Black-capped Chickadee - David Mathre Photography

Friday (29-May-2020) — New Jersey

Backyard Springtime Nature in New Jersey.

Birds of the Day — Brown-headed Cowbird, House Finch, Mourning Dove, Black-capped Chickadee, Red-bellied Woodpecker, and Eastern Phoebe. The Eastern Phoebes are feeding the two remaining young chicks in the nest.

Birds of the day. Individual images in the slideshow are available in my PhotoShelter Gallery.

Spring flowers of the day — Oriental, Red and Pink Poppies.

Poppies — Portrait. Individual images in the slideshow are available in my PhotoShelter Gallery.

Poppies — Landscape. Individual images in the slideshow are available in my PhotoShelter Gallery.

Daily Electric Energy Used (55.2 kWh) from meter readings the Sense Home Energy Monitor. The daily Solar Electric Energy Produced (39.5 kWh) from SolSystems and Locus Energy. Fog in the morning and clouds in the afternoon. A deficit of 15.7 kWh.

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Monday (25-May-2020) — New Jersey

Backyard Springtime Nature in New Jersey.

Birds of the Day — Brown-headed Cowbird, House Finch, Blue Jay, Tufted Titmouse, American Goldfinch, Northern Cardinal, Gray Catbird, Black-capped Chickadee, Mourning Dove, Carolina Wren, and Eastern Phoebe. Many of the birds are young. There continues to be lots of action at the Eastern Phoebe nest with both parents feed the new hatchlings.

Birds of the Day. Individual images in the slideshow are available in my PhotoShelter Gallery.

Spring flowers of the day — Poppies (California, Oriental, Red), Dame’s Rocket, Five-spot, Rhododendron, Johnny Jump Up, Babies Blue Eyes, Bachelor Button, Cornflower, Sweet William, Dianthus, Siberian Wallflower, Daisy, Foxglove, Babies Breath, Grass Lily, Forget-me-not, and Tulip Tree.

caption. Individual images in the slideshow are available in my PhotoShelter Gallery.

While watching the birds, I caught a squirrel running across the backyard with a black walnut it burried last fall.

Squirrel with a Black Wallnut. Image taken with a Nikon D5 camera and 600 mm f/4 VR telephoto lens. (DAVID J MATHRE)

Squirrel running with a black walnut. Individual images in the slideshow are available in my PhotoShelter Gallery.

Daily Electric Energy Used (47.1 kWh) from meter readings the Sense Home Energy Monitor. The daily Solar Electric Energy Produced (55.0 kWh) from SolSystems and Locus Energy. Sun and clouds. A surplus of 7.9 kWh.

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Saturday (23-May-2020) — New Jersey

Backyard Springtime Nature in New Jersey.

Birds of the Day — Brown-headed Cowbird, House Finch, Northern Cardinal, Mourning Dove, White-breasted Nuthatch, Black-capped Chickadee, Blue-Jay, Red-bellied Woodpecker, and Eastern Phoebe. There continues to be lots of action at the Eastern Phoebe nest with both parents feed the new hatchlings.

Birds of the Day. Individual images in the slideshow are available in my PhotoShelter Gallery.

California, Red, and Oriental Poppies. Individual images in the slideshow are available in my PhotoShelter Gallery.

Flowers of the Day. Individual images in the slideshow are available in my PhotoShelter Gallery.

Barely a week old, and the new Fawn with spots is running around the yard. So far lucky that there are not many cars on the road as its only natural predator is the automobile.

Spots. Individual images in the slideshow are available in my PhotoShelter Gallery.

Daily Electric Energy Used (47.7 kWh) from meter readings the Sense Home Energy Monitor. The daily Solar Electric Energy Produced (32.5 kWh) from SolSystems and Locus Energy. Cloudy much of the day. A deficit 0f 15.2 kWh.

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Saturday (09-May-2020) — New Jersey

Backyard Springtime Nature in New Jersey.

Today was “Global Big Day” for observing and counting birds. Starting at first light in the morning I kept watch on the bird feeders and backyard. The outdoor temperatures dropped below freezing overnight, and the bird bath was frozen over. The bird feeder was stocked with a mixed feed (I was out of the high oil sunflower seeds) and an apple. By the end of the day I observed and took pictures of 15 bird species. Mourning Dove, Turkey Vulture, Red-bellied Woodpecker, Blue Jay, American Crow, Black-capped Chickadee, Tufted Titmouse, Carolina Wren, Gray Catbird, American Robin, House Finch, Chipping Sparrow, Brown-headed Cowbird, Northern Cardinal, and Rose-breasted Grosbeak. The Rose-breasted Grosbeak is new, and I only observed the female. Looking forward to seeing the male. The female is larger than the local sparrows and finches and does not have the rose coloration of the male. The large beak helps with the identification. The bird images from the day are presented based on observation time.

Female Rose-breasted Grosbeak (?). Image taken with a Nikon D5 camera and 600 mm f/4 VR lens (ISO 1600, 600 mm, f/5.6, 1/640 sec) (DAVID J MATHRE)

Birds 06:45 to 07:30. Individual images in the slideshow are available in my PhotoShelter Gallery.

Birds 12:20 to 13:00. Individual images in the slideshow are available in my PhotoShelter Gallery.

Birds 16:50 to 17:10. Individual images in the slideshow are available in my PhotoShelter Gallery.

Birds 17:50 to 18:00. Individual images in the slideshow are available in my PhotoShelter Gallery.

19:50 to 20:00. Individual images in the slideshow are available in my PhotoShelter Gallery.

Daily Electric Energy Used (54.0 kWh) from meter readings the Sense Home Energy Monitor. The daily Solar Electric Energy Produced (74.2 kWh) from SolSystems and Locus Energy. Sunny in the morning with some clouds in the afternoon. A surplus of 20.2 kWh.

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Saturday (25-April-2020) — New Jersey

Backyard Springtime Nature in New Jersey.

Morning birds: Female Northern Cardinal and Chipping Sparrow. Midday birds: Carolina Wren and Black-capped Chickadee. Evening bird: Male Northern Cardinal.

Female Northern Cardinal. Image taken with a Nikon D5 camera and 600 mm f/4 VR lens (ISO 1600, 600 mm, f/5.6, 1/640 sec). (DAVID J MATHRE)

Chipping Sparrow. Image taken with a Nikon D5 camera and 600 mm f/4 VR lens (ISO 1600, 600 mm, f/5.6, 1/640 sec). (DAVID J MATHRE)

Black-capped Chickadee. Image taken with a Nikon D5 camera and 600 mm f/4 VR lens (ISO 640, 600 mm, f/5.6, 1/1250 sec). (DAVID J MATHRE)

Carolina Wren. Image taken with a Nikon D5 camera and 600 mm f/4 VR lens (ISO 800, 600 mm, f/5.6, 1/1250 sec). (DAVID J MATHRE)

Male Northern Cardinal. Image taken with a Nikon D5 camera and 600 mm f/4 VR lens (ISO 1600, 600 mm, f/5.6, 1/400 sec). (DAVID J MATHRE)

Daily Electric Energy Used (60.0 kWh) from meter readings the Sense Home Energy Monitor was offline for several hours after a power glitch, and had to be rebooted before it started recorded again. The daily Solar Electric Energy Produced (64.8 kWh) from SolSystems and Locus Energy (and confirmed by a meter reading). Some clouds, but lots of sun. A surplus of 4.8 kWh.

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