New Bird in our Neighborhood

The other day I set up my blind in our backyard to photograph some of the birds that visit our feeder. We had placed the feeder close, but not too close, to our serviceberry so that the birds can scope out their surroundings before flying to the feeder. The fall foliage provided a nice backdrop. I expected the usual tufted titmice, chickadees, and cardinals. When a bird sat on a perch for quite a while it seemed to be saying, "photograph me." I did not recognize it and was thrilled that I could take almost a dozen photos before it took off. Imagine my surprise when I viewed my images on the computer and learned that the mystery bird was a "Myrtle" yellow-rumped warbler! I had never even seen this bird, ever. Sometimes the best subjects are as close as your backyard.

A New Bird in our Yard

As far as bird sightings are concerned, summer has been quiet in our yard. There were the usual robins, and goldfinches drinking from our bird bath and eating seeds in our garden (and dozens of house sparrows in our front yard). So, when the blue jays out back made a racket on Monday morning, my husband went to investigate. He never did find out what upset them, but instead he spotted a warbler. Now, we have lived here for 13 years and have never seen a warbler in our neighborhood. As is usual in those cases, identifying which kind of warbler was impossible. A few minutes later I headed out with a camera to perhaps photograph an intruder, and saw a female rose-breasted grosbeak instead. I haven't seen any grosbeaks since spring and it is a sign that the birds are beginning to show up. We are therefore getting ready to hang up our feeders because they really are bird magnets. We purchased black-oil sunflower seeds, thistle, and safflower for cardinals.
We haven't spotted any hummingbirds for a while and assume that they are on their way south. May they return safely next spring!

Gardening Update

The berries on our serviceberry are now a distant memory, but there are other feasts to look forward to. Our two virburnums (arrowwood) are finally growing some berries. The common milkweed and butterfly weed are blooming now and are very popular with fritillaries, bumblebees, honey bees, and other insects. Our Joe-pye weed is growing taller than last year and I am already looking forward to photograph the butterflies it will surely attract. The blazing stars we bought this year are looking good, especially since we caged them to protect them from the rabbits that are causing havoc in our garden. The rabbits have made a meal out of the zinnias I planted but they are slowly making a comeback now.
Notable bird sightings include: a hawk that perched on our neighbor's tall willow tree, only to be chased away by crows or grackles (in the commotion it was hard for me to tell). We see Baltimore orioles around but they never visited the feeder I put out for them, so I took it down.
For weeks we have been wondering why our front yard bird bath was often muddy. While we were out weeding today we saw a robin taking a full bath and the water got muddy quickly. Apparently, it had not wiped off its feet before getting into the bird bath. Another mystery solved!

Backyard Bird Sightings

In my presentations I am telling people how to garden for the birds. Case in point: Our serviceberry is growing berries right now, and the cedar waxwings are already checking them out. Of course, once I grab my camera they perform a disappearing act. I plan on setting up my blind soon to await their return. Or perhaps I'll wait till the berries are ripe...
Another exciting sighting is a Baltimore oriole. I hung up our oriole feeder and hope to lure them into our yard.
I finally took down our bird feeder today, after it became too big a draw for grackles. Between our shrubs, flowers and the bird baths I hope we will lure them into our yard nonetheless. And I kept a few sunflower seeds to bribe the birds when I want to photograph them.