Bird Watching: How 'bout a few more bluebird pictures?, 1 by 2dCousinDave

2dCousinDave wrote:
Birdie, the adults molt in late summer, at the end of the nesting season. By then most of their feathers are worn and faded. They do not change color but virtually all of their feathers fall out and are replaced in the process. They start by looking shaggy aroung the belly and it spreads upward. At the same time the larger feathers on the wings and back are being pushed out as new ones come in, somewhat like a child loses its baby teeth. The area around the neck and head is the last to get new feathers. That is where my adults are right now. When they are finished they will look as pretty as if they were painted.

The youngsters, of course are a bit different. When they hatch they are basically brownish gray and speckled with little white feathers that start to fall out when they are about 45 days old. At the same time their colored feathers start growing out. They will be finished when they are about 100 to 110 days old. The ones that hatch in the early spring will be looking like adults by mid summer and they will wear those feathers through the winter and throughout the following summer before they molt again.

I bought my sundial at an estate auction more than 30 years ago and it was already many years old when I got it. The top is solid cast metal, about 12 inches across. I think it is copper, but it may be bronze or some other alloy. In any event it is very heavy, maybe 20 pounds. The base is poured concrete that probably once looked like marble, weighs more than 75 pounds and stands 36 inches tall. It has moved with me five or six times (remember I was a career Marine and moved a lot). But at my age I don't pick it up any more. I shudder to think what one like it would cost today, but I have never seen one like it and I expect it will last and that my kids will fight over it when I am gone. Birds have always been attracted to it so I placed it near the nest box so I could get pictures. I don't ordinarily take pictures with man-made items in view but this and the nest box and the meal worm feeder are exceptions.

Here is a picture of my late Papa, taken in October.

This message was edited Sep 14, 2009 8:12 PM

This message was edited Sep 14, 2009 8:13 PM