Backyard Birds- April 2020

A few random shots of my common backyard birds in April:

Red-Bellied Woodpecker, Mourning Dove, Chipping Sparrow and Carolina Chickadee.

Backyard Blooms- April 2020

All of the blooms in the backyard look really great right now. We've seen quite a bit of rain this month and that's helped with the new growth. The blooms are bold and beautiful and the foliage appears healthy and vibrant. I believe these are the prettiest spring blooms I've seen during April.

Clematis

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St. Joseph's Lily

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African Iris

Gerbera Daisy

Oak Leaf Hydrangea blooms

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Heuchera

Dead Nettle bloom

Angel's Wing Begonia

Wax Leaf Begonia

Hosta

Roses

Black Mulberry

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Blueberry

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Bartlett Pear

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Blackberry bloom

The Red-Headed Thief

One by one, he (or she) retrieved the nuts and stuffed them into a hole in the power pole. He likely made two or three dozen trips back and forth to the feeder. No wonder my bird seed bill has edged upward lately :)

Bluebird Babies

I've enjoyed watching these precious Bluebird parents caring for their young the past couple weeks. They are back and forth countless times to and from the nest box all day long, every day. Both parents equally share the responsibility of bringing food to their nestlings and carrying away their waste. Bluebirds are among the first songbirds to produce offspring in early spring. I've noticed that Chickadees and Titmice also nest early in spring.

The nestlings will probably fledge within a couple more days. They're getting pretty cramped inside the nest box and I often see them crawling atop each other and trying to get a peek outside. They're so stinking cute!

This is pretty gross but it's all a part of the ways of nature- when the baby bird has to poop, it will turn its back to the parent and discharge a poop sac. The poop is contained within a white sac which helps to keep the nest clean and provides an easy way for the parent to carry waste away from the nest. This behavior, in turn, helps prevent the attraction of insects like ants and flies around the nest. It is nature's way of housecleaning. 

More about them later.

A Few Spring Migrants

I missed most of the spring migrants that fly through during the month of April because I was super busy doing other tasks. I did spot a few of the usual migrants...

Male & Female Rose-Breasted Grosbeaks:

One afternoon, there were about 4 male Grosbeaks at one of the feeders. By the time I grabbed my camera and went back outside, they were gone. The female directly above was fairly nervous about my camera clicks. She stared directly at me for several seconds then vanished.

 Male Indigo Bunting:

My favorite photo of the day:

The Red-Headed Woodpecker seemed to dare the Rose-Breasted Grosbeak to stop at the feeder. The Grosbeak flew by him then took off in the opposite direction.