Picture of the Day for May 25, 2019

The first sunny day in a while had the bees buzzing in the dandelions as well as the apple blossoms. And while the female orioles were busy building theirs nests, I spotted a male oriole in the apple blossoms as he was hunting insects.  But as I was watching the oriole, I scared the wood ducks from the pond so I quickly took some photos and left the area so the ducks could return to their nest boxes.

Holiday Weekend at the Pond

Holiday Weekend at the Pond

Picture of the Day for May 24, 2019

The barns at the farm are filled with multiple batches of kittens, but it sounded like I had kittens in my yard too with the arrival of Gray Catbirds.  One of their common call is a like a lost kitten mewing, but their long song may last for up to 10 minutes which may mimic other birds as well as mechanical and musical notes and phrases. The catbird singing by my porch this evening almost sounded like it was saying “pretty bird” even though not a colorful bird.

Noisy Gray Catbird

Noisy Gray Catbird

Picture of the Day for May 22, 2019

The critters, besides myself, may have been feeling a little blue this morning since it started out wet, cold and gray, but some birds really show the blue like these Indigo Buntings. The males actually lack blue pigment and their color comes from microscopic structures in the feathers that reflect blue light. I had three males at the feeder at one time but I didn’t see any females (who are probably sitting on the nest) and aren’t as noticeable in their brown color. An interesting fact is that they migrate at night using the stars as navigation.

Male Indigo Buntings

Male Indigo Buntings

Picture of the Day for May 17, 2019

The Virginia Bluebells buds start out in a pink color and turns blue as the blossoms open up. Although this one stem of blooms seem to have missed the memo that they were supposed to change color. The pink are like the warm temperatures of yesterday and the blue for the cold weather today. On rare occasions they are white, which I am glad I didn’t see or that might suggest snow.

Colors of Virginia Bluebells

Colors of Virginia Bluebells