The backyard was strangely quiet. Normally it’s a busy beehive of birds. Especially after I fill the Bird Buddy feeder. But no. Not a bird in sight. Then I spotted this young Cooper’s Hawk on the fence. No wonder the smaller birds were staying away. He’s smaller than my Harris’s hawks. He was far enough away that I wasn’t sure what it was. It looked to me like an overlarge Mourning Dove who looked whitish in the morning sun.

Then I got the telephoto out and had some nice surprises.

Speaking of Bird Buddy AI bird feeders, I splurged and ordered a second one. I ordered my first one when my son had their account and was working on raising money to make the bird feeder a reality. I was an early contributor to the Bird Buddy campaign and I got my feeder at a huge discount. I did have to wait more than a year and a half for it, though.

Once the big birds like Quail and Mourning Doves attacked the bird feeder. The cord that connects the solar panel to the camera was destroyed. It ended up in the wash behind our house. The Bird Buddy people were nice enough to replace it and the bird feeder is still functional — with tape holding it together. It doesn’t like Arizona’s summers that well.

The new one arrived yesterday. It was so much easier than the original one to pair with my phone and set up. It was a breeze. I can also tell it’s a more solid unit. I remember having to work with tiny screws that kept falling into the feeder on the first go around. I almost gave up on putting it together. The new one had no screws to deal with. The camera fit snugly into the bird feeder with a magnet holding it in place.

I don’t have it in the yard yet. I’m waiting for Amazon to deliver a “Shepherd’s Hook” to hang it on. If that doesn’t work, I may try twine to hang it from the fence. I think the birds will be thrilled to have a new feeder and maybe they will fight less over birdseed.

Speaking of fighting over birdseed, watch this video of Mourning Doves in the Bird Buddy Feeder.

Any bets if the new camera with be sharper and better than the old one? At least it will start of cleaner and look more in focus!

What are the most exotic birds you have at your home?

Is bird watching something you like to do?

Do you know who is an avid bird watcher? Sam Darnold QB1 for the Seahawks on his way to the Super Bowl.