bird watching

Hummingbird Happenings

Rae Spencer6 Comments

Hummingbird July 29

In May, the yard’s hummingbird hopes suffered a setback when a family of house finches plucked the honeysuckle’s early blooms.

Hummingbird July 27

But the honeysuckle recovered quickly, and by the end of June there were enough blooms to attract renewed attention.

Hummingbird July 23

The salvia also bloomed steadily through June and July, adding a second source of nectar.

Hummingbird July 27

Hummingbird July 27

Now I see hummingbirds daily. They zip through the yard at reasonably predictable intervals, one or two an hour, and I occasionally find them resting high in the wax myrtle.

Hummingbird July 27

If I stretch the camera’s zoom to its limit, I am able to catch several frames before they become suspicious of my fixed attention and clicking shutter.

Hummingbird July 29

Hummingbird July 29

Hummingbird July 29

When two individuals cross paths, fierce and noisy bouts of aerial combat break out, with both birds squeaking rapidly as they dive and swerve. They are too fast for my camera during these skirmishes.

Hummingbird July 27

For that matter, they are too usually fast while feeding. These photos represent several hours of stalking. (I suspect most of my photos feature a single individual who has established a repetitive feeding pattern.)

Hummingbird July 23

Whether one bird or many, I hope the visits continue. I’m looking forward to a few more months of summer — a few more months of hot, humid afternoons in which to hone my hummingbird reflexes.

Hummingbird July 23

 

Watering the Robins

Rae Spencer11 Comments

Robin May 26

One of the features missing in our yard is a proper bird bath. I frequently pause in front of bird bath displays at home improvement and garden stores, but I always find an excuse to move on without buying. My most recent excuse has to do with our robins, who seem perfectly content to bathe in plant saucers.

Robin May 26

Robin May 26

As the summer has gotten hotter, the robins have started following me around the yard while I water the flowers, waiting for me to fill their saucers. Then they line up and take turns splashing about, sometimes returning three or four times before the water level gets too low for splashing.

Robin July 8

The yard’s smaller birds, even the rabbits and squirrels, hang back and wait for the robins to leave before they approach. I’ve tried adding more saucers, but each new saucer only multiplies the number of robins that flock toward our yard when they hear me turn on the hose.

Robin July 8

Robin July 8

Robin July 8

It’s almost enough to make me want a swimming pool, so I could do some splashing of my own.

Robin July 8

Hummingbirds and a Honeysuckle Thief

Rae Spencer4 Comments

Hummingbird May 4

At last! Hummingbirds!

Hummingbird May 4

Not a lot of hummingbirds, yet, but enough to attempt a few photos as they feed in the honeysuckle.

Yard May 3

The honeysuckle has bloomed in such profusion that I’ve been blissfully planning a long, bright summer filled with never-ending streams of hummingbirds. I should know better, by now, than to make such plans. The yard is not a blank page, waiting for me to write its future. There are always surprises, always factors I cannot control.

Honeysuckle May 10

About three days ago, the honeysuckle’s flowers began falling, sometimes before they opened. Many of the blooms appeared to have been cut at the base.

The weather has not been stormy enough to account for such damage, and I can’t find any caterpillars to blame. So I started checking periodically, watching from the kitchen window in hopes of solving the mystery. Yesterday, I caught the thief in action.

Finch May 9 3s

This little house finch was not alone. His mate was with him, and a very hungry fledgling.

Unlike hummingbirds, house finches’ beaks are not designed for sipping nectar. So they nipped off the blooms, drank the nectar from the broken end, and left a pile of empty flowers on the ground beneath them.

Honeysuckle May 10

The house finches have not returned today. Why should they? There’s nothing left to tempt them. But I suspect they’ll remember their feast, when the next wave of honeysuckle grows heavy with nectar…

Finch May 9

 

House Wrens and Deadly Weather

Rae Spencer1 Comment

House Wren April 23

Last summer the yard had its first nest box success. (See posts about the house wrens here, here, here, and here.)

Wren April 30

Now we have a new pair of wrens adding twigs to the nest box.

Wren April 30

Wren April 30

Wren April 30

I’m looking forward to new nestlings in the yard…

Wren May 1

Wren May 1

But I can’t claim happiness, these last few days. On April 28th tornadoes tore through the place where I grew up, Lincoln County Tennessee. Two people died. In the days before and after Lincoln County’s tragedy, the same storm system ravaged other communities, and there were more deaths. I ache for the families who have lost so much.

I would stop there, if aching helped, but I need to do more. So I’m making a few donations to organizations that are helping families recover and rebuild. Maybe you could consider doing the same?

Between Seasons

Rae Spencer1 Comment

I had hoped spring would chase winter’s gloom into memory, but it hasn’t yet. Instead there are all these photos of hunger and snow, dating back to October.

Warbler Oct 28

Warbler Jan 15

Cedar Waxwing Jan 15

Tufted Titmouse Jan 29

Squirrel Jan 16

Squirrel Jan 16

Squirrel Jan 29

Dove and Finch Jan 29

Snow Jan 29

Snow Jan 29

Woodpecker Jan 29

House Finch Jan 29

Along with hunger and snow, this winter brought weeks of numbing cold.

Doves Jan 29

Cardinal Jan 29

Squirrel Jan 16

I was glad I had left the bird houses hanging because I saw chickadees retreating into them at nightfall.

Chickadee Dec 30

It’s not that winter was completely cheerless. The yard had a few winter blooms, and there were certainly days of sunshine.

Honeysuckle Jan 1

Paperwhites Jan 2

Warbler Oct 29

But I’m ready for spring. Real spring, with hours on end of warmth and nest building and bird song.

Squirrel Jan 15

I can’t be the only one who is fretful and impatient. Maybe that’s why it seems as if spring is embarrassed to be arriving so late. Instead of rushing in with thunder and rain-scented gusts, spring is edging into the yard like a guilty ticket holder who overslept and missed the opening scene. Bees are sluggish, the irises and pear tree bloomed while I wasn’t looking, and the house stays chilly despite bright sunshine and open windows.

Bee March

Irises April 5

Pear Tree April 5

I suppose I’ll be complaining about the heat, before too long, and wishing for a cool draft in the house. Because summer always follows, and fall after it. And then there will come a day, sometime in early September, when I will wish for winter. But for now all of my wishes are focused on spring.