Trees And Birds

No, the birds are not in the trees.  The trees are on the fence again.  Maybe you remember this tree from last year (HERE)

Well, another part of the tree fell over the same spot in the fence.  

This is on rented land but we have to keep up the fence.  A neighbor drove by and said he would take the wood but he didn't offer to help get it off the fence.  There was a lot of cutting and eventually a tractor was involved. 

But Joe got it done as usual.  

Now there are just 2 trunks left to fall.  

On the bird front, my bird box that had the camera has birds but  no camera.  Ants had gotten into it and I gave the replacement bird house away at Christmas.  But I can open the side and hold my phone over the nest for a picture.  Not sure how many are there.  They are tree swallows.  

And a surprise find inside one of my grapevine balls.  

A mockingbird nest with 3 eggs!  So, if a bird in the hand beats 2 in the bush, what does 3 in a ball get?

Birdfy Update

As you can guess, I was a little worried about getting a refund for my mystery shopper experience. 

I had to follow the links to purchase the product then set it up and review it on Kohl’s wedsite. 

After that I had to send a screenshot of the review and a copy of the invoice on how much I had spent. 

All of this was over two holidays so 3-5 business days turned into over two weeks. 

I have been enjoying the videos of the birds and the ability to check out the feeder live. So I had sort of resigned myself to the idea that I just bought myself a present. 

 But guess what, the refund came through. As an added bonus, because I had purchased it at Kohl’s, I had $20 in Kohl’s cash to spend.  So not only did I get a free Birdfy bird feeder, I got a new shirt!

25 Days Of Christmas, Day 19

I got this email around Thanksgiving but ignored it for several days. Most all emails like this are just advertisements and trying to sell something. 

But when I got around to reading it, it seems they are trying to give me something.  I had to order a bird feeder from Kohl’s, write a review, then get a refund. I already have a Birdfy bird house and a Birdfy camera that I can aim at a feeder, so why not get the feeder camera combo. 

It came a couple of days ago and was very easy to assemble. 

Since I already had the app, adding one more device was a piece of cake 

The only problem has been the 40 mph winds.  Hopefully the wind will settle down by tomorrow so I can put it up outside, write my review and get a refund. 

Merry Christmas to me!

 

Spooky

You never know what is running around on the front patio until you put up a bird feeder camera. I haven’t started filling the feeders yet but I did place the camera so I could see if anyone came to the front door.  We have had a variety of visitors so far. 

A opossum 

Socks came by again. 

Molly, who isn’t allowed in the yard, was in the yard. 

And a beautiful fox trotted past. I think the birds camera is better than a trail cam. It has a solar charger so I don’t have to worry with batteries.  Plus, the videos go to the app and I can check them any time along with being able to watch live. It has been a busy month. 

Happy Halloween 

 

Surprise Replacement

Some may remember the failure of my Birdfy camera this summer. After the loss of that brood, I cleaned out the bird house and discovered ants were nesting in the camera.  I eliminated the ants but the camera would still not work.  I spent an hour on chat with technical services but had to stop once my phone charge ran out.  I set the project aside until I had time again.  Last week, I plugged the camera back in to start with a full charge and contacted technical services again.  They never asked if it had been invaded by ants and I didn't offer up that information.  After trying all of their solutions, taking pictures of the camera and providing the original sales receipt,  they decided to mail me a new camera.  

What I wasn't expecting was a brand new bird house to go with it.  

The first bird house still works as a bird house.  I can also open the side and examine the nest and take pictures with my phone.  I was very pleased with the service and the warranty.  A definite win, win.  If anyone is wanting a birding camera, I can recommend Birdfy.  
 

And…They’re Gone

Remember back on July 2nd we had 4 tree swallow babies. 

I ended up not putting the Birdfy camera back in the nesting box because I had found an ant nest in it. 

Apparently, ants are not particularly good for electronic devices and it had stopped working.  I think it is still under warranty so I need to make a call about that. 

Anyway, there has been a lot of activity at the bird house the last few days. 

There were definitely four still on Friday. 

But Saturday looked like only three. 

Today I checked and they were gone! After seeing the first batch of six all die I was trying to not get my hopes up too much.  I’m glad I could witness this success. 

