Well, I am happy to report that our first Black-chinned Hummer male arrived the evening of Tues. April 13th! He was a very thirsty little guy. A second male arrived on Thurs. 4/15, right on schedule. Then a female showed up on Friday. Very unusual so early. The three of them have been raising a ruckus ever since. I think that maybe one or two more have showed up by today but it is hard to be sure. We've had a rainy day and that is usually when birds show up. Anyway, we are just so thrilled to have them back!
We have also seen and heard our little American Goldfinches. They are in the trees but we haven't seen much of them on the thistle feeder yet. Love those sweet little Goldies!
I also saw my first Tiger Swallowtail Butterfly a couple days ago. They are so graceful and beautiful. It seems a little early for them though. The weather is still very unsettled and windy. Today the temp dropped to 41 with the rain and will be 38 overnight but by Saturday it is supposed to be back in the mid-60s! That's our crazy Spring in New Mexico.
More to come . . .
Happy Earth Day!
22 April 2010
04 April 2010
Happy Spring!
Yes, Spring is really here and the allergies are flying!
We also had some late season Mountain Chickadees show up and they just recently moved onward. We have been on the lookout for our favorite Goldfinches. They usually hang around all winter but not this year. I finally saw one male Lesser Goldfinch on the thistle feeder last Thursday. I hope he's here to stay and brings his family too.
Of course, as of April 1st we are keeping a keen ear and eye out for our namesake Hummingbirds! The first two feeders went up Saturday (4/3). They are the glass egg-shaped ones (made by GardenJewels, bought at Wild Birds Unlimited) that just fit in-between the iron bars on our windows. We put one on the kitchen window (south) and one on the window of our laundry room (east). Both can be seen from the kitchen. Usually, the first male will show up around sunset on a day that is very windy, after a storm. I'm watching!
Speaking of that, the Sandhill Crane migration is finally slowing down. I saw some flights just a few days ago. I thought they had all gone by now.
About a month ago our male Red-winged Blackbirds returned. Last year it started with 6 or 8 males. This year we got 10-12! They are all over our yard and the one across the street. They are real seed hogs, too! I have to fill even the big feeders every day instead of every 2-3 days. They are pretty to watch and fun to listen to but they can be a bit annoying.
We also had some late season Mountain Chickadees show up and they just recently moved onward. We have been on the lookout for our favorite Goldfinches. They usually hang around all winter but not this year. I finally saw one male Lesser Goldfinch on the thistle feeder last Thursday. I hope he's here to stay and brings his family too.
The temps have finally reached the 60s this past week. I hope it stays. We've had enough cold this year. There have been flowering trees and bushes all over town since late February. Everyone has been worried that they might freeze but so far so good. Our usual last freeze date is April 15th.
Stay tuned . . .
Stay tuned . . .
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