A Small Nod to the Wild Side

Habitat all around the house is being cleared for new houses. I've tried to take a few steps to keep some native flora around for the birds. One small effort is a strip of lawn left fallow. I hope to see native plants growing there, but for now it's long turf grass. The other day, I heard our first Blue-black Grassquit for the yard (our 92nd species). The bird sang from the fallow patch. I'm sure it was picking grass seeds. We're also growing a cecropia, locally known as guarumo. This characteristic tropical forest tree has open branches that will afford parakeets, doves, woodpeckers, and other birds a clear view of potential predators as they eye our bird baths and feeder.

July 15 Appearance of Recently Hatched Streak-backed Oriole

An earlier post showed an adult Streak-backed Oriole at its hanging nest. July 15 brought the happy surprise of an adult at our banana feeder…accompanied by an immature bird. The young bird lacked the black throat of adults, and begged bits of banana.

Surprise First-time Visit by an Immature Tropical Mockingbird

While common in nearby countryside, the Tropical Mockingbird is scarce in our yard. So a July 14 visit by this young bird was a nice surprise, right outside our front window.