Ten days ago I checked the bird box and saw 4 eggs. I have taken the camera out of the box because ants had set up house keeping in it. But the birdhouse has a side panel that drops down for easy viewing. 

Then I can just hold my phone over the nest for a picture.

Sunday I checked and 3 eggs had hatched

Emily checked in on the nest yesterday and said there were four baby birds. 

Some of her past jobs entailed checking bird nests and obtaining blood samples. I said I did not need blood or any DNA testing. 

The only thing cute about the baby bird was the fuzzy feathers starting to come in on top of its head. 

 Maybe this brood will work out better than the last. 

Yet Another Loss

My Birdfi camera stopped working Thursday.  I thought the adult birds were making so many trips in and out that the solar panel couldn't keep up with the camera charge.  So Friday, I got an extension cord to plug in the charger.  When I opened the box I thought, "wow, those little birds are like rabbits and have just froze to protect themselves from a predator"  Then on second thought, that just didn't seem right.  So I took a closer look.  They were all dead.  

I don't know what happened.  It had been pretty warm Thursday so over heating could have been a possibility.  Emily said bird numbers are decreasing, especially Tree Swallows because of pesticide use.  Whatever the cause, it is very depressing.  Emily suggested cleaning out the box and the parents might try again.  And it looks like they are.  I will hope for a better outcome.  

 

Moving Around

All 6 are still there.  They are moving around a lot more now. Joe killed the 6 foot long black snake that was making his way towards the bird house.  The flower beds are safe again for Sadie and the rabbits.  

 

Hatched

Remember the six eggs,

Here they are the morning of May 21.

Then around 9:30 this started happening. 

Mom was there to help clean up.

 But on the 22nd it still looked like there was an egg.  I just couldn’t tell if all six had hatched.

Then I saw this and was pretty sure there were six.

They are now 8 days old and growing like weeds.

The parents have been very busy.  There is no way to watch all the videos. There are over 3000 now.  

The Other Birdfy

While my bird feeder Birdfy camera is on foal watch, I still have my bird house Birdfy camera on bird watch. 

A tree swallow took up residence, built a nest, laid eggs and is now incubating them. 

There are 6 eggs in the nest.  I love how cozy all the feathers make it look. It looks like the last egg was about 5 days ago.  Hatching could be as early as another week.  Stay tuned. 

 

Still Waiting

Day 363. 

I have moved Draper into the stall full time. Fescue toxicity is always a concern. I am hoping she is just at the upper end of the bell curve for gestation length and not having a prolonged pregnancy because of fescue.  As a precaution for the lack of milk symptom of fescue toxicity, I have started her on domperidone.  

I have also been working on my Birdfy camera setup.  I was surprised that I could move the camera so much closer and still get WiFi signal from the house. 

The next problem was lighting.  I had a clip on light that I put a 60 watt LED bulb in and clipped to the top of the gate.  This solved the lighting issue    The camera is on top of the post (the dark line to the left of center) 

This is what I am able to see with the camera at night.  I wonder how many times I will be checking it. 

If anyone is interested in helping me watch, I can try to figure out how to share the QR code, you can download the Birdfy app and start watching the live stream. 

The Birdfy

I have had the same variety of birds at the feeder, but something new showed up last night.

This black and white cat has shown up several mornings at the house.  When we see him he runs down the driveway.  I am not sure where he belongs but a I hope he has made friends with Kit Kat.  I don’t want to have to treat any wounds.

Maybe he was looking for this little chipmunk.  Then for the bird house Birdfy.  It has been a disappointment so far.  A month ago one blue bird looked in.   Since then the tree swallows have arrived but the Birdfy doesn’t seem able to identify them.

It is not a white headed woodpecker.

But the only one brave enough to venture inside so far.

It is also not a European starling,

Or Hairy woodpecker.  It has also identified the tree swallow as a blue jay, carolina chickadee, downy woodpecker, acorn woodpecker, red headed woodpecker, eastern kingbird and common grackle. 

I am not sure what this one is but I know it is not a black capped chickadee, 

Or pileated woodpecker.

Starling have shown up apparently disguised as red winged blackbirds.

But my lone bluebird from a month ago was actually a blue bird.