Lake birds
When I found these nests I was AMAZED at what these birds can do. Though when I tried standing up on my kayak to look inside a tree swallow nesting box, It was empty! But when I paddled under a small bridge, I found Five pink tree swallow eggs, at first I thought they were mourning dove eggs but after more research I’m pretty sure there are tree swallow. Later when I traveled back, in the reeds there was a red winged blackbird nest. Three white eggs were in this one, I can’t wait to see how these eggs grow up.
Barred Owl Pellet Contents
We started hearing and seeing much more of two Barred Owls in March around the time the COVID-19 Pandemic hit. We’ve been clearing the woods of invasive ivy and holly trees with time at home. The owls have been watching us. They seem to enjoy having more open understory with holly trees going away and have more ground to hunt. We’ve found two owl pellets, both of which showed strong evidence of mole remains. We’ve also found some rabbit parts. In May we started hearing baby sounds. This second week of June we finally saw them and they are fledgling. We think there are at least two owlets.
Barred Owls Hang Out in Forest Habitat
We started hearing and seeing much more of two Barred Owls in March around the time the COVID-19 Pandemic hit. We’ve been clearing the woods of invasive ivy and holly trees with time at home. The owls have been watching us. They seem to enjoy having more open understory with holly trees going away and have more ground to hunt. We’ve found two owl pellets, both of which showed strong evidence of mole remains. We’ve also found some rabbit parts. In May we started hearing baby sounds. This second week of June we finally saw them and they are fledgling. We think there are at least two owlets.
Barred Owl Family
We started hearing and seeing much more of two Barred Owls in March around the time the COVID-19 Pandemic hit. We’ve been clearing the woods of invasive ivy and holly trees with time at home. The owls have been watching us. They seem to enjoy having more open understory with holly trees going away and have more ground to hunt. We’ve found two owl pellets, both of which showed strong evidence of mole remains. We’ve also found some rabbit parts. In May we started hearing baby sounds. This second week of June we finally saw them and they are fledging. We think there are at least two owlets.
???Ruby-crowned Kinglet???
This little girl slammed into my shed wall! Poor thing! I’m very certain this is a Ruby-crowned Kinglet but I wanted to post it with question just to make sure before I add it to my Life List…
Chipping Sparrows- The Day Before the Fledge
What kind of bird is this?
This bird chose to nest right by our front door, which had been surprising to both us and the bird. There are hatchlings inside now, and I’m being watched every time I open my door. I love it.
Blue Bird/ Chipping Sparrow nestings
I build Blue Bird nest boxes for over 25 years with 2-3 successful nesting per year.
Bluebird second brood
Showing success of nest
Spring Birds
I caught these pics after a light rain. Hummingbird was sitting under our apple tree and the cardinals were underneath my bird feeders.
Carolina Wren
House Finch Nests
House Finch nests at the Kentucky Castle
American Robin Partially Feathered Chicks
American Robin nest with partially feathered chicks at the Kentucky Castle
Killdeer Nest on our Neighbor’s Driveway
I need to know what bird this is
This woodpecker was eating at my feeder. It is either one of the juvenile Downy Woodpeckers, or, possibly, a Red-Cockaded Woodpecker, which are VERY rarely, if not never, seen in Kentucky.
UNKNOWN NESTWATCH DATA
This is a clay pot birdhouse on someone’s deck at the Kentucky Castle. It looks out onto a pasture with goats. I saw a Tree Swallow enter it 3 times. This is not the first time I’ve seen a Tree Swallow nest on/near someone’s house. Our friends made a small birdhouse without a back and placed it on their windowsill. They posted pictures of the Tree Swallow in it with eggs on Facebook.
Confused and unsure
I’m not sure if this is an active nest. This is all new to me! I just saw on my outside camera a lot of birds acting very different and like they were on a mission! It looked like they were flying into my house and panicking. I later saw my mailman look very stumped when he went to deliver my mail and then saw him look in my mailbox like he was very confused! Which got me wondering what is going on out there! And I went to look and found this!
So please help me! Is this a birds nest? If so, is it active? Are they getting it ready?
Now today I saw a crow over there!
What kind of Tit is this?
Small, active tit. I think it is a Coal Tit.
Black Redstart eggs.
This is the Black Redstart nest which has 4 eggs now. Do you think that the female will lay another egg or it will stop at 4?
