catching up

Catching up with the flycatchers.
Few days ago she arrived too.
They flew arround the birdhouses checking...
which one would be the one.
The decision was made very soon.
He wanted the red house.


she decided for house number 2.
so that was it.
Number two is the new house.


Today I saw her collecting the furniture.




While he carefully looked if everything went okee..
meanwhile taking inspection in the house, what was brought inside.
and singing a lovesong inbetween

2 Orangetips

This morning I checked the cuckooflowers,
to see if an Orangetip had laid some eggs somewhere on the plant.
To my amazement I saw 2 Orangetips sitting on the same flower!
A male and a female sitting/resting there quitly together.
I think they slept there all night.

When the sun became a litlle warmer, the male opened his wings,
to show off the beautiful orange.

It was such a treasure to see both of them there sitting so peaceful together.

Orange tip

When the Cuckooflowers(Pinksterbloemen) are open...the Orange tips(Oranjetipjes) (Anthocharis cardamines)are near by.
One of the hostplants of the Orangetips is the cuckooflower.
The female Orangetips look like cabbagewhites (koolwitjes),
but when her wings are closed, the wings have a green-white pattern.
The wings of the males however have beautiful orange at the end.

springflowers

Springflowers are popping up everywhere.
here from top to bottem:
anemone,(anemoon)
cuckooflower,(pinksterbloem) and
forget-me-nots (vergeet-mij-nietjes).

They are most beautiful in the early morning,
when the morningdew has covered them in a layer of tiny drops.

beechbud explosion

In just a few days the buds of the beech are exploding...
The leaves and flowers are bursting out of their buds, with immense power.
Its an amazing sight...
what a power.

spring has really sprung.

Hide and seek

Hide and seek,
The flycatcher is peeking through the branches and the buds,
to see what I am doing....

clickkk..clickkk..clackkk.

Fly Catcher

I finally succeeded to catch a glimpse,with my camera, of the Flycatcher (Bonte vliegevanger).
He is such a quick bird...
and he has a lot of 'work' to do, such as:

1 He is chasing, catching flies everywhere.
2 He is busy marking his territory.
3 He chases away all other birds, who are coming to close.
4 He is tweet-tweet-tweeting loudly..calling his becoming beloved..
(really twitter cannot compete with his tweets.)
5 He is inspecting so now and then the birdhouse he likes...
That is the one on the beech...and ...
in my garden...(hoerah hoerah.)
6 When he sees himself in the glass-window...he thinks there is an intruder...
so he tries to chase away his reflection.
There are so many glasswindows on my house...

I love it to have him around my house.

Update Bibi

Some of you readers, asked me how Bibi is doing now.
Since I wrote he had gone to the vet, which he didn't like very much.

He got from the vet a kind of injection..to give him some energy and strength.
He reacted immediately, he was even very, very alive for one night.
But for the next couple of days, he still did not eat, nor drink.
some maybe 2 laps...which he only wanted to drink out of the birdbath.
Every next day he lapped some more water...but still did not eat.
I gave him his favorites...cheese...salmon, milk...
Nope, he sniffed at it...turned around,
as if I had put some very poisonous thing in front of him.

Now few days ago he started to eat again..
first 2 or 3 catfoodchunks...
the next day about 5...and today he eats much better,
and as you can see he is much more alive.

What was the problem? I still don't know.
I am happy he is doing much better again.

Jay

There are 2 Jays (Vlamen) in my neighbours garden.
Mostly they can be extremely shy..and also very rude.
They are beautiful to see..with the blue on both sides of his wings, and blue eyes.

Later on my computer, I noticed that he is planning to build a nest.

XXL bud

It really is spring now.
The beechleaf-buds are almost springing open.
The finch matches perfectly with the colors of the buds...
He even looks like a XXL beechleaf-bud, about to spring open

Flycatcher back again

This week, few days ago, at 6th of April, I saw him again.
All the way back, flying from Africa.
Could not get him for my camera yet.

