Hummers

On Sunday, we hung up our hummingbird feeder, rather timely as it turned out. On Monday evening, my husband spotted two male ruby-throated hummingbirds at the feeder already. I figured that the southern winds might speed up their way north - and I was right.

They're here...

Things are getting exciting in our backyard now. While we still see a white-throated sparrow around, the juncos seem to be gone. Unfortunately, we have a small flock of cowbirds around. I don't like to see them because they put their eggs in other birds' nests, but there isn't much I can do about them except taking down the feeders. But then we would have missed out on a sight yesterday. First, we spotted one male rose-breasted grosbeak at our sunflower feeder. Soon, I noticed another male in our neighbor's pear tree. A female was not far behind. They all came to our feeders and ate...and ate...and ate. Did I mention that they ate? They are beautiful birds and have a pretty song, so how can I complain?
Yesterday, we also hung up our hummingbird feeder. We usually see our first hummer around May 1, but it can't hurt to be ready. The recent winds we had might carry them here earlier than normal. And what's normal around here when we have 88 degree weather in April?

Independence Day

I've been honing my bird photography skills in our backyard lately, sort of like spring training after a long winter. Today, we went on our first bird outing. We drove to Independence Marsh in Beaver County and were not disappointed. We had not even left our car when we already spotted a killdeer, tree swallows, Canada geese with goslings, and the ever-present shriek of red-winged blackbirds. Besides the tree swallows, we had other firsts of the year: first female and male blue bird, first yellow warbler, and my husband saw a waterthrush. While rambling around, we flushed a couple of ducks out of a tree, saw a mockingbird, a mystery bird, and two turkey vultures in the distance. All the while we were entertained by the incessant call of frogs and the dragonflies that were out and about. It sure was noisy out there, but it was a pleasant sort of noise. I was disappointed that we didn't see more waterfowl, yet the arrival of spring migrants was a pleasant surprise. Finally, the wind and the heat - too hot for April - got the better of us and we drove home, happy and exhausted at the same time.

Backyard Birds

When the weather is agreeable I am out in the backyard photographing birds. Last Friday, I spotted a dark-eyed junco eating seeds underneath our feeder and a white-throated sparrow that landed on a branch. I had not seen any white-throated sparrows for a while and had wondered whether they had left yet. Winter is not officially over until these migrants have returned to Canada. Yet, the next day my husband spotted a sparrow with a particularly white breast. Apparently, I had seen the tan-triped variety. I have also seen (and heard) cowbirds in our yard recently. And let's not forget the red-winged blackbirds that pass through every few days.
In a few days I'll have to prepare the first mix of hummingbird syrup because these little flying machines show up around May 1 or 2. I wouldn't want them to pass up our yard because I forgot to hang up a feeder. I am less fortunate with an oriole feeder. For a couple of years, I hung out an oriole feeder after spotting an oriole in our neighbor's tree. But, none of them ever visited my feeder and it's now collecting dust.

The Rookery

Yesterday was a gorgeous day and most importantly, it wasn't windy. We therefore headed out to Big Sewickley Creek Road near Ambridge to view the Great Blue Heron rookery we had discovered last year. There must have been 20 or more nests, but photographing them was difficult. Many branches obstruct the view, making focusing and taking a decent photo almost impossible. To show you what I had to cope with I'm including some of my photos here.
Every now and then, one heron took off in flight and glided over the valley. I could never figure out where they flew. When they returned with a stick in their beak they "handed" it to their partner who was busy outfitting the nest. Occasionally, a fight erupted and the herons honked at each other, almost sounding like Canada Geese.