Thursday (03-September-2020) — New Jersey

Summertime Backyard Nature in New Jersey.

Afternoon at the Birdfeeders: Mourning Dove, Red-bellied Woodpecker, Downy Woodpecker, Blue Jay, Black-capped Chickadee, Tufted Titmouse, Gray Catbird, House Finch, Song Sparrow, and Northern Cardinal.


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

Contact me if you are interested in a Time-lapse Video of the Morning at the Birdfeeders. My setup for the birdfeeder images is a Nikon D850 camera and 200 mm f/2 VR lens set to take one image every 5 seconds over a 5 hour period (~3600 images). The new time-lapse video format is 720p (1080 x 720 pixels) and 1 frame/second. The length of the video is about 1 hour in a 1 GB MP4 file. The previous time-lapse videos of the birdfeeders were at 12 frames/second, and to be honest were too fast to identify the birds.

Daily Electric Energy Used (57.2 kWh) from Sense. Daily Solar Electric Energy Produced (49.4 kWh) from Sense and SolSystems. Sun and clouds. A deficit of 7.8 kWh.

Tuesday (01-September-2020) — New Jersey

Summertime Backyard Nature in New Jersey.

The immature Baltimore Oriole is willing to stand up to a gang of Blue Jay’s.

Morning at the Birdfeeders: Mourning Dove, Red-bellied Woodpecker, Blue Jay, Black-capped Chickadee, Tufted Titmouse, Gray Catbird, House Finch, Song Sparrow, Baltimore Oriole, and Northern Cardinal.


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

Contact me if you are interested in a Time-lapse Video of the Morning at the Birdfeeders. My setup for the birdfeeder images is a Nikon D850 camera and 200 mm f/2 VR lens set to take one image every 5 seconds over a 5 hour period (~3600 images). The new time-lapse video format is 720p (1080 x 720 pixels) and 1 frame/second. The length of the video is about 1 hour in a 1 GB MP4 file. The previous time-lapse videos of the birdfeeders were at 12 frames/second, and to be honest were too fast to identify the birds.

I went out with the DR Power Brush Mower to mow the wildflower meadows. Not much is blooming anymore, and the weeds including the invasive “mile-a-minute” vine are starting to take over. I attempted to capture the exercise with a Garmin VIRB-360 camera both on a fixed tripod, and a tripod I carried over my head. While mowing the sections I kept finding adult Praying Mantis which I tried to move away from the mower. The Praying Mantis are “good” bugs.


Saving the Praying Mantis. Individual images in the slideshow are available in my PhotoShelter Gallery.

The fawns still have dots. While cooking dinner I saw these two in one of the wildflower meadow sections that I didn’t mow. You can see that the weeds have taken over. The deer seem to be immune to the electric fence.


Fawns with Spots inside the electric fence. Individual images in the slideshow are available in my PhotoShelter Gallery.

Daily Electric Energy Used (51.2 kWh) from Sense. Daily Solar Electric Energy Produced (32.5 kWh) from Sense and SolSystems. Lots of clouds. A deficit of 18.7 kWh.

Monday (31-August-2020) — New Jersey

Summertime Backyard Nature in New Jersey.

New bird for the day/location: Baltimore Oriole. They like fresh fruit, and seem to be between Blue Jay and Gray Catbird regarding pecking order.

Morning at the Birdfeeders: Mourning Dove, Red-bellied Woodpecker, Downy Woodpecker, Blue Jay, Black-capped Chickadee, Tufted Titmouse, Gray Catbird, House Finch, Baltimore Oriole, and Northern Cardinal.


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

Daily Electric Energy Used (41.3 kWh) from Sense. Daily Solar Electric Energy Produced (32.0 kWh) from Sense and SolSystems. Lots of clouds. A deficit of 9.7 kWh.

Saturday (22-August-2020) — New Jersey

Summertime Backyard Nature in New Jersey.

While out mowing the too high grass, I came across some ripening May Apples. The leaves had all been nibbled off by the local deer. Apparently, the deer don’t like the May Apple fruit. I’ve been told that turtle like to eat them, and that is how the seeds get dispersed. I haven’t seen any turtles in the yard this year.

May Apple. Image taken with a Nikon N1V3 camera and 70-300 mm VR lens (DAVID J MATHRE)
May Apple. Image taken with a Nikon N1V3 camera and 70-300 mm VR lens (DAVID J MATHRE)
May Apple. Image taken with a Nikon N1V3 camera and 70-300 mm VR lens (DAVID J MATHRE)
May Apple. Image taken with a Nikon N1V3 camera and 70-300 mm VR lens (DAVID J MATHRE)

Afternoon at the Birdfeeders: Mourning Dove, Ruby-throated Hummingbird, Red-bellied Woodpecker, Blue Jay, Black-capped Chickadee, Tufted Titmouse, Gray Catbird, American Goldfinch, Chipping Sparrow, Song Sparrow, Brown-headed Cowbird, and Northern Cardinal.


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

Daily Electric Energy Used (68.6 kWh) from Sense. Daily Solar Electric Energy Produced (62.6 kWh) from Sense and SolSystems. Sun, clouds, and hot outside. A deficit of 6.0 kWh.

Wednesday (19-August-2020) — New Jersey

Summertime Backyard Nature in New Jersey.

Morning at the Birdfeeders: Mourning Dove, Ruby-throated Hummingbird, Red-bellied Woodpecker, Downy Woodpecker, Blue Jay, Black-capped Chickadee, Tufted Titmouse, Carolina Wren, Chipping Sparrow, Song Sparrow, and Northern Cardinal.


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

Daily Electric Energy Used (43.0 kWh) from Sense. Daily Solar Electric Energy Produced (35.2 kWh) from Sense and SolSystems. Lots of clouds. A deficit of 7.8 kWh.