Great Crested Flycatcher

Great Crested Flycatcher is out here today in the rain.
For years they nested in the same owl box and the tree fell.
I have not seen one the last couple years.
No camera today, but here he is:

Attachment 6710

That is really cool.
We now have a pair of Mallards living in my back yard by my pond. Don't know how long they will stay but they have been here all week. I expect they may try to nest here. Don't know if it is safe or not but we shall see. If they move around a bit I may put some bird seed by the pond and see if they eat it. There are plenty of bugs around.

Also, my new feeder is gaining popularity. I have to get my video camera set up as it has a 48power digital zoom.

I am too lazy to make food items so I plan to go to the wild bird store near me and see what I can find to hang around the yard. Hope cleaning out the pond filter does not run the ducks off. I expect they will get killed by the hawks across the street if they stay around.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Marty Gass

We now have a pair of Mallards living in my back yard by my pond.

---

That is cool Marty. I would not worry as to the Hawks until the new hatch. Many critters will prey on the eggs.

Try feeding them corn. Not the hard crap, but frozen, fresh, or even canned.
Throwing some Romain or Buttercruch lettuce in the pond is a plus.

Good to know. I will do that. They are now in the pond. There was a bit of a stir this morning in my front yard because there was another male duck who showed up. We are at peace now and the pair are in the back yard again. I have a fence so dogs can't just roam into the yard. I think we have some frozen corn. They are eating bird food that I put on rocks by the pond. I wish I could put up pictures but for some reason my computer programming will not work to do so. Can I e-mail photos to a yardcrap e-mail? Maybe I can attach. There a lots of places to hide in my natural areas. When I go outside the ducks just head over there and go under the bushes into some good cover.

Also noticed that the new feeder is harder for squirrels to got food out of. It is a metal cage with metal ports and the ports are small. The squirrels chase off the birds but the birds now come right back. I need to get different kinds of food for different birds. The cardinals love the sunflower seeds. I get a mix but I have noticed that there are different mixes for different birds. This may just be a way to get people to buy more types of food.
Over the years we have had lots of deer in the yard as the fence and the natural area give nice shelter and I dump grass clippings in areas and they like to lay in that. No deer for almost 2 years now. I think we had one last summer with a fawn when the gate was open but that lasted for about a day. Birds are easy. once the have seen there is lots of food they are all around now. The squirrels draw the hawks from across the street. The hawks have cleared out the population a good bit. My yard and attic were over run several years ago and now I see them but just here and there. We see chipmunks here and there but not too often.
I am going to set up my video camera with the high power digital zoom on the tripod. I have a remote control so I can turn it on without standing up near the windows.