2015 Backyard bird and butterfly (and dragonfly too) watching

[LIcenter]

So happy the humming birds finally showed up yesterday - at least it was the first time I caught them at the feeder. I love watching the tiny little guys!

I saw my first of three yesterday also. All were transients stopping in for a quick bite, and then moving on. Guessing my regulars should be here shortly.

[skiingjeff]

Yeah, its hard to say if mine are staying for the long haul but eventually they will.

I also enjoy the gold finches. I always put some water in the ant trap in the center of the hummer feeder and they love to come and hang upside down and take a drink. Such beautiful birds there are....

[applestar]

Yesterday, I heard an elusive chittering at the honeysuckle gate arbor in full bloom. A sound that I should recognize but couldn't. ...then I saw it -- a HUMMINGBIRD!

This is Memorial Day weekend -- typical weekend for them to start flying through. I think it WAS just passing through because it was very nervous and also because it rested often instead of hovering to drink.

It was a female though, so the males should have been passing through already -- maybe just that this was the first one I noticed. I'm really hoping they will nest in my garden but so far every year, I see them sporadically around this time as they pass through, then not until beginning of July when they start making regular daily visits.

I wonder what the Robin nesting near the top of the honeysuckle thought about the hummingbird....

[applestar]

I'm having a late morning and am still up here in the bedroom looking out the window (I was out there in the Spiral Garden planting tomatoes by this time yesterday...) -- I'm seeing lots of activity :

-- two sets of songsparrow fledglings are clamoring to be fed by four adults flying hither and thither with what would have to be some kind of bugs in their beaks.

-- I saw a hummingbird sipping from the honey suckle again -- a female so it could be the same one... More stable flight with strong hovering pattern this time.

-- I saw a bluejay swoop in and start scooping a bunch of tan-looking things from the surface of the spiral rows... Gobbling and storing in the throat pouch... -- What ARE they? They can't be pumpkin seeds.... Pick up the binoculars for better look -- Then I saw it duck into the Seascape strawberries in the center of the spiral and came out with a very fat SLUG in its beaks and take off! (Well thank you! Grab all you like for your babies and yourself!) ...this might explain why I'm not seeing many slugs when I'm out and think to look after first light.

-- In the mean time, a mourning dove was picking up hopefully weed seeds from the paths.

[LIcenter]

Sounds like a great start to your morning applestar! I'm sitting in my Florida room surrounded by windows, but not one bird frequents this side of the yard unless the feeders are up. Need to grab another cuppa joe, and head out to the backyard. Saw my first female ruby-throat on Saturday.



And here's hubby.

[GardeningCook]

Have had female Ruby hummers at my feeder for the past couple of weeks, but no males yet. The females tend to arrive just as the rhododendrons are blooming; don't tend to see males for a couple of weeks after that. Rhodos are just finishing up, so males should be around soon.

[LIcenter]

The males always arrive here first, that's why we call them scouts. They check out the area, and if they like what they see they stick around. A couple of weeks later, if you listen real closely you will hear very tiny wedding bells.

[GardeningCook]

Wow - how odd that you see the males first since you're so further north of us. In the almost 20 years we've lived here in VA, the females always show up first.

[skiingjeff]

We found these guys in the Taylor Holly in front of our house. First time I've seen baby birds so young. Mama Robin was yelling at us but we were only trying to weed the bed.

It will be fun to watch them grow!

[LIcenter]

Cute, don't blink they grow up fast!

[skiingjeff]

Yeah just a couple days and there's sprocky fur started It will be fun to watch the daily progress.

[applestar]

We're having an extra hot week and this usually signals when the groundHOG arrive, so I'm constantly looking out the window and occasionally using my birdwatching binoculars. This PM, a grackle family had descended and were noisily making a mess of the birdbath. One bird was somehow bathing or trying to bath in a full 2 gallon bucket of water I left by the seedling table.

A wobbly-footed youngster was actually trying to stand on the rim of a 4" square pot containing a tomato seedling that I'd uppotted for some TLC, lost its balance and tried to HOLD ON to a taller tomato seedling in front of it with its beaks!!! THATS IT! I banged on the window frame until they all flew off. I'm not going out there until tomorrow morning, but DD1 went out to check and said she thought "all your little babies look OK"....

[applestar]

...so... I discovered HOW that grackle was managing to bathe in the 2 gal bucket without drowning....

I had a dawning realization when I went out this morning and saw that two potted seedlings that had been on the end of the bench above the bucket was missing. One was flipped completely upside down, and the tiny dwarf seedling was buried among the grass. OK, here's "Demidov", so where is "Dwarf Arctic Rose"?

...It was submerged at the bottom of the 2 gal bucket full of water, container, potting mix, and all...

That dratted grackle was using the seedling's container as STEPPING STONE

[applestar]

Today, I was crouched down in the Spiral Garden trimming off lower tomato leaves with any septoria spots. I stood up to stretch my back, facing the central clump of hot pink Coral Reef Momarda, and realized there was a hummingbird busy sipping from each trumpet shaped flower, into which she had to carefully insert her beaks while airborne. Monarda flowers are long and narrow.

Even though I was maybe only 4-5 feet away, she paid no attention to me and I was able to watch as she occasionally ended up with the close-fitting, loosely attached older flower come away and get stuck on her beaks. It was just so funny to watch her methodically -fliiing!- the tubular flower away with a quick motion.

Then it started to sprinkle... A little rain, not enough to send me inside, so I continued to watch as she settled on top of one of the tomato stakes. I noticed she was darting her tongue out and in. At first I thought she was just "licking her chops" and cleaning herself, but then I realized she was turning her head this way and that while darting her tongue Into the air in a deliberate manner... And I really think she was catching raindrops.

[LIcenter]

They consume an enormous amount of gnats and skeeters too. I always see them hovering in the shade of the maples attacking the gnat swarms. Not enough light to get a decent pic tho.