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[nanimal]

Love the juvies! Thanks for the pics, Ginger and STL.

[STLbf]

Great pics all around!  Love Ginger's sunrise pic with the little bird flying up.
And so, two juvies have found the North's valley this month. It's great to know that the population extends beyond just the ones that we have on cameras.
Learn and smile, learn and smile!    

[STLbf]

The Norths have been on camera this morning. Both in the Scary Tree at daylight. Then DNF flew to the Spit Tree and stayed quite a while. Several deer grazing in the creek area, pic from near the Brush Pile.  Seems to be just one fawn, which means probably this doe's first  young.  After the first, does typically have twins; insurance against predators. Of course she could have lost a fawn already to coyotes or eagles.

DNF moved to one of the tall, leafy trees just North (left) of the Twiggy Tree, again, staying for a leisurely while.  They are harder to see in the leafy branches, but fewer insect pests, so good perching. In the pic, she is right in the center.

[Ginger52]

STL -- Very nice pics from this morning.  I actually saw two does and each had a fawn.  I didn't note the time.  I'll have to go back later and look.

Yesterday on the cam was a VERY full day.  Our cam op in the morning found lots of birds for us to watch and also an adult BE visitor and a subadult BE visitor.  Here's a video that contains a lot of it.  Read the notes to find time stamps for all of the birds.  I was especially excited to see a juvie red-headed woodpecker.

https://youtu.be/2PGmh41r1fQ

[STLbf]

Ginger, thanks for posting the video of all the activity from yesterday!  The juvie red-headed woodpecker was a first for me.

[Ginger52]

STL -- From time to time when DNF was perched in that tree just North (left) of the Twiggy Tree yesterday, she would vocalize as she faced to the right.  I think there must have been a visitor perched in that area and that's what influenced her tree choice since we very seldom see them perched there.  Re: juvenile red-headed woodpecker -- I've got pics of one from Aug. 13 and 15, 2021 but that's the only time I remember seeing one at DNN.

Some pics from yesterday (Friday):

Indigo Bunting


Two does and two fawns (I could not get a very good pic of all four of them)


Geese


Cows


Female Rose-Breasted Grosbeak (note the gold color under her
wings as she flies off)

[STLbf]

Ginger, love all your "little bird" pics when the eagles aren't in view.  I've seen male rose-breasted grosbeaks where I live, but never a female.  Another species with the males and females looking very different colors.  Thanks again to the cam ops!

Thistles are in bloom, so bees are busy, and the goldfinches and other seed eaters will be all over them soon.  The cattle were out overnight, so insects are stirred up maybe more than normal.  The house wren captured a tasty breakfast grasshopper. Two Eastern Kingbirds also in the brushy area.

[STLbf]

It's birdie picnic morning at the North Valley.  Juveniles of several species are dining on plentiful seeds and insects.
At dawn, the Norths were still in the Scary Tree.

[STLbf]

Goldfinches have found some thistle flowers mature enough to have seeds today.

[Ginger52]

STL -- It's fun seeing the young birds now on the cam.  I think the one you labeled a Northern Flicker might actually be a Red-Bellied Woodpecker because the barring on its back is black and white/cream vs. black and brown and also I would have expected a Northern Flicker to have some sort of marks on its front side.  I'm just not sure.  What do you think?

[STLbf]

For a real treat, rewind to sunrise, like in the pic, about 6:00 this morning.  Besides the gorgeous color, you'll get a sandhill crane serenade!  Awesome and echo-y.

[Ginger52]

I love listening to the Sandhill Cranes, STL  I heard a few calls this morning at about 7:20.

This morning around 7 a.m. there was a cute little White-Breasted Nuthatch preening in the morning sun for over seven minutes.





Here's a video:

https://youtu.be/wqge7cRLdk0

Afterward, DNF perched on the BPT for awhile and then appeared to see something of interest and flew to the Twiggy Tree where she perched for awhile before flying off to the right.

[STLbf]

Loved your pics of the Nuthatch this morning!  I'm guessing it was a juvenile; it looks a bit less sleek than the adult version.  What do you think, Ginger?

Pics of DNF in the BPT and Twiggy Tree.

[Ginger52]

STL -- I'm not sure that it's a juvenile.  It had already started preening by the time the cam zoomed in so its feathers were already kind of disordered.  However, one thing I did think pointed to it being a juvenile was the beak which had some yellow on it.  Here's a pic I found online of an adult next to a juvenile.

https://www.facebook.com/illinoisbirds/photos/a-white-breasted-nuthatch-adult-checks-out-a-juvenile-that-was-just-released-at-/10157325164897083/

[STLbf]

Ginger, thanks for the comparison pic for the nuthatch adult vs juvie.  So helpful to see them together.  The one at DNN looks to have some yellowish on the lower beak, so I think it's a juvenile but closer to adult than the comparison pic.

And back a few days, I'm sure you are correct about the stripey juvie being a red-bellied woodpecker.  I never saw a front view, so couldn't tell if there was the black/dark chest patch of a northern flicker.