He comes and goes, searching for the best nesthouse.
Today I heard him quarelling with the blue-tits.
Who occupy a birdhouse he also seems to like.

I just noticed , that last years flycatcher was also exactly on the 6th of April here.
They have such a good clock inside.!

eagle on webcam

Video clips at Ustream




My cousin G. just mailed me this following link.
http://www.ustream.tv/decoraheagles
a webcam placed on an eagles nest.
Decorah Eagles
the eagle now had 3 chicks...
If you click this link you see the trird chick hatch...never ever saw a chick hatch so very interesting to follow
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_-1jrdggzfc

there is much more to find out about the eagles

To the vet

Yesterday was a bad day for Bibi,
Last week he did not eat, he did not play, he hardly drank,
So I was worried, if cats don't drink...
He did sleep...sleep and sleep.
So I went to the vet.
X-rays... they examined his blood...
everything seems okey...could not find something.
He got some injections to recover.

They had to shave him for the injection, under his chin.
He did not like it at all.
and so did I.

Robin

Robins mostly don't sit and feed on fatballs.
They rarely do.
This robin is one of the exceptions.

gone out

It was a beautiful spring day, warm temperature...
I decided to open the door of the glasshouse of the butterfly again.

I noticed he did not eat of the nectar I had put in front of him,
I tried suggarwater,
I had put some flowers in front of him...
I did not see him taking any of it.
I also don't know how long they can live without food.

So I opened the door again to let him go if he wanted so.
within half an hour he sat on the blue anemome,
and one hour later he had gone out.
Did not see him back.
I hope he will find some flowers he likes.

Roodi 28

Continuing story Flying Red

After Roodi had finished his story,
Roodi asked his mother if it was true what the nasty spider had said,
if he was a red firy monster, getting tears in his eyes...

His mother lifted him high up in the air,
and looked him straight in his eyes....

She said:
'You are the most beautiful delightful red firy bird of the whole universe'.!

the end

2 robins

Yesterday in the back of my garden
I was witness of 2 robins....(you rarely see 2 robins together)
who had fallen in love with each other.

Only in this time of the year, you see 2 robins go together... for having a family.
Its so unique...its a pity the were quite far off...
but clear enough...seeing how they feel for each other.

Can't wait to have little babyrobins in my garden.

swallowtail2

Later I opened the door of his house,(glasshouse)
He did not go out..so I kept the door open, to see if he wanted to fly out later on.
I easy could let him step on my finger, he was not afraid at all...
walked aroud for a while...His long legs have a quite firm grip...

Later on he started flying..into the bleu rain, blauwe regen, (wisteria)
He sat there all afternoon, did not fly away at all.
Later when it became a little colder, I helped him in...for maybe to stay a little longer inside.

He first flew some circles around my garden.
sat on some lower plants,
Then he landed on my sweater...!
just the right place to bring him back into his house, for staying another night at home.

Swallowtail

This morning The Swallowtail butterfly was ready to go out.
First he warmed in the morning sunrays.
I had put a blue anemone in his little house and a violet.
He easily stepped on the plant,but I did not see him eating from the nectar.
So I also put inside some nectar for butterflies, not knowing which kind he likes.
He only sat..sometimes moving his wings...fluttering.

Swallowtail

This morning...I watched the cocoon carefully...
Though....
In one moment, just being a few minutes somewhere else...
coming back, there he was.

I had missed the final moment, but was in time to see him climbing out
Anyway.

Here he is pumping his wings...and rolling with his tongue.

What a beauty.

cocoon Swallowtail

Last week I noticed that the cocoon of the Swallowtail (Koninginnepage) I had saved last year. had changed color!
You can now see the yellow shining through.
(these are the new wings of the butterfly shining through)

See also the full story of last year to read more about it
I knew then, that it would take only one or two days,
that the butterfly would come out...!

Help that would be a little too soon!
or....?
maybe butterflies know exactly the right time to come out.