Notes From a NW Ontario Backyard – July 2016

Hello again!  Hope you are all enjoying your summer.

Around here, it’s juvenile bird time in the yard!  I’ve been having great fun watching & listening to families of birds at my few summer feeders & in my trees.  I’ve been watching juvenile Red Breasted Nuthatches, Black Capped Chickadees, Crows, Starlings, Grackles, Bluebirds, Chipping Sparrows & Purple Finches.  I’m expecting the arrival of juvenile Evening Grosbeaks any day now ….. the highlight of my summer!

Juvie Nuttie1

Juvenile Red Breasted Nuthatch

Juvie Chipping Sparrow

Juvenile Chipping Sparrow

Juvenile Crow (left) with adult

Juvenile Crow (left) with its parent

I’m beyond thrilled this summer to have a small family of Eastern Bluebirds nearby!  They didn’t nest in my yard but somewhere nearby in my neighbourhood and now, I’m lucky enough to watch them flitting around catching bugs.  The adult female likes to perch on the corner of my back neighbour’s eavestrough and hunt from there.  The adult male and one of the juveniles like to perch on the street light post at the end of my driveway.  One day last week, the adult male came down and landed on my back fence for a nice pose.  🙂  Every year, I’m so hopeful they’ll choose my birdhouse for nesting.  Fingers crossed!

Male Eastern Bluebird2

Male Eastern Bluebird on a line above my backyard.

Male Eastern Bluebird1

Male Eastern Bluebird on the street light at the end of my driveway.

Female Eastern Bluebird

Female Eastern Bluebird perched on my neighbour’s eaves trough.

I usually have Tree Swallows nesting in my birdhouse but this year, I messed up:  we forgot to clean out the house last fall so no one used it this year.  I’m so sad!!  First time in 10 years no one nested in my birdhouse.  Interestingly tho’, during the neighbourhood fledge week, I had over a dozen Tree Swallows going into & seriously squabbling over (at least, it looked like squabbling to me!) the bird house.  I’ve never seen them do this before since normally Tree Swallows completely vanish until the following year right after fledging.  And it wasn’t just my birdhouse either:  people reported the same activity all over town.  I have no explanation for it.

Tree Swallows2

Some of the Tree Swallows that lined up watching the birdhouse after fledging season.

Tree Swallows

Some of the Tree Swallows squabbling over the bird house the week after fledging season ended.

Tree Swallows3

A SERIOUS squabble over the birdhouse the week after fledging! I thought maybe they might try to have a second clutch but no.

Here are some photos of other feathered visitors to the yard in recent weeks:

Singing male Purple Finch

A lovely adult male Purple Finch, singing away

Pine Siskin

Pine Siskin – just starting to see them again after nesting.

Female Purple

Female Purple Finch drinking from the birdbath

Female Downy

Female Downy Woodpecker: she looked right at me just as I snapped her photo!

Cedar Waxwing

Lovely Cedar Waxwing in my Honeysuckle shrub – a half dozen of them have been around the yard much of the summer

Adult Chipping Sparrow

Adult Chipping Sparrow – they nest in my neighbour’s shrubs & come here to get more food.

Nuttie

Adorable Red Breasted Nuthatch that found a tasty morsel in my pine trees.

I found this adult male White Throated Sparrow in my flowerbed last week …. he was completely missing all of his tail feathers.  I don’t know what happened to him but he was fine at the time.

Tailless WT

Adult male White Throated Sparrow missing all of his tail feathers.

And this is my little pal, Chip.  He’s one of at least 5 Eastern Chipmunks that adopted my backyard this summer.  Chip will come and sit on my feet or run around me until I give him a snack.  He’s adorable and thankfully, he’s not doing any damage to my flowerbeds this year!  Last year, the Chipmunks dug up and destroyed all of my tulip & lily bulbs.  Next to none of either left in my beds!  Cute little terrorists ……

Chip

And that’s about it for this month.  Enjoy your summer and I’ll ‘see’ you in August!

6 Comments

  1. I so much enjoyed all your beautiful photos and commentaries. I just discovered your postings while I eagerly await your online cam for your winter birds to begin. It will be my 3rd year watching!
    Thank you for sharing your backyard and bringing us all so much pleasure.

  2. Excellent photo’s of July 20th!!
    Can’t wait till you are up and running the cam end of October!

  3. Nice Article and photos Tammie, keep up the good work

  4. Tammie thank you for sharing your wonderful photos & all the goings-on in your backyard haven with us. Love reading you column & seeing those great pics. 💖

  5. LOVE your column, Tammie. Thank you for sharing those wonderful photos, & all the goings-on in your backyard haven with us.

  6. Lovely to see! And nice to see you again, Tammie!

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