We got one more sign of spring and impending summer in the past couple of days: the hummingbirds are back. On Sunday, we saw one zooming around the yard so we hurried to put up the feeder, hoping that it would stay around if it found food. So far, so good.
Right now, we have a pair of very tiny Rufous Hummingbirds coming to use the feeder regularly. I haven't figured out how to get a decent picture of something so small, and it won't let me get all that close, so this is the best I've been able to do, so far. We're expecting to see some Black-Chinned Hummingbirds back this year. They were around all last summer, but so far they haven't arrived. The Rufous hummer is a kind of rusty brown with what looks like a black patch under the chin. If the light catches that patch just right, however, it's the most fantastic irridescent red color.
Other birds gathering at the nearby seed feeder include numerous Pine Siskins, some White-Crowned Sparrows, Chickadees and Nuthatches. Other than the hummer, most of these birds don't really need food supplied at this time of year, although spring has been delayed by several weeks. Only in the past week or so has it been decently warm, and then only a few times. Hopefully we have turned the corner and are on the way to more seasonal weather for this area.
No comments:
Post a Comment