Sharing a successful season

15 years ago

Hi all,

Since my last post here, we've had the joy to fledge 5 more beautiful little blues from our 3rd nesting. I hope some of you saw the fledging thread I linked in another post here recently.

Interesting to note, our 2nd nest fledglings (all 5 of them) were on-hand to see their new siblings' first flights. I've posted another little photo story about that and how the 2nd brood participated in this 3rd fledging.

So we've been very fortunate to have 13 new baby bluebirds fledged by the same parents and from the same NABS nestbox. A very successful season indeed. We've posted many shots of the 1st nest fledges here earlier. so now here I'd like to share a few recent photos of these 2nd nesters, who continue to visit us regularly and follow their parents around as they feed the 3rd brood in the tall trees.

{{!gwi}}

Hope you enjoy them.

Kenn :)

Here is a link that might be useful: All Bluebirds Slideshow

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (7)

timothy_birdlover
15 years ago
Ken,
What kind of camera and lenses? You must have some pretty good equipment to get the shots in the slide show.

Tim
kenn3d
Original Author
15 years ago
Thanks Tim,

We use a Canon S3-IS, often with a Sony DH1758 teleconverter attached.

Kenn
Related Discussions
Share Those August Challenges, Successes, and Goofs!
Q
Comments (6)
BrooklinPhill - I so agree with you about the sweet potato vine - I have blackie in two on my front porch and they wilt ALL the time - I have learned over the summer that 2 wilts in that basket = 1 good watering for all the other containers so they have been a good barometer for watering successes have been great this year - caladiums are beautiful - lantanas do great in containers - million bells are just the neatest plant to date and work in any basket or container weaving their way through all the other plants - gerber daisies jammed into one very large container just bloom and bloom goofs - nothing blantent - there are some combinations that I won't do next year just because they do nothing for me. Polka dot plant seems to get very leggy in containers - it does better in the ground for me. Challenges - I still need to work on plant combination - what looks beautiful when first planted usually has one bully plant that wants to take over the entire container. I need to prune more I guess and keep them in check all in all a pretty successful container gardening year - now I am researching and working on some really attractive ones for fall and winter. I really want to take advantage of my zone and what can be done in the winter
...See More
Cauliflower in Nor Cal - please share your wisdom for success!
Q
Comments (1)
Cauliflower is relatively easy to grow. Plant, water and pick! If you get cabbage looper caterpillars, since you only have six plants, you can just go out every day and hand pick them off. If that's too much, then you can spray with BT (bacillus thuringiensis), which is lethal to caterpillars, but not to us! I use a general purpose organic fertilizer at planting and don't use any extra later. I also mulch around the plants to keep moisture levels even. If you have snails, use a product called Sluggo, it's safe around people and pets, but once again, lethal to snails! I'm trying the Cheddar cauliflower myself this fall, so guess we will see how it turns out. Good luck! Elaine
...See More
just have to share my unusual success..artichokes!
Q
Comments (4)
Congrats! I live in Maine and I have been able to grow artichokes fairly reliably by using the variety Imperial Star. I start them in early March under lights indoors, grow them a about a month or so, and then move them outdoors to coldframes for about 5 weeks or so. I then transplant them to the garden when the danger of frost is gone... This fools the plant into thinking it has been thru a summer/winter cycle, and they reliable set fruit in the first year. I learned about this in Eliot Coleman's fine book "Four Season Harvest", which is a terrific resource. I have grown seedlings like this for friends without much gardening experience and these seedlings produced artichokes for them in the first year also. I have never tried overwintering artichokes, although now I have a hoophouse and just might give it a try.. You ought to try this if you like artichokes! Regards, Jim
...See More
Would just like to share my garden success thus far...
Q
Comments (11)
Thank you so much everyone! Chris: My tomatoes usually stay in them but before this year my tomatoes truly were horrible. Last yearr out of 16 plants i got a grand total of 5 tomatoes. Yeah, that bad. I am not expecting them to stay in the cages though. As far as bug control, nothing at this point other than hand killing :) The flea beetles aren't out of control at this point so I'm not going to fret about them yet. I only know they are there based on minor damage and the fact that I actually seen them. I need to go out one night and look for my culprit. I think some hot pepper mix or BT is in my future. Tuamor1628 and simmran1: Thank you for the nice comments and suggestions! KCKook: Thank you! Yeah, my 'maters are a little close, but at the same time I was going into this season with very low expectations based on last year. My plants (indet) topped out at MAYBE 4-5 ft and were very pathetic and I gave them lots of room. This year I planted closer with the new beds (the beds are brand new for this yr) figuring I will prune if I need to. As far as the cages, based on what I've read, everyone agrees with you :) I pretty much figured I would eventually have to stake them as well with the wooden stakes you see for the tomatoes without cages. I figured it would help them stay contained at least somewhat lol. The tomatoes in the first half of the first bed (pic 2) ended up WAY closer than I intended. But most of the others are about 2 ft apart lengthwise and 18-24" diagonally. Like I said, I will learn to prune if I need to and I think I probably will as they are growing like weeds now. It is incredible compared to last yr. This is more of an experimental year for me than anything. Learning what works, what doesn't and IF raised beds really do make a difference where I live and so far the answer is yes :) Oh, and starting your own seeds can make an impact to. Out of all the plants above only 1 tomato, 4 peppers and 2 eggplants are store bought. Everything else is from seed, which was a whole new world for me as well!
...See More
donnalovesblue
15 years ago
Kenn...your slideshow is just magnificent...such detail and clarity! Your adorable subjects seem to pose perfectly for the camera!

