Sunday (07-June-2020) — New Jersey

Backyard Springtime Nature in New Jersey.

Birds of the Day — House Finch and Eastern Phoebe. After the last chick fledged from the Eastern Phoebe nest, it looks like the parents are getting the nest ready for another brood.

House Finch. Image taken with a Nikon D5 camera and 600 mm f/4 VR lens (DAVID J MATHRE)
House Finch. Image taken with a Nikon D5 camera and 600 mm f/4 VR lens (DAVID J MATHRE)
House Finch. Image taken with a Nikon D5 camera and 600 mm f/4 VR lens (DAVID J MATHRE)
House Finch. Image taken with a Nikon D5 camera and 600 mm f/4 VR lens (DAVID J MATHRE)

Spring flowers of the day — Red, Pink, and Oriental Poppies. Love-in-a-Mist, Daisy, Bachelor Button, Cornflower, and Lance-leaf Coreopsis.


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


Spring Wildflowers. Individual images in the slideshow are available in my PhotoShelter Gallery.

Daily Electric Energy Used (48.8 kWh) from meter reading. The daily Solar Electric Energy Produced (80.9 kWh) from meter reading. Much more sun. A surplus of 32.1 kWh.

Weekly Electric Energy Used (317 kWh) from meter reading. Weekly Solar Electric Energy Produced (434 kWh) from meter reading. A surplus of 117 kWh.


powered by Ambient Weather

Tuesday (02-June-2020) — New Jersey

Backyard Springtime Nature in New Jersey.

First Butterfly of the season — an Eastern Tiger Swallowtail feeding on the Rhododendron flowers.

Tiger Swallowtail Butterfly feeding on Rhododendron flowers. Image taken with a Nikon Df camera and 70-300 mm lens (ISO 500, 300 mm, f/5.6, 1/1250 sec). (DAVID J MATHRE)
Tiger Swallowtail Butterfly feeding on Rhododendron flowers. Image taken with a Nikon Df camera and 70-300 mm lens (ISO 500, 300 mm, f/5.6, 1/1250 sec). (DAVID J MATHRE)

Birds of the Day — Gray Catbird, Northern Cardinal, House Finch, and Eastern Phoebe. The large nestling, in the Eastern Phoebe nest was finally convinced to jump out of the nest. The now fledgling spent the night on a cardboard box just under the nest. I suspect the fledgling is a Brown-headed Cowbird (later confirmed by the reviewers from eBird).


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


Eastern Phoebe Nest with a Brown-headed Cowbird chick. Individual images in the slideshow are available in my PhotoShelter Gallery.

Spring flowers of the day — Red, Pink, Icelandic, Oriental, and California Poppies. White Allium, Foxglove, Bachelor Button, Cornflower, Baby Blue Eyes, Spiderwort, Johnny Jump Up, Love-in-a-Mist, Evening Primrose, Daisy, Sweet William, Lance-leaf Coreopsis, Beard Tongue, Baby’s Breath, Rhododendron, and Tulip Tree.


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


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


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


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

Daily Electric Energy Used (40.5 kWh) from meter readings the Sense Home Energy Monitor. The daily Solar Electric Energy Produced (48.6 kWh) from SolSystems and Locus Energy. Lots of clouds during the day. A surplus of 8.1 kWh.


powered by Ambient Weather

Saturday (30-May-2020) — New Jersey

Backyard Springtime Nature in New Jersey.

Birds of the Day — Gray Catbird, House Finch, Rose-breasted Grosbeak, 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, Pink and Icelandic Poppies; Foxglove, Johnny Jump Up, Daisy, Bachelor Button, Cornflower, Rhododendron, Tulip Tree, and Sweet William flowers.


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


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


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


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


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

Daily Electric Energy Used (62.3 kWh) from meter readings the Sense Home Energy Monitor. The daily Solar Electric Energy Produced (85.8 kWh) from SolSystems and Locus Energy. Lots of Sun. A surplus of 23.5 kWh. Note that the geothermal HVAC system was turned on to cool the house for the first time this year.



powered by Ambient Weather

Thursday (28-May-2020) — New Jersey

Backyard Springtime Nature in New Jersey.

Birds of the Day — Brown-headed Cowbird, House Finch, Northern Cardinal, Pileated Woodpecker, and Eastern Phoebe. I haven’t seen the Pileated Woodpecker in my yard for some time. I’ve heard it working on the neighbors trees looking for grubs. The Eastern Phoebes are back to just feeding the two young chicks in the nest.


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


Pileated Woodpecker. Individual images in the slideshow are available in my PhotoShelter Gallery.

Spring flowers of the day — Poppies (California, Oriental, Red), Bachelor Button, Crimson Clover, Tulip Tree, Cornflower, Forget-me-not, Rhododendron, Baby Blue Eyes, and Johnny Jump Up, Evening Primrose, and Daisy.


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


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

I got part of the yard mowed before it started raining. Time-lapse video recorded using a Garmin VIRB-360 camera

Daily Electric Energy Used (47.3 kWh) from meter readings the Sense Home Energy Monitor. The daily Solar Electric Energy Produced (24.9 kWh) from SolSystems and Locus Energy. Fog in the morning and clouds in the afternoon. A deficit of 22.4 kWh.


powered by Ambient Weather

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.


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


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


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 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.


powered by Ambient Weather