Night time snacker

Northern Flying Squirrel :)

I don't usually view the cam at night. Typically the only time I see the cam after dark is when I run outside quickly to refill the seed.

Last night, my husband wanted me to go downstairs to help him with his mountain bike. The cam and feeder are by the window in that room.

I happened to glance up at the feeder and saw a squirrel.
"What on earth is Scramble doing at the feeder this time of night??" I questioned.

I got closer to the window to investigate. It didn't really look like a red squirrel. It looked more grey and softer.

"Wait a second," I told my husband, "what is this thing?"

We could only see it's back side, but from that, my husband said, "That's a flying squirrel!"

He pointed out the squirrels little winged arms which we could catch a glimpse of when he turned sideways to get more seeds.

Suddenly it all made sense! Flying Squirrels are nocturnal and only come out at night. They can glide from tree to tree.

I really wish I could have got a picture of his face, but it was really hard to get any type of picture through glass, at night, so alas, I only got a picture of his back.

I wonder how long he's been visiting? I hope he continues to visit our feeder.

Maybe at some point I will be able to get a night-vision cam so he can be viewed in the evenings. Now that would be awesome! I guess I need to start saving some $$$$!

An Exciting Visitor!

Male Northern Flicker at the seed feeder.

It's amazing how unpredictable birds can be. This morning I got a surprise when I opened the cam at work to see a curious Northern Flicker investigating the seed feeder!

We have lots of Northern Flickers around our property during the summer months. They're commonly poking around the yard, looking for insects under the lawn. In the winter however, they're less common...and even less common than that is to see one on a seed feeder. Typically if they visit a feeder, they'll go for suet, as most woodpeckers do. This guy must have been pretty hungry! I didn't see him sample any of the seed, but he looked like he was seriously considering it.

The Flicker challenges a Hairy for the
suet rack.

He flew off shortly after, and I figured it was just a fluke that he stopped by. Luckily a while later he appeared again, this time bickering with a hairy woodpecker over the suet basket. Maybe we'll be able to keep him interested in our feeders and he'll become a regular visitor!

If any of you spot him while viewing the cam, feel free to send a snapshot to nova.birdcam@gmail.com and I'll add it to the gallery! To take a picture, simply press the "Print Screen (PrtScn) button on your keyboard and then Paste (Ctrl +V) into a program such a paint.

Stay tuned! Hopefully this fellow will become a regular!

Evening Grosbeak

A male Evening Grosbeak sits on the seed bowl..

Today as I sat in my living room, I noticed an unusual bird in the trees above the Birdcam.

Upon further inspection, I saw that there were three of the beautiful birds around the feeder. I frantically snapped a photo with the cam, but this was all I got...the backside of the male (he was with two females).

It took a little investigation, but I figured out that the three unusual visitors were Evening Grosbeaks. They aren't terribly common here, but there are a few sightings from time to time.

How exciting to have yet another species spotted on the cam! I hope they visit again, and I hope to get a better photo!