00.000-07:00

If I didn't have the BirdCam taking picture of the Orioles, I wouldn't think there were any in the garden. In the past two months I have seen a few females and just a couple of males but only briefly. So imagine my surprise this evening when I stepped out on the balcony and a male Hooded Oriole flew by me then landed on a feeder. It was about twenty five feet away and looked at me for about fifteen seconds before flying down the hillside. I quickly grabbed my camera and starting playing Hooded Oriole calls from the iBird App on my iPhone. In a few minutes the Oriole was back and I was able to get a few pictures.

Hooded Oriole

Bromeliads in bloom

2011-06-12T23:37:00.000-07:00

Last month I went to the La Ballona Valley Bromeliad Show and Sale in Culver City, California, where I purchased these two bromeliads. I really like the variegation of the plant on the left. The other plant has a nice bloom and a good size pup.

This past week the variegated bromeliad has sent up this incredible bloom.

Have them both by the front door our our house, so I get to enjoy them every day.

Blue/green Crow Mosaic

2011-05-30T08:53:00.000-07:00

Julie made this blue/green crow mosaic for my birthday. It looks great and adds some color and whimsey to the garden. Thanks Julie!

Mosaic

You can see more of Julies mosaics on her blog at http://jooolesdesign.blogspot.com/
There is another link below and on the right hand side under Blogs I follow, go check it out!

New Hopper Feeder is Bad News for Crows

2011-05-27T21:27:00.000-07:00

The platform feeder was getting dominated by the Crows and Band-tailed pigeons to the point that they were eating all of the seed and scaring away the smaller birds. So I decided to replace the platform feeder with a new hopper feeder. It's small enough that the Crows and Band-tailed Pigeons can't eat from it, yet large enough for the Scrub Jays, Black-headed Grosbeaks and smaller birds.

Black-headed Grosbeak

The Crows and Band-tailed Pigeons were also devouring the seed in the tube feeders. They would stand on the edge of the trays and eat all of the seed. So I removed the trays from the bottom of the tube feeders.

House Finch on Tube feeders with trays removed.

The crows still try to eat from the tube feeders with out the trays, but it isn't so easy.

American Crow

A crow is cawing it's displeasure with my changes.

No more grape jelly on the oriole feeder

2011-05-22T22:02:00.000-07:00

So the only birds eating the grape jelly on the Oriole feeder are Scrub Jays and Titmice. Since there are so many of these birds at the feeder, few Orioles were coming to the feeder for nectar. I still haven't seen a single oriole eat any of the grape jelly. So when I refilled the feeder with nectar, I cleaned the cover and removed the jelly. It took a while for the Scrub Jays and Titmice to figure out what happened.

Western Scrub-Jay wondering where the grape jelly went?

Oak Titmouse - There was grape jelly on this an hour ago, what happened?

They both ended up drinking the water that was in the ant moat! You can see it in the next video.

Oak Titmouse drinking the water in the ant moat

So now that the grape jelly is gone and there are fewer scrub jays and titmice, more orioles are coming back to the feeder.

In this next video there are several Orioles eating nectar. Look close at the first one, I think it is a young male that still has it's Juvenal plumage and some black feathers are starting to come in below it's neck. The BirdCam shoots 10 second clips of video with sound and I edit them together is some video editing software. Something is going wrong with the sound and at the 8 second point in each clip there is no sound. I haven't figured out what is causing that and hope to figure it out soon. It's annoying. If you listen closely at the1:05 point in the video you can her a sawing sound. It is Mike up on the deck sawing the end of a board. He is replacing a bad board on the deck. The sawing sound doesn't seem to bother the female oriole.

Here is a still photo of the young male with the black feather just starting to come in under his neck.

Hooded Oriole, Young male with juvenal plumage and black feathers starting to come in under its neck.

Black-headed Grosbeak

2011-05-21T22:04:00.000-07:00

Here are some pictures that I recently took of a Black-headed Grosbeak.

Black-headed Grosbeak

Black-headed Grosbeak hiding in the pepper tree

Acorn Woodpeckers

2011-05-20T18:15:00.000-07:00

The Acorn Woodpeckers have started coming around again. We recently had the eucalyptus trees trimmed so there are more exposed branches and possibly some insects to eat, but there certainly aren't any acorns.

Acorn Woodpecker

Feed Me!

2011-05-19T22:35:00.000-07:00

Here's a juvenile House Finch trying to get a meal from Dad.

House Finches

Photographing an Oak Titmouse

2011-05-17T21:49:00.000-07:00

There is a small flock or "banditry" of titmice in the garden. I noticed that they would pick the safflower seeds out of the wild bird mix and fly away. All of the larger birds and especially the crows were devouring the wild bird seed in the platform feeder, so I decided to put safflower seeds into a small two port feeder. The titmice love it. I watch from the kitchen window as they fly up to the feeder, take out one safflower seed and fly away. They don't sit at the feeder and eat like Lesser Goldfinches or House Finches. I went outside with my digital SLR camera to take some pictures of the titmice. It was really hard as they don't sit still for a second. Just as I was getting them in focus, they would jump to another branch. The auto focus had a hard time focusing too as the birds were among the branches of the trees. I switched back and forth between manual and auto focus. Eventually I was able to get a few pictures.

Oak Titmouse at the safflower seed feeder

Oak Titmouse

Oak Titmouse looking for insects to eat in the pine tree

Oak Titmouse, This bird was a little jumpy and it lost the seed (it's in the air) trying to get away to quick.

Some of the other birds seemed to be watching me as I photographed the titmice.

Mourning Dove

House Finch

Anna's Hummingbird in the honeysuckle

Robins fly the coop!

2011-05-16T21:25:00.000-07:00

My friend Beverly Jackson sent me this link to a video of a robins nest. Someone got lucky and a pair of robins built a nest in a hanging basket that was on their porch. They got the full show. Eggs being laid, hatching, chicks being fed and then chicks flying away.
You can check it out by clicking on this link Robins fly the coop!

Screen shot from "Robins fly the coop!" video

I wish some birds would build a nest near the house so that I could photograph them!

Oak Titmouse likes jelly too!

2011-05-15T23:20:00.000-07:00

It turns out that the Oak Titmouse likes jelly too. The BirdCam captured some video and still pictures of an Oak Titmouse eating some grape jelly.

Oak Titmouse

Now maybe I get get some pictures of an Oriole eating some jelly!

Oak Titmouse checks out the Oriole feeder

2011-05-14T17:06:00.000-07:00

The BirdCam captured some video of an Oak Titmouse checking out the Oriole feeder. He's not able to drink any of the nectare and so far he is not eating any of the jelly.

This still shot is from the video. The Oak Titmouse jumps around so quickly that the BirdCam has yet to get a good picture.

Western Scrub-Jay likes Jelly!

2011-05-13T21:16:00.000-07:00

This is the first time I've seen this on the BirdCam. A Western Scrub-Jay is eating jelly off of the Oriole feeder. Here is a short video and in the begining he acts like he's not sure what to do.

Young male Oriole

2011-05-09T21:14:00.000-07:00

The BirdCam shot some video of a young male Oriole that is beginning to get his adult plumage. Look at this video and he is the second bird that flies onto the feeder. It was towards the end of the 10 second clip and he was on the next video before flying away. Notice that his "bib" has come in, yet he still has the overall color of a juvenile bird.

He was only in these two very short videos. The BirdCam didn't get any still shots of him either. I hope he sticks around so we can watch his bright yellow feathers come in. Below is a screen capture that I got off of the video, sorry its not better quality.

Miniture Garden Display

2011-05-08T23:10:00.000-07:00

This is a miniture garden display that Mike made for Mothers Day. It's the center piece of the Mothers Day Brunch Buffett at one of the local country clubs. I think he did a fantastic job and I thought you would enjoy seeing these pictures.

He has arrived!

2011-05-07T23:33:00.000-07:00

The BirdCam has taken pictures and video of the first male Oriole for 2011.

Hooded Oriole

Here is a 56 second video of the male oriole at the oriole feeder.

Hooded Oriole