The baby birds and their parents are visiting our backyard. This means my birdseed supplies are in danger of a stock out.
Between the near-daily replenishment of safflower seed, suet cakes, berries, and sunflower seed, and keeping the ponds maintained, along with the birdbaths clean, it’s another full-time job!
But this is okay. We wouldn’t have it any other way.
It could be the Stay at Home orders, which first spurred this supposed increase in backyard birds. Could it be that the birds are also staying at home?
Or could it be possible they have always been in the yard, and we’ve been too busy to notice?
Either way, they are especially joyful to watch this year. From the Common Grackle to the inconspicuous Northern Cardinal, the variety of birds this year is huge!
The European Starling looks black from a distance, but in the summer, they are purplish-green, with yellow beaks. The Starling is typically a loud bird, traveling in large groups. But there is just one lone pair and their little family that hangs around our yard.
And then there is this bird. Wait, that’s Shorty! Shorty blesses us with her presence almost daily. Shorty is a young, small squirrel with only a half-tail. She is unique in many ways, including her downright friendliness, from the beginning. Maybe it’s somehow related to the short tail.
Come to think of it … maybe this is how all of this extra birding began: setting up new “squirrel-proof” bird feeders—more feeders with more variety of bird food. And then suddenly, there are more birds.
The Robins love grape jelly and grapes. Even the juvenile Robins are eating grapes out there with Mom and Dad.
The pair of Northern Cardinals are less conspicuous than Shorty. Well, most every bird is less conspicuous than Shorty.
The hummingbirds are a joy to watch, however, they’re not always easy to spot! I found that it is more effective to listen for their buzzing than to try and watch for them. The hummingbirds are so fast!
And the Carolina Wren. If forced to rank and choose, the Wren is my favorite bird. This tiny bird belts out a song that is the loudest of songbirds in our backyard. When listening, you would think it’s a big bird. And while the Wren is shy, if you set out suet feeders in your yard and look for the Wren in garden brush piles, you may see this little guy with a big voice.
I hope that you’ve enjoyed this post on June Baby Birds! If you want more information on feeder types and feeding birds, check out Feeder Watch.