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Post by hazelrunmama on Apr 25, 2016 15:30:27 GMT -5
Migration has been really slow here--but the birds that have been showing up, are showing up a little early. The Rose-breasted grosbeaks started trickling in today, about 5 days ahead of schedule. I saw 2 males and I think they'd been here before--both were sitting in the sumac along the old feeder line, looking a little confused at the lack of feeders... I saw some fairly credible reports of Ruby-throated hummingbirds in Minneapolis (about the same latitude as us) last week, so I panicked, made some nectar, cleaned a couple feeders and set up the nectar station. Haven't seen any hummers, though. Other than that, I've seen kinglets, Red-winged blackbirds, robins, bluebirds, Red fox sparrows, White-throated sparrows, Eastern phoebes, one Brown creeper and one Brown thrasher in the yard. The hawks put on a good show this spring--lots of them flying around the country side...and hunting in the yard (more's the pity!) Also Canada geese, Sandhill cranes, Turkey vultures, and even an errant flock of Greater white-fronted geese! Notable absences: any and all warblers--haven't even seen any butterbutts!--and no 'exotic' sparrows (like Lincoln's, Harris's, or even White-crowned). On the other hand, the Pine siskins look like they're going to be breeding here again this year. Not sure why the numbers have been so low--I wonder if some of it has to do with the change in the feeder arrangements--certainly the feeder birds are having a little trouble figuring out where the food is when they first arrive!
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Post by downylover on Apr 28, 2016 21:55:04 GMT -5
The catbirds returned this evening. They've always shown up like clockwork on May 1st so they are a couple days early. I saw 2 of them at the bird baths drinking and taking baths. They ate quite a bit of the peanut butter stuff and red grapes. I'm happy to have them around, they're such sweet birds.
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Post by hazelrunmama on May 1, 2016 16:08:40 GMT -5
Catbirds! I love catbirds! Ours won't be around for a while, yet--we'll probably see hummers, first. We have, however, been getting crows! Finally, after all these years of living here, they've decided they like something under the feeders...not sure if they're going after peanuts, mealworms, or sunflower hearts, but I love to watch them strutting around. Still only the two male grosbeaks--not sure if the rest of them have passed us over, or if these two were just so eager to get here and claim prime territory that they overflew the rest of the flock! And one other oddity--despite our not-so-prime Red-winged blackbird habitat, we had 9 males under the feeders yesterday! Awesome!!
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Post by downylover on May 2, 2016 8:40:36 GMT -5
That's great hazel! The crows are sporadic for me. I hear them year round but they only show up in spring/summer. They too are a fan of grapes. Its a good thing grapes are on sale all the time in the spring/summer. They're a really big hit in the yard for extra treats. My current grape lovers are mockingbirds, catbirds, crows and cardinals. Occasionally the red bellied woodpecker, blue jay and chipmunk will take one. Articles say ducks like them but mine just stepped on them and kept going - zero interest.
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Post by hazelrunmama on May 2, 2016 18:02:02 GMT -5
LOL Your ducks and my cardinals! In fact, nothing that is currently visiting the yard seems interested in grapes, so I've stopped buying them. Do you put them on the ground? I've been offering them on the feeders, only.
On another note--May 2 and still NO WARBLERS!!!! Holy catz! Unheard of!
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Post by hazelrunmama on May 3, 2016 13:18:51 GMT -5
The Baltimore orioles returned today--saw my first-of-year male at about 8 this morning. We have a new oriole feeder--made for us by a friend after Cole and Macie died in March. When I saw the oriole, I dropped a dollop of grape jelly in the new feeder. It's mounted about 30 ft away from the traditional oriole-feeding area in the hummingbird garden, so I figured it would take the orioles a day or two to find it. Less than two hours later, as I was hauling in the seed sled from the morning feeder replenishment, I see this: Attachment DeletedI also saw my FOY Broad-winged hawk this morning. They nest just a few hundred yards south of here. Alas, still no warblers... sigh
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Post by downylover on May 3, 2016 21:03:18 GMT -5
He's handsome. Love the new feeder (looks like he does as well!)
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Post by hazelrunmama on May 6, 2016 21:53:08 GMT -5
Such an odd year--nothing new for so long, then suddenly migrants show up in a bunch. Some of the more 'exotic' ones, too--like Red-headed woodpeckers and Orchard orioles, neither of which are common here but both of which showed up in the yard this morning! In fact, I scored a 'grand slam' of woodpeckers on eBird this morning--Red-headed, Red-bellied, Downy, Hairy, and Pileated woodpeckers, Yellow-bellied sapsucker and Northern flicker! The first Indigo buntings showed up today, too, along with (finally!!) some warblers: Nashville, Yellow and Black-throated green. The Ovenbirds have been back for only a day or so, but this morning they're already on territory. Awesome!
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Post by hazelrunmama on May 17, 2016 13:02:24 GMT -5
The hummingbirds have been back for a week or so now, but just a single male for the first few days. Then a second male and, yesterday, the first fem. The males immediately went into chase mode and then the winner of the battle started displaying to that poor fem--she ignored the ruckus and took a good long drink at the feeder before running off somewhere, muttering under her breath about the overeager boys... The Scarlet tanagers, Veerys and House wrens are back, too, and the Baltimore orioles are putting on quite the show again this year! I love watching the orioles pull long fibers off the stems of last year's rosy milkweed--takes them sometimes 10 minutes to get one loose, but they persist till they've secured their prize!
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Post by downylover on May 19, 2016 19:42:35 GMT -5
Wow Hazel, that is some assortment. I can't wait to see the photos!
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Post by hazelrunmama on May 22, 2016 14:14:47 GMT -5
If I get pics, I'll be sure to post them. Not having a lot of time to stake out the thickets for photo-ops, though.
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