Well, the nights are getting cooler and the weather seems ready to change. Then there is the smell of the green chile being roasted at a nearby store!, Can the red be far behind?, All these are signals that the fall migration will be coming soon.

This week I 've noticed that the Crows are starting to hang around here in the valley instead of going up to the heights. I filled up the thistle feeders on Sunday and I haven't seen any Goldfinches since. I heard them singing their pretty songs in the trees but have not seen them. Maybe they were saying goodbye?

And as for new birds, the last couple weeks we have noticed Nighthawks flying around at dusk. Never saw them before, or maybe we just didn't pay attention.

There was a significant increase in the Hummingbird population last week. I guess all the babies have fledged and we are also getting a few visitors. We had a Calliope pair stop in for a couple days. We are going through about 4-5 quarts of sugar water every day and a half!

We have also been hearing a new birdcall but the critter is up in the tree tops and we can't get an eye on it. It doesn't sound familiar so we are very curious to find out what it is.

The chickens don't seem to be trying to nest again so maybe they are done laying for the year? We are keeping our eye on them.

If anyone is reading this, I sure would appreciate hearing from you.
Please respond with a comment. Thanks.

Hasta luego! ~~ SDA

BABIES COUNT:

Goldfinches = 2
Hummingbirds = 4+?
Kingbirds = 2-4
Roadrunners = 2
Pigeons = who cares?
House Sparrows & House Finches = more than you'll ever know
Starlings = enough
Squirrels = 3-4

How about you?

~~SDA

THEY'RE HERE! Yup, the Rufous Hummers have arrived! The first one showed up on Monday, July 12th. A couple days later we noticed a "Grampa" -- one who is completely rust colored on his back. There appear to be at least 3 of them, Grampa, a male and a female or juvenile. So now the war has begun! What great excitement.
 
BABIES.  We have noticed the first hummer babies (Black-chinned), nestmates who share the tube feeders. Then there are the Lesser Goldfinch babies who are learning to use the upside-down thistle feeder. This tube feeder requires the bird to hang upside-down to reach the opening. Only finches will do this and therefore it discourages any other bird from feeding there. They are so cute! Yesterday, we watched the Western Kingbirds teaching their young'uns how to catch bugs in the air. That was really was fun.  Of course, we have the Roadrunner juveniles terrorizing the other birds with their threat of nest raiding. Things are really picking up now with babies all over the place learning how to fly and feed themselves.
 
The Chicken hens are off their nests since I removed their eggs last week. We are watching them closely so we can spot when the begin nesting again, so we can get the eggs as soon as they are laid.
 
We are finally getting our monsoon rains in the late afternoons/evenings and that is really helping with our local drought.  Unfortunately, the temperatures are still in the nineties which is harder to bear with the higher humidity. Oh well, beggars can't be choosey. We are very glad to get the rain.
 
TTFN, until next time.  ~~SDA