[Birdtalk] Backyard Birds

[Brenda Kidman]

Our hummers are as thick in the evening as they were when it was cold.  We
still haven't seen anything but Black Chinned, but there are at least 20 of
those, they are hard to count.  Tonight when I was replacing a feeder a
little male came and perched on it while I was still hanging it.  They are
cute little piggies.

We have at least three female Bullock's Orioles.  I knew we had two, but
there was a new female gathering nesting material yesterday.  I put some
more string in the yard and our cotton nesting ball is almost gone.  Our
males are very apparent and still being very territorial.  My son has never
been here over a summer before and he can tell the difference based on the
vividness of their coloring.  They are so beautiful.

Our Black Headed Grosbeaks are back, but are still not plentiful.

Normally we have female Lesser's and American's getting the fuzz from the
nesting ball, but we have seen all kinds of birds with fