Monday, May 30, 2011

Wild Bird Wednesday

I noticed weeks ago that a couple of squirrels were building a nest in a tree at the corner of our yard where it meets the woods. One morning last week as I went to turn on my computer I glanced out the sunroom window and noticed more than the usual two squirrels. Yep, Mama and Daddy had brought their three little ones to dine under the bird feeder. Later, Hubs put out a little corn for them which in turn brought out the birds in full force. Here a common grackle munches down. I watched them put the corn in their mouth and use their foot to stomp it trying to break it down.

I've seen this guy around a couple of times. The first time he was too far to capture a good image. I tried researching this a little and think he may be an example of a leucistic bird (in this case a grackle) or one whose pigmentation wasn't fully developed. If any of you knowledgeable birders can give me some insight please do see in a comment.



I see Blue Jays but not everyday so I was glad this guy showed up for lunch as well.

Of course I have to show you mama school chowing down. She needs all the strength she can muster to raise THREE babies!

One of the babies under my lilac bush. The grass really wasn't as long as it looks. He was just so small. I love how soft and furry he looks. His tail isn't as coarse looking as his Mama's.




Note: Since last Wednesday Blogger has had a problem with users being able to comment on some blogs. It seems to depend on the template and comment form of some blogs. If you visit and I don't return your comment it's because I tried and couldn't. Please know I appreciate your visit.


To my Wild Bird Meme friends Springman and Gary: I tried you two first because I couldn't comment last week either. I've seen both your wonderful posts this week. :)
Posted for Wild Bird Wednesday and Midweek Blues.

25 comments:

Betsy Banks Adams said...

What a great group of critters you have, Carletta. That was nice of hubby to put out some corn for them... This is the time of year to really enjoy seeing the babies...
Hugs,
Betsy

Rose said...

Oh, Carletta, I envy you the baby squirrels. We don't have any squirrels come now...they are so much fun to watch play. I miss them.

Gattina said...

I love squirrels they are so sweet ! We don't have many here it's very seldom I see one and they are not the same as yours in the States, they are smaller and the fur is reddish.

helena said...

fabulous photos - love the attitude is the first one

Bill S. said...

Great post and pictures. I love the birds and the squirrels are cute, but you keep them. Around here they destroy everything.

Pat said...

When we stay in AZ for the winter, there are "boat-tailed" grackles around. I know they are a nuisance to most people, but they crack me up with their various bird calls. They have up to 50 different calls and can mimic other birds. Sometimes it sounds like we are out in the jungle with these birds and their calls, instead of the Sonoran desert!

That baby squirrel is precious!

kayerj said...

I love the jay, we used to have grackles but they've stopped coming.

Scrappy Grams said...

Thanks to your super photo, I found out that grackles have lovely blue feathers as well as black.

Mimi said...

Hi Carletta, more lovely photos and more unusual (to me anyway!) birds to look up.
We have a squirrel in our back garden! that is unusual in our area of the city, but we've seen him, or her? on a couple of occasions, walking boldly along our wall, not at all shy of humans!
Are your guys red or grey? Ours are grey, I prefer little red ones.

TexWisGirl said...

lovely beauties. :)

Springman said...

Great that you have so much new life to enjoy. Wonderful pictures Carletta. You've got "The Water is Wide" playing in the back ground right now. Sounds beautiful! Lets hope blogger has it's problems worked out, no stress though, this is for fun!

mick said...

The birds are beautiful and the squirrels so cute - especially the young one.

rapunzel said...

Love the baby squirrel!!

Suburban Girl said...

Beautiful photos. I do love the blue iridescence on the grackle. We raised an orphan squirrel once. I guess something happened to mom and two came out of the nest. One jump on my leg! I took them in, one died pretty quickly. The other we were able to feed and return to the wild. He was named Mickey by my daughter. But then 'he' could have been a 'she'. We didn't know.

holdingmoments said...

Carletta, I love your Blue Jays you have over there. Lovely shot.

MaineBirder said...

Wonderful captures Carletta!

Luna Miranda said...

the blue jay is beautiful, while the bird in the first photo looks scary.:p

theconstantwalker said...

Lovely images of your lovely wildlife. Many thanks for sharing.

Sondra said...

The Blue Jay is one of my favorites!! Enjoy the squirrels they are cute!

Jim said...

You did real good in catching photos of all those critters, Carletta. Happy MidWeek Blues!
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If the errant blog allows Name/URL I do that to get my post on.
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diane b said...

the baby squirrel is so cute. Is the black bird what we call a crow. They are very intelligent birds.

Pat said...

Nice shots of your wildlife! The little squirrels should be fun to watch as they play.

Stephany said...

I love this series of photos, Carletta. The baby squirrel is so sweet! (I have a couple that I took for you but haven't put them up yet.) Haven't been able to catch the blue jays yet. I'm probably not getting up early enough. :)

SquirrelQueen said...

The baby is adorable, his tail does look so soft. How wonderful that you are getting to see them grow up.

Sallie (FullTime-Life) said...

I don't know how you get anything done ever besides look out your window -- you have the best view of the best yard EVER! And even your grackles are pretty.