Successful Fledge

All the Baby Bluebirds fledged successfully this morning. I miss them but oh the trees are full of chatter. :) 

Baby Bluebird's - Season 2014

Bluebird eggs

Total bluebird eggs were 5.
More pictures coming soon.

Bluebird Eggs for another season, Spring 2014......

Mrs. Bluebird has been very busy the last five days. Her first egg was laid on April 22 and one egg each day to date April 26. Let's see if she lays a 6th tomorrow. It would be exceptional.

Beautiful Photography - Local Birds by Ashish R. of Yorba Linda

 Red Tailed Hawk - Yorba Linda

Red Shouldered Hawk - Yorba Linda 

 Audubon Warbler - Yorba Linda

 Black Phoebe Flycatcher - Yorba Linda

 Black Headed Grosbeak - Yorba Linda

 California Towhee - Yorba Linda

 Male House Finch feeding Female House Finch

 Female and Male House Finches

Hummingbird - Yorba Linda

Nesting Mourning Dove

Here is a sweet picture taken by friend and ylwc member April P. of a mourning dove in its nest in April's backyard river birch tree. Nice shot April. Thank you for sharing.

Link contributed by friend and YLWC member Jane.

Enjoy:

Birds on the Wires - Music.

FIRST DAY OF SPRING :)

OK......So I put out some bluebird nesting supplies and two rental units for the spring season. It looks like we've already got some interest today in the double door bird house. Let's see what happens this year. Wish us all some luck please.

Bald Eagle sighting Anaheim Hills/Santa Ana River

From Facebook Page: Yorba Linda News You Can Use      

Per Lisa Lord
Amazing Bald Eagle sighting today right here in AH! This is the second time my husband has seen it. He was near Riverdale Park along the Santa Ana River trail. Beautiful!

 

Inspiration takes wing

A young Lake Forest artist's love of birds sparks his creativity.
Article by JJ Meyer, Orange county Register, Feb. 1, 2014

Inspiration takes wing

Photo by JJ Meyer

Colin Morrell displays a few of his art projects: a soft sculpture of his sun conure, a great blue heron made from fabric on canvas and a whimsical sculpture of a bird with aviator glasses.  

 

In case you missed my story in today's Orange County Register, here it is:

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Like many great artists, Colin Morrell, a freshman in the visual arts conservatory at the Orange County School of the Arts in Santa Ana, finds inspiration in nature. 

            “All of my art projects have to do with birds,” said Morrell, 15.

            “When I do a project, the kids at school say ‘Colin and his birds again.’ They think I’m obsessed. I’m known as the ‘bird kid.’”

            While his sun conure, Comet, has been the model for several pieces, he looks mainly to wild birds, including those in his back yard.  Last summer, he talked his parents into putting up a birdfeeder.  It quickly grew to two with seed, another for suet and one for hummingbird nectar.  

“I wouldn’t have put up birdfeeders,” said his mother, Amanda Morrell, “that was totally his idea.”  And it didn’t stop there, she said. 

Her son also researched the idea of placing a fountain in their back yard to draw species that typically don’t visit feeders such as warblers and other insect-eaters.  He found a large stone fountain for a steal on Craig’s List. The sellers were asking $150 for a fountain that retailed for $2,000.  But the trick was to get it out of the sellers’ back yard through an 18-inch clearance on the side of the house.  And the sellers wanted it out quickly.

“The base alone weighed 1,200 lbs.,” Amanda said.  It took eight male friends to move and install it.  But the effort has paid off with daily avian visitors to the fountain, including hummingbirds that like the bubbling action at the top.  Colin added mosquito fish and aquatic plants to the reservoir at the base where other birds stop to drink.  His favorite is the boisterous scrub jay, but the “coolest looking bird” he says, is the spotted towhee.

Next Colin talked his parents into replacing the backyard lawn with California native plants.  The family found the varieties they needed at a plant sale at Fullerton Arboretum.  He then laid stone to create a walkway around the fountain and through the garden.  In a few spots, he placed stone remnants in random piles for lizard shelters.  

