This morning I spotted two male Scarlet Tanagers (Piranga olivacea) in my Montmorency cherry tree. A tree that is filled with brilliant red cherries. Seeing one of these gorgeous birds is a real treat but to see two together is amazing. And in that tree with cherries that match their color – way beyond amazing. Unfortunately I wasn’t able to capture the two of them together, surrounded by their matching cherries but here’s one of them in the vegetable garden. I’m going to have to keep my eyes open, watching for them. Not only are there the cherries calling to them, but blueberries are ripe too.
I don’t keep track of birds I’ve seen, where and when. No life list. Yesterday though, was the first time I’ve ever seen a fledgling Northern Cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis). I won’t write it down. Just interesting to think of.
Cardinals generally lay their eggs late April to early May. Two to five eggs are laid, in a well hidden nest that the female has built, in dense shrubs, vines or low trees. The nest is composed of twigs, bark strips, leaves, grass and weeds, lined with fine grass or hair. The eggs will hatch after about 12 days of careful incubation by the female.
The baby Cardinals hatch with black legs and a black beak, a tiny poof of red feathers on their head. In 9 to 11 days after hatching, when they reach a point when they can fly, they will leave the nest. At the age of about 2 weeks they’ll learn to eat by themselves, but for another week or so their parents will still feed them. Approaching the age of 4 weeks the juvenile cardinals will have a bit of the coloring of soft brown or red plumage.
They’ll stay together as a family for about 2 months, while the young ones are learning to find food, and what predators are, and how to avoid them. After leaving their parents they’ll find other juvenile birds and flock with them. They’ll stay with the flock until they are ready to mate. At around 6 months they will reach their full size. By this time too their beak will have changed from black to the orange we’re familiar with.
It will take about 18 months for the young Cardinal to grow its full adult plumage. It’s a this point that all the adult feathers are in, with all the colors that we expect to see.
And then after all this growth and change I will see these beautiful birds with their lovely colors at my feeders.
Finally, after a long absence, a Black Bear (Ursus americanus) has made its presence known to me. After seeing, not a single one for a few years, this is a treat. This one that showed up, providing me time to get several pictures, looking mighty healthy.
This beautiful creature is a youngster.
They leave their mothers when they are one and a half or two years old. I suspect that is the age of this one. Out on its own. Establishing its territory. Getting to know its neighbors.
I’ve been surprised that the Montmorency cherry tree has not been climbed, the apple tree has not been raided. Only a matter of time now.
There are somewhere between 30 to 60 species of Dogwood in the family Cornaceae. This one, Gray Dogwood (Cornus racemosa), is quite different in many ways from the Dogwood that I’m most familiar with, Flowering Dogwood, Cornus florida. But first, the leaves look very similar, and they are both opposite.
Gray Dogwood is in full bloom, as I am writing this, in June. Unlike my familiar Flowering Dogwood, with its large blooms, this Gray Dogwood’s flowers are very small and many, which grow together in rounded clusters.
As summer turns to autumn, the Gray Dogwood’s flowers turn to berries, and not crimson red berries, but creamy white berries, which birds love.
And along with those berries in autumn, come leaves turning lovely colors. And another difference – not the rich red of Flowering Dogwood leaves, but yellow with a hints of burgundy to add to the fiesta of fall.
The summer birds are arriving. I’m having a grand time seeing the first of this, that, and the other bird, as each day ticks by. Yesterday was a good one for seeing firsts. Not necessarily a good day for photos though. As I’ve raved about in the past, my birdbath is a great attraction for the birds but it doesn’t guarantee that they will be still, or even actually stay long at all. This is the picture I managed to get, of my first glimpse of a Red-eyed Vireo (Vireo olivaceus).
This is more like the image I was hoping to get. This one is from one year ago, give or take five days. June 13, 2022. It was at nearly the same place, about to take a plunge, perched on a branch of the hydrangea.
Not quite in their full summer plumage, the Goldfinches (Spinus tristis) were at the Yucca filamentosa yesterday afternoon as if it were their playground.
Truth be told, I’ve been sprinkling hulled sunflower seeds on the ground, which is what called to them.
Goldfinches are seed eaters. I love to let my gardens be, as summer turns to autumn and finally, winter arrives. Echinacea, Monarda, Anemone virginiana, many, many plants have the potential to feed these birds, well beyond their beauty during the summer.
I’m thoroughly enjoying this elusive bird showing off its bold side. Circumstances must be just right for this Brown Thrasher (Toxostoma rufum) to step out and be seen. This picture is from today. Usually they are hidden under dense bushes. Hiding from my camera. Not so the past couple days with tempting blueberries on the bushes. Be bold! There are yummy berries to be had!
And oh, those piercing yellow eyes. The Brown Thrasher youngsters though have pearl gray eyes which gradually become that intense yellow, as they age. This picture is from 2017, when I was fortunate to capture a youngster in pixels.
And I’ve been wondering, am I seeing male or female Brown Thrashers? No telling. Their coloring, patterns, and plumage is all the same, whether male or female.
Downy False Foxglove (Aureolaria virginica), flowers during the summer months, June through August.
Downy False Foxglove is a perennial hemiparasite. Hemiparasite means that it depends upon its host for someof its nutrients. In this case, Downy False Foxglove depends upon Oak trees (Quercus), mainly White Oaks (Quercus alba), getting these nutrients through their roots. Since this plant also possesses chlorophyll, it can carry out its own photosynthesis to produce nutrients.
It is native to eastern North America. The flowers open in the early part of the day and close in the afternoon.
The “downy” portion of its name refers to its leaves and stems, which have extremely short hairs covering their surface.
