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Daily Bucket: Backyard Shenanigans [1]
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Date: 2025-05-07
For the past month, I have been occasionally finding my chickens eggs cracked with a hole in the top. It’s been a mystery as to whodunit. I spend most of my time at home caring for my spouse who is now bedridden and requires a lot more care. My husband’s longtime coworker and friend helps me a lot by caring for the yard and taking care of my husband so I can leave the house.
To simply enjoy the outdoors, I head out to my backyard. It is a lively place with wild birds and chickens. We also have both the Red Tree Squirrel and Western Gray Squirrel and some lizards. The chickens amuse themselves by munching on the grass, excess parrot seed and every bug they can catch. They are fierce defenders chasing the neighborhood cat and killing any mouse or rat that sets a foot in their space.
The Daily Bucket is a nature refuge. We amicably discuss animals, weather, climate, soil, plants, waters and note life’s patterns.
So let us know what you are seeing around you in your own part of the world, and share your observations. Seen any interesting plants, bugs or critters? Are there birds in your yard or at your feeders? Seen any beautiful landscapes, cool rocks or geological features? Taken a trip and viewed the wildlife? We love to see what you see, so please share photos. We like all photos. You can post a comment but we always love a diary — remember what is common in your area maybe very rare and exotic to the rest of us.
Each note is a record that we can refer to in the future as we try to understand the phenological patterns that are quietly unwinding around us. To have the Daily Bucket in your Activity Stream, visit Backyard Science’s profile page and click on Follow.
A little background: last summer, the chickens took over an open shelf where I previously had gardening supplies after a rat got into their coop. My husband added the shavings after it became apparent that they decided the shelf was their egg laying spot.
Cindy, the Americauna chicken, lays green eggs including the broken one shown in the photo.
Katie, my Black Cochin, lays brown eggs.
I was afraid that my chickens, Cindy and Katie, were becoming egg eaters, but once the egg was cracked they left it alone.
Last week, my neighbor who helps me care for my husband and the yard, witnessed the evil deed take place. He was checking on the eggs when he saw a bird flew out with raw egg on its beak. It was this guy.
The egg cracking CA Scrub Jay
A pair of Scrub Jays nest in my cypress trees and live there year-round. I knew Scrub Jays raided wild bird nests for eggs and nestlings. I just never expected them to be bold enough to go after the chicken eggs. They peck a hole but leave the egg on the shelf.
My co-caregiver thought the jays were trying to eliminate competition from other nests. He found a couple of egg like stones and put them in the nest. Then he found a spot to watch. Sure enough, the Jay came back and pecked the stone. He was sure surprised.
These stones fooled the Jay
In another surprise move, Cindy and Katie accepted the stones as their own eggs. Today, Katie tucked the stones and the eggs under her and settled down to brood.
This is how I found the stones and eggs after I moved Katie to pick up the eggs.
The girls lay their eggs late morning so now I listen for the intense clucking they do before and after they lay their eggs and make sure I get out there to prevent further egg loss.
I sometimes walk out into the front yard where my roses are blooming. Many of these roses were gifted to me when I bought the house by friends who are no longer here. They hold a special place in my heart.
Everything is coming up roses
My fruit trees are loaded with young green fruit. Over the decade, my husband and I planted fruit salad trees that have more than one variety of fruit
One tree has 4 varieties of apples. The other tree has Santa Rosa plums, 2 varieties of peaches, apricots and nectarines. Each fruit has a different growth rate, so we get ripe fruit over the course of 3 or 4 months.
Apple blossoms
Budding Mutsu apples on the multi-apple tree.
I’m only 5 foot tall but still taller than my ultra dwarf plum. No ladder climbing to pick this fruit.
Fruit Salad tree — Cling Peaches in front, White Melba peaches in the back.
A long branch of Santa Rosa Plums on the Fruit Salad tree.
The last plants my husband added were a pair of thornless blackberry and blueberry bushes.
The berry bushes are full of blooms
As to other bird news, the migrating birds are mostly gone. The Herring Gulls have left the grocery store parking lot for the cooler climes and the crows hang out there instead.
I found it very interesting that last year we had dozens of Robins migrate through. I would see trees full of Robins for several weeks until they left. This year, I only saw 3 or 4 in mid-April. Other people noticed that we had very few Robins.
Summer is definitely on the way in Northern California. We had a very brief cool spell last weekend but reached the 80s by Monday and are headed to the 90s by the end of this week.
What’s up in your neck of the woods?
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