Blue Jay - David Mathre Photography

Wednesday (20-May-2020) — New Jersey

Backyard Springtime Nature in New Jersey.

Birds of the Day — Blue Jay, Gray Catbird, American Goldfinch, and Eastern Phoebe. A whole bunch of American Goldfinch showed up today. The eggs in the Eastern Phoebe nest above my front door have started to hatch. The parents are now bringing insects, grubs, and worms to feed the hatchlings. I set up a video camera to monitor the nest.

Blue Jay. Image taken with a Nikon D5 camera and 600 mm f/4 VR telephoto lens (ISO 1600, 600 mm, f/5.6, 1/200 sec). (DAVID J MATHRE)

Gray Catbird. Image taken with a Nikon D5 camera and 600 mm f/4 VR telephoto lens (ISO 1100, 600 mm, f/5.6, 1/1250 sec). (DAVID J MATHRE)

American Goldfinch. Image taken with a Nikon D5 camera and 600 mm f/4 VR telephoto lens (ISO 220, 600 mm, f/5.6, 1/1250 sec). (DAVID J MATHRE)

American Goldfinch. Image taken with a Nikon D5 camera and 600 mm f/4 VR telephoto lens (ISO 1000, 600 mm, f/5.6, 1/1250 sec). (DAVID J MATHRE)

Spring flowers of the day include Rhododendron, Red Oriental Poppy, Cosmos, and Foxglove. What I thought was a Gladiolus plant growing up through a crack in the patio blue-stones turned out to be a Foxglove plant.

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

I spent most of the day out on the patio assembling the new Grow Towers and transplanting the indoor hydroponic strawberry plants to the outdoor Grow Towers. The activity was recorded by a Garmin VIRB-360 camera and used to create two time-lapse Little Planet videos.

Daily Electric Energy Used (46.3 kWh) from meter readings the Sense Home Energy Monitor. The daily Solar Electric Energy Produced (81.1 kWh) from SolSystems and Locus Energy. Sun with some clouds. A surplus of 34.8 kWh.

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Wednesday (13-May-2020) — New Jersey

Backyard Springtime Nature in New Jersey.

Birds for the day included Blue Jay, Mourning Dove, House Finch, Northern Cardinal, Red-bellied Woodpecker, and Eastern Phoebe. The pair of Eastern Phoebes nest is above the front door. I wonder if the parasitic cowbirds managed to lay an egg in the nest? The Eastern Pheobes now guard the area around the front door. Spring flowers for the day include Prunella Vulgaris (also known as Self-Heal, Heal-All, and Woundwort), Jack in the Pulpit, Five-spot, Siberian Wallflower, Crimson Clover, Allium, California Poppy, and Lilac.

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

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

Eastern Phoebe nest. Image taken with a Nikon D850 camera and 105 mm f/1.4 lens (ISO 280, 105 mm, f/1.4, 1/250 sec). (DAVID J MATHRE)

Daily Electric Energy Used (48.8 kWh) from meter readings the Sense Home Energy Monitor. The daily Solar Electric Energy Produced (90.1 kWh) from SolSystems and Locus Energy. Lots of sun. A surplus of 41.3 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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Thursday (07-May-2020) — New Jersey

Backyard Springtime Nature in New Jersey.

Visitors at the birdfeeder. Blue Jay, pair of Brown Headed Cowbirds, Chipping Sparrow, and pair of Gray Catbirds.

Blue Jay. Image taken with a Nikon D5 camera and 600 mm f/4 VR lens (ISO 560, 600 mm, f/5.6, 1/1250 sec) (DAVID J MATHRE)

Female Brown-headed Cowbird at the bird feeder. 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)

Male Brown-headed Cowbird at the bird feeder. Image taken with a Nikon D5 camera and 600 mm f/4 VR lens (ISO 900, 600 mm, f/5.6, 1/1250 sec) (DAVID J MATHRE)

Chipping Sparrow at the bird feeder. Image taken with a Nikon D5 camera and 600 mm f/4 VR lens (ISO 400, 600 mm, f/5.6, 1/1250 sec) (DAVID J MATHRE)

Pair of Gray Catbirds at the bird feeder. 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)

Pair of Gray Catbirds at the bird feeder. Image taken with a Nikon D5 camera and 600 mm f/4 VR lens (ISO 1250, 600 mm, f/5.6, 1/1250 sec) (DAVID J MATHRE)

Daily Electric Energy Used (61.9 kWh) from meter readings the Sense Home Energy Monitor. The daily Solar Electric Energy Produced (87.8 kWh) from SolSystems and Locus Energy. Lots of sun. A surplus of 27.1 kWh.

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Sunday (03-May-2020) — New Jersey

Backyard Springtime Nature in New Jersey.

Morning birds: Blue Jay, Chipping Sparrow, and Turkey Vulture. Afternoon birds: Chipping Sparrow, Mourning Dove, House Finch, and Eastern Phoebe. I believe that it is the Eastern Phoebe that has built a nest above my front door. During my afternoon walkabout I continued to document the early May flowers: Daffodil, Johnny-Jump-Up, Blue Forget me Not, Plum Tree, Siberian Wallflower, Five-Spots, Prunella Vulgaris (also known as Self-Heal, Heal-All, and Woundwort), wild Violet (Viola), Jack in the Pulpit, Lilac (two varieties), California Poppy, Allium bud, Yellow Tulip, and Italian (red) Clover.

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

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

Early May Flowers (pt 1). Individual images in the slideshow are available in my PhotoShelter Gallery.

Early May Flowers (pt 2). Individual images in the slideshow are available in my PhotoShelter Gallery.

Daily Electric Energy Used (42.5 kWh) from meter readings the Sense Home Energy Monitor. The daily Solar Electric Energy Produced (57.1 kWh) from SolSystems and Locus Energy. A surplus of 14.6 kWh.

Weekly Electric Energy Used (348 kWh) from meter readings the Sense Home Energy Monitor. Weekly Solar Electric Energy Produced (336 kWh) from SolSystems and Locus Energy. A small deficit of 12 kWh.

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