Spring

The spring activities are in full swing. We've seen multiple male grosbeaks -over 8 at a time and we are sure there are more around since there seems to be alot of individual variation amongst each bird in terms of brightness and amount of red on the breast, the amount of black on the rest of the body vs spotted/speckled or even brown feathers. I'm sure it would be possible to identify individuals if we had more time to just sit and make notes as to who is who.


We've seen the female hummingbird at the feeder out back, but no pics of her yet. She's been very busy moving around and I saw her chasing another hb away from the feeder, but I'm not sure if that was a male or female she was after.



Last night we saw multiple Baltimore Orioles at the feeders/oranges as well. There were at least four there- 2 males and one female and we weren't sure if the 4th was male or female as the females can have quite bright colouring and look almost like males. They were busy chasing each other all over the yard as well.





Two barn swallows were perched on the wire by the side of our house as well. These birds are so beautiful. We usually just see them in flight. Of course by the time we got the camera ready, they were moving again.


Here's a link to a site with fantastic pics of the barn swallow:
http://www.naturephoto-cz.com/barn-swallow:hirundo-rustica-photo-1402.html

The Red-Bellied Woodpecker made it's first appearance at the suet feeder in ages. We usually see the female almost every day in the winter and we occasionally see the male. I think it might be nesting time for them as well. Last year we saw the parents taking pieces of suet up into the trees to feed three little babies. They were all so cute- but noisy too! Hopefully they have nesting success again this year.




We also saw a yellow warbler in the tree by the niger seed feeder (not at the feeder itself, but flying around in the tree). I think this is the first time we've seen this bird out front. We did see one out back last year. These birds are so cute- bright yellow and seemingly so cheerful. They move so quickly though that it's quite difficult to get a picture of them. These are probably one of the most common and widespread warblers. We saw one on a nest last year in the valley and I think it had 3-4 babies hatch (Dave would remember the numbers better).


http://www.birdwatchersdigest.com/site/backyard_birds/bird_id/yellow_warbler.aspx

Here's an interesting fact about the Yellow Warbler:

"The Yellow Warbler is a regular host of the Brown-Headed Cowbird, a nest parasite, and it has evolved strategies to combat such nest parasitism. Upon discovering a cowbird egg laid in its nest, the warbler will often build a new layer to the nest, covering up the cowbird egg (and its own eggs, if they have been laid). In other circumstances, the bird may desert the nest altogether."