Congrats on your successful season and for sharing your wonderful pics of your family these past months. I feel like I know Missy and her Mr. personally!!!

BTW...I am definitely going to invest in a camera worthy of capturing my backyard birds...The camera you mentioned is obviously for "pros" such as yourself, but could you recommend a good camera for a novice...simple and easy to use? Your advice would be appreciated....

Donna
kenn3d
Original Author
15 years ago
Thanks for your kind words Donna, we're glad you enjoyed the slideshow.

I can't encourage anyone enuf to take photos of their yardbirds. It adds a great additional pleasure to birdwatching, and helps us observe their beauty in ways we can't see with our eyes alone.

We are amateur photographers, and our Canon S3 is a very mode$t point and shoot model which anyone could learn to use. Getting close to your birds is really the key. To do this, you need a camera with a fair bit of zoom. The S3 has a very good 12x zoom lens built-in, and we also add a 1.7x teleconverter for many shots. The S3 model has been superceded now by Canon's S5 (for about the same price). This might be a good choice, but I've seen a lot of really good sharp photos taken with a variety of similar low-cost cameras. Check dpreview.com for more info than you'll ever need to know about digital cameras of every kind and price.

I hope this helps, and that you can get started photographing your birds soon.

best luck,

Kenn
janie_may
15 years ago
Great slide show, great photos (as always!), Kenn! Thanks for sharing them here.

Janie
crcst
15 years ago
Kenn,I just love the story of the brothers and sisters helping Mom and Dad out.That is incredible.thanks for sharing with all of us....Jane
bluebirdbabe
15 years ago
Beautiful pictures, but I can't help but love the mad baby blue the best. That picture is priceless.

Karen

Sharing a successful season

Comments (7)

timothy_birdlover

kenn3d
Original Author

Related Discussions

donnalovesblue

kenn3d
Original Author

janie_may

crcst

bluebirdbabe

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US

Sharing a successful season

Comments (7)

timothy_birdlover

kenn3dOriginal Author

Related Discussions

donnalovesblue

kenn3dOriginal Author

janie_may

crcst

bluebirdbabe

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US

kenn3d
Original Author

kenn3d
Original Author