Carolina chickadee baby peeking out of nest box
Eastern Bluebird dad feeding babies
Carolina Chickadee getting ready to fledge
Red Bellied Woodpecker
Eastern bluebird bringing food
Junco Nest 2 2020
In 2017, we discovered a dark-eyed junco family nesting about five feet away from our window. https://nestwatch.org/connect/blog/juncos-nest-in-a-birdhouse-part-two/
Three years later, they (or their offspring?) were back in the same location (different hanging structure) in a Fuschia hanging plant. The two babies successfully fledged despite a nosey scrub jay family.
(Please forgive mistakes. I’m a novice at birdwatching who is open to learning.)
This Loggerhead Shrike Fledgling Is About To Regurgitate A Pellet!
Immature Male Blue Grosbeak? or Immature Male Indigo Bunting?
I’m not sure which beautiful blue bird this is! They both look very similar…
Chickadee pigpile
One of 19 nest boxes I monitor at work
Four Fabulous Phoebes Ready to Fly!
On June 9, instead of climbing up a ladder to check on the nestlings in their mossy nest on the light fixture of our shed, I elected to take some photos. I was worried that getting too close would flush them too soon and I also wanted to confirm just how many nestlings were in the nest. Through out this nest watch, I had a difficult time counting the nestlings, as phoebes just don’t lift up their heads with wide open mouths like other species. (At least in my experience.) There were 5 eggs to start. When I did try to count the nestlings during my visits, I could basically only count three little beaks or maybe four. My final photo on June 10 around 10 AM, submitted here, shows four fully feathered youngsters, so ready to leave the nest. At 1 PM they were gone and I found one egg left in the nest. So, at last, it was confirmed that there were four fabulous phoebes added to this world. Good Luck to them!
Blue-headed Vireo nest
A Blue-headed Vireo nest found right next to a hiking trail in Danby State Forest, and containing one Brown-headed Cowbird egg. Nest is about 5 feet off of the ground in a forest.
East Pilgrim wren, an unexpected guest
Right in our own backyard, this adorable little bird took up residence and delighted us much of April throughout May, but seems to have left.
Need Warbler ID!!!
I am very certain that this is a warbler, and I think it could either be a female Yellow-rumped Warbler, or an Orange-crowned Warbler…
Almost grown ups!
In the sparrow nest the story is nearly complete. The 5 nestlings are ready to leave the nest for the first time! They eat a lot of bugs and now it is time to learn how to live on their own.
Finally! The Black Redstart pair has 2 eggs!
Today, when I was checking the Redstart nest, I discovered 2 eggs! Three days ago it was empty. I asked my parents not to disturb the area, because the nest is above the entry door…
Eurasian Tree Sparrow feeding chicks
I captured the male sparrow bringing food to its chicks. Look how many bugs he’s carrying!
Fledgling Swallow
Coming in for a landing
I can sit on our front porch and watch the parents come and go. I was luck to be able to catch them as they flew to the nest.
Front door nest
A bird has made a nest in our front door floral display.
Partially-feathered Eurasian Tree Sparrows
Black Redstart pair
Papa Prothonotary Warbler
The male Prothonotary Warbler followed the female to the nest box and remained at the entrance to check on her and the four chicks while she fed them.
Yellow-crowned Night-heron juveniles
Two of the Yellow-crowned Night-heron juveniles are peering over the edge of the nest, curious to see who was wading around in the water below them.
Almost grown up!
Another birding day
These are some of the species I have seen during my birding session.
First Blue Grosbeak EVER!
I’ve been mistaking a Blue Grosbeak for an Indigo Bunting! Now I have 102 birds on My Life List
Read about it in my blog on my website: https://kanovotny12.wixsite.com/mysite/post/number-102-on-my-life-list
Birding at the Horicon Marsh
HUGE diversity of species in the Horicon Marsh! The Horicon Marsh is probably my favorite place to go birding because you never know what different species you might see! In this adventure I saw 31 species, most of them with photos, and of those 31, 5 were new to my life list: Black Tern, Yellow-throated Vireo, Blue-winged Teal, Redhead, and a Common Yellowthroat. I’m not counting this as a new species, but I also saw a rare Red-shafted Northern Flicker! (I’ve seen the yellow-shafted before)
Here is my eBird checklist of my birding trip: https://ebird.org/checklist/S69820372
Check out my blog post about my trip at my website: https://kanovotny12.wixsite.com/mysite/post/a-horicon-marsh-adventure
Yellow-crowned night-heron adult and chick in nest
Yellow-crowned Night-heron nest in the swamp with adults attending chicks. There are at least two, most likely more, chicks in the nest and the adults are taking good care of them and feeding them a lot of crayfish.