“Colin invests in birds and nature,” Amanda said.  So he didn’t stop with his own back yard.  He designed a demonstration garden as part of an Eagle Scout project for the Boy Scouts to educate the homeowners in his community about the importance of drought-tolerant California native plants and their role in nature. article by JJ Meyer, Orange County Register, February 1, 2014

How to fill an Empty Nest Box

By JJ Meyer

http://www.ocregister.com/articles/box-598077-nest-birds.html

 

ebird.org

Global tools for birders, critical data for science

• Record the birds you see
• Keep track of your bird lists
• Explore dynamic maps and graphs
• Share your sightings and join the eBird community
• Contribute to science and conservation

click here

OC Register -  Birding 101

http://www.ocregister.com/articles/benson-533921-ford-hutchinson.html

Coopers Hawk

Yorba Linda, Ca.
This beautiful hawk landed on friend and YLWC member Kim C's backyard pool fence today. They are such majestic creatures... Good fast pics Kim! They usually fly away before a camera debut.

Winter bird food

Packing the backyard habitat pine trees with home made winter bird suet. 

It provides the birds with the fat they need in the colder winter months. They love it. It attracts all kinds of birds and is a good way to get a good birds eye view of some birds in your area. Place some in your yard and sit back to watch the show. 

Helping birds in cold weather

Read about helping birds in cold weather.

 

This is a Townsend Warbler visiting my backyard suet bar. 

Click Here

Create a Certified Wildlife Habitat

Create a Certified Wildlife Habitat in your yard.

It only takes four things.

Step 1 - Provide Food

Step 2 - Supply Water

Step 3 - Create Cover

Step 4 - Give Wildlife a Place to Raise Young

 Click on  link below:

Create a wildlife habitat

Golden Eagles are in our Silverado Canyon

We have Golden Eagles here in Orange County. On occasion you can see them soar at Silverado Canyon by the Tucker Wildlife Sanctuary. This picture was taken by daughter Shannon  in Montana but it's the same bird.  Just beautiful!

Cedar Waxwing

Another amazingly beautiful cedar waxwing sighting.

What's in your backyard? Send in your pic to be posted.

Rustic Bluebird Houses

Michaels woodcraft and blog.  Some amazing woodwork, a true artist.


http://michaelswoodcraft.wordpress.com/

Monarch Butterflies

For an extra 'winged treat,' add monarch butterflies to your backyard. It's easy!

Beautiful Monarchs - Certified Wildlife Habitat's picture.
Our backyard is a certified wildlife habitat. This passed summer we had the joy of adding another species, that is, raising majestic monarch butterflies. Depending on the cycle growth of their host milkweed plants, our yard was nature filled with an abundance of butterflies. Thank you cousin Gina Papadakis for your inspiration and how-to pictures.

So. Cal. Bluebird Club

HELP! Hurt or truly injured birds, what do I do?

What do I do when I find a hurt or truly injured bird?

Review the website below regarding bird care education:  


http://www.songbirdcareandeducation.org/foundababybird.html

Tucker Wildlife Sanctuary

Went to Tucker Wildlife Sanctuary today. Had the most amazing educational discussion with Uyen Tran, curator and graduate student of CSUF in animal behavior sciences. She was absolutely informative about our area birds. We had a discussion about many bird types. I learned why most likely we are not able to attract red-winged black birds to our yard. They prefer areas closer to the water, she said. Hence, now that I think about it, I always see them in Y.L. yards and businesses situated closer to our local Santa Ana River. Also, the Anna's and Costas hummingbirds are the only two hummingbirds that have a song. Anna's hummingbirds are local to Yorba Linda, Costas are not.  Do you have an Anna's hummingbird singing in your yard? Hear their songs. Click here > Anna's Song 

Thank you Uyen, for a most enjoyable visit.
TuckerWildlife.org

 

 

Female Robin collecting mealworms for its brood.

 

Notice how many worms she can gather in her beak at one time.

She was still collecting after I took the picture. The pic is  

a  bit foggy looking as it was taken through a window and screen.

 

 

American Robin Songs 

Amazing! - Smart oriole behavior

By Greg D. of Huntington Beach:

Olivia,

Not a made up story.  The male catches his prey, strips the wings and dunks in nectar and flies it back to the nest.  I have yet to locate their 2^nd nest.   They actually removed one of the yellow baskets from the Hummer feeder so the larger hole could accommodate their bill, pretty smart. 

This is a great observation and more knowledge about these amazing birds.   

   

 Hooded Oriole - Male

Female

 

A Hummer for Hummers

Magnificent photos shared by Karlene B.  

 Yorba Linda (ylwc member)

Karlene says:

"We hung a ceramic hummingbird in our backyard. To my great surprise...a hummingbird built a nest on it. Two babies were hatched.  I loved watching them grow.  We have had other nests over the years but this one is unique where it was built."

Absolutely Precious! Thank you Karlene.

For Rufous Hummingbird/sounds just click here