2017 RETROSPECT / 5

Male Orchard Oriole, 1st summer, near Durango, Iowa ----------     

May has been all about bird photography ones more for me in 2017. I don’t even have to go too far, things happen right here in our woods north of Dubuque, Iowa.

We usually see a large number of Baltimore Orioles stopping briefly on their long journey and eating from oranges we provide. Some of them stay here during the summer and raise their offspring. Not a daily event is the sighting of an Orchard Oriole. Last year we had more than ever before and it was fun to see both species at the same time. This male oriole was in its first summer and didn’t have the dark chestnut-orange color of its body yet as the adult males.

SERIOUS BUSINESS

Female House Wren

While the male House Wren is singing his heart out each morning (see my last blog post), the female is doing some serious business now. The males actually start to build the nest, way before a female even makes a commitment, but it is a loose collection of grass and twigs and they usually build more than one. The females choose and finish the nest to their like before they lay the eggs. Our wren in the front yard is obviously giving it the last touch and making it soft and comfortable.

NATURE CLICKS #355 - NORTHERN FLICKER (YELLOW-SHAFTED)

Male Yellow-shafted Northern Flicker -----------

We had quite a bit of snow during the last two days and the temperatures dropped way down (-22˚ C / -7˚ F). 17 different species of birds can be found in these tough times at our bird feeders and water supply and I’m not counting those who show up only occasionally. The flickers have found out about our place again and this season we see at least three males and one female.

The Northern Flicker has two subspecies, the red-shafted and the yellow-shafted. Here in Iowa and the eastern US we have the yellow-shafted form. The image below is not a real good photo but I wanted to show it anyway. While I focussed on the female sitting at a bird bath it suddenly turned its head for an incoming male. Although the male bird is not in focus, you can see why this subspecies is called the yellow-shafted.