My Backyard Visitors
These are some of the birds that visit my garden, but there are other species that come here too. The Wood Pigeon and Black Redstart are also nesting in my garden.
Loggerhead Shrike Adult Offers A Gecko To It’s Fledgling!
Teatime!
Big Feather, Little Beak
Baby Chipping Sparrows Grow Up So Fast!
These babies are only ten days old, almost ready to leave the nest! Their mother still sits on them almost all the time. I think she’s the same one that nested here last year, when her babies mysteriously disappeared overnight. Maybe she’s worried that our resident chipmunks will make them a snack! I’ve even seen one of the parents divebombing a passing chipmunk!
How many chicks do you see?
Best Year Yet Three Loggerhead Shrike Fledglings Out Of Their Nest!
I have been watching and photographing Loggerhead Shrikes in my area of Florida for the past 8 years. 3 fledglings out of their nest is the best result that I have seen so far!
Waterfowl, herons and gulls.
Gray Catbird
Loggerhead Shrike With A Mole Cricket!
After being given a Mole Cricket by it’s mate for their fledgling it takes off it takes off to fed there charge!
Eastern Bluebirds Fledging
Unknown ground nest
10 eggs in a ground nest. Habitat – under a small evergreen bush next to the front door of our house. I have not seen the parents. They are the size of chicken eggs.
I NEED HELP!!!!!!!!!!!!!
We have a motorboat and a house wren decided to build a nest in it 😐. Does it look like it has babys on it? Can i remove it? Please help!!
eastern bluebird eggs & nestlings
Wood Pigeon
Eurasian Collared-Dove
First Titmouse Nest for Me
Hairy woodpecker
Discovered this nesting cavity when a pair of hairy woodpeckers were feeding vocal nestlings. Waiting to see when the young ones emerge!
Bushtit nest
Observed nest-building begin in March through May 21. Both parents actively adding materials to the nest each day. Then nest abandoned? (don’t see any bushtits at or near nest now)
Eastern Bluebirds and Unidentified Visitor
This is a pair of bluebirds nesting in a box in our yard AND an unidentified flying object that looks like a Western Kingbird. I am hoping someone on here will be able to tell me what the Unidentified Bird is. Thank You. Maureen
Loggerhead Shrike Fledgling!
This Loggerhead Shrike fledgling was out of it’s nest for the first time!
Shocked! i was not expecting this!
The eastern bluebirds first brood had 4 eggs so I thought they would have 3 for there second brood put the mother surprised me with a fourth egg wow! This made my day
Unknown egg!! Maybe House Sparrow??
This is a Song Sparrow’s nest with a Brown-headed Cowbird’s egg, but what bird laid the bluish-white speckled one?
Oranges attract more than you think!!
I’ve noticed around 5 different species that like oranges, so… if you want to attract more birds, you gotta put out the oranges! 🙂
European Starling
Wood Pigeon
Working together
A house wren started with sticks but a tree swallow took over by adding few grass and lots of feathers so she could get going on egg laying
Red-bellied Woodpecker – a hungry chick!
Watched Red-bellied Woodpecker male & female flying in and out of a wooded area of the yard. Found the entrance hole and soon saw a chick peeking out.
Both adults came & went, and fed the chick. At this point, I cannot tell how many chicks are in the cavity. I could hear peeping as the adults approached. Will keep an eye on this nest site.
What a look!
Why does this Wren keep laying Eggs in its nest??
This House wren layed one egg a week ago than layed two more a week latter than another two the next day. Is this normal for a wren?
Is this an egg?!
I’ve heard Red-Bellied Woodpeckers in this area often, do you think this is an egg?
What kind of chicks are these?
My dad took me to the Kentucky castle’s farm yesterday, and we found four active nests.
Baby Chipping Sparrows
Baby chipping sparrows! It’s so nice to be able to see them. Hope the last egg hatches soon
Ducklings
Red-bellied Wooderpecker
This Red-bellied Woodpecker is removing nesting material that a Sterling snuck in with!
Flycatcher Nest
Great Crested Flycatcher nest in nest box.
My new tenant
First time I’m going through this process. It is by my front door and I am making sure nobody comes closer to disturb the bird
Robins first day in the world
First robin hatch-ling just hatched today!!! no feathers yet
Great Spotted Woodpecker
Two Woodpecker Nests
Question What Happend Inside This Nest!
As I watched this Red-bellied Woodpecker enter what I thought was it’s nest, I was totally surprised to see what it brought out! My guess is that it was the first time it had entered the nest and was cleaning it out! looks like the remains of a Woodpecker!
Doves in White Lilac Bush
Blue Bird chicks
First successful Blue Bird nesting
EGGciting! Each day another egg appears!
Watching nest that was built on top of rolling work bench in our pole barn. I check each day and am happy to see an additional egg each day.
Backyard Beauties
Some of the birds I have been able to attract to my backyard. I would go to the fields to get shots of these beauties but a lot of the trails are closed so I decided to start attracting some of the birds I love to my backyard.
No, Another stolen egg!!! Why?! 😞😣😖😫😩
We found lone egg exactly like this one in our garden. My mom hit it with her shovel while she was digging and it cracked in half. I checked the texture of the shell and they’re too large and not circular enough to be a turtle egg and they were not leathery like a snake egg. I’m 98% sure it’s a Wild Turkey egg, but I wish I knew what kept stealing the eggs and where the nest was! Anybody have any ideas on who the nest predator might be? The egg I found today was whole, with no signs of damage, except the stench was unmistakeable. There is no way it’s still viable. Whatever the predator is prefers to bury its prey in loose dirt. I’m completely baffled! Please help!
First Nest Photo!
Photo of Northern Mockingbirds we estimate about 3-5 days old in our first nest! We think the other egg is from a Cowbird.
Killdeer mama a single parent
I have been watching this Killdeer bird and her nest for a little over a week now. According to all the articles I have read this species is monogamous and both parent birds take part in the nest protection and incubation process. Sadly this Killdeer seems to be a single parent and often has to leave the nest alone in search of food. Last night she was gone the whole night. I am hoping her eggs did no freeze as we are still having some nights that drop to freezing temps ; until June arrives. I will keep on the lookout for the mother and keep monitoring the nest. I have yest to find a specific answer on how long the Killdeer eggs can be viable without incubation and freezing temps.
Big, happy family
Bluebird couple and three juvenile bluebirds
Naked Baby Dinosaurs with a Bad Hair Day!
Common Grackle Chick Feeding
How to build a DIY hummingbird feeder out of a plastic bottle:
Micah, I figured it would be easier to show you by posting a whole new submission, so that I could get a photo of every angle of the DIY feeder as I am terrible at explaining things without a demonstration or two.
Needed materials:
Hot glue sticks, hot glue gun, string or desired hanging/mounting substrate, knife or scissors, tooth pick or thin screwdriver, recycled “heavy duty” plastic bottle, (by heavy duty, I mean stronger than your usual plastic bottle, which crinkles and crumples very easily.)
Optional materials:
pony beads, foam, other red, orange, or pink decorations. (I recommend not using yellow, as it attracts bees.)
Step 1: clean out your plastic bottle, and plug your hot glue gun in.
Step 2: Poke holes in your bottle, (5 millimeters in diameter), with your scissors or knife. (Holes should be placed near the lid of the bottle so that when your pour sugar water into it, it won’t leak out from the holes. Make sure that the holes are smooth, and no ridges or bits of plastic stick out from them. You can do this by poking a screwdriver or the tip of your hot glue gun into the pre-made holes and wriggling it around until the sides are smooth no plastic pieces stick out.)
Step 3: poke holes in the top ends of the bottle, measured so that it hangs/mounts without the nectar solution leaking. Then push your desired hanging or mounting substrate into the holes, making sure it hangs correctly.
Step 4: if you want to, you can add pony beads around the feeding hole. (Make sure they aren’t covering the feeding hole!) If you decide to do this, glue a piece of foam over the holes first, then poke holes through the foam where your first feeding holes line up, then glue the beads on. (The reason I recommend using foam underneath the beads is because plastic plus plastic hot glued together doesn’t hold up to the weather very well.)
Step 5: Decorate the feeder however you like. Hummers prefer red for some reason, but they are also attracted to pink, orange and yellow. (I would not recommend using yellow though, because bees are also attracted to yellow, and bees and ants can prevent hummers.)
Thanks, and enjoy the hummers!!!