Tag Archives: Nesting

June Birds: Bursting With Color

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I’m beyond ecstatic to report this awesome news that for the first time ever a California Scrub Jay momma is building her nest here at Casa de Enchanted Seashells.

I’ve been feeding a Scrub Jay family for a long time and they’ve become so trusting that they eat out of my hand, but I’ve never before had one take up residence. The birdhouse is in a fruit-bearing mulberry tree and it’s going crazy this year. Sometimes I harvest all the fruit and make jam and cobblers; haven’t decided if I’ll do it again this season.

I can’t wait to hear and see the babies! Scrub Jays are known for their high intelligence, particularly their abilities in memory, problem-solving, and social cognition. They excel at hiding and remembering food caches, learn new tasks by applying general rules, and even appear to understand the perspective of other jays when deciding where to hide their food.

If that wasn’t awesome enough, check out this (uncommon) Common Yellowthroat OR American Goldfinch–I can’t identify it for sure. I was able to snap a few pictures as they snacked on spent lavender blooms.

What an auspicious start to summer!

Happy June!

Home Sweet Home

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In quarantine? Isolation? Distancing?

Happy to have a home to go home to, no matter what it looks like, that’s the message I’m getting from this little bird, being grateful for what we have.

Every spring, for years and years, this dedicated vireo mom builds and rebuilds her home in my garden. If I count them all up, I’ve been grandma to approximately one hundred babies.

As you can see, her home looks a bit shabby. It really needs to be repainted and I attempted to fix the bottom with string because it was starting to fall apart. I’m not much of a handyman (woman) but it’s OK for now.

vireo May 2020 3

Going home

vireo may 2020 2

Checking out the view

vireo may 2020 1

Breakfast is ready!

Yummy Hummy Mummy

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Anyone participating in World Naked Gardening Day?

No?

Well, I’m not either, that’s for sure.

I’m moving furniture, shampooing carpets, channeling Cinderella, and obsessing over the only full nest at Casa de Enchanted Seashells.

My little yummy hummy mummy is doing what most animals do naturally — be an attentive and protective mother.

enchantedseashells.com

enchantedseashells.com

In the late afternoon sunlight, I removed the screen in the dining room window and leaned all the way out to capture the iridescence.

enchantedseashells.com

enchantedseashells.com

Have you ever seen a hummingbird stay almost perfectly still for more than two minutes?

I set up the tripod and took some video of her nest sitting, blinking her little eyes, and swaying in the breeze.

There’s a bit of shake (sorry) but the tripod was in a precarious position on top of a bench in order to get the best angle.

When she first started building the nest, I waited until she flew away in order to reinforce the chimes with twine to make sure they’d support the extra weight and not fall down,

YouTube video:
https://youtu.be/0texSJkvJZE

(And congrats to Princess Kate for giving birth to a royal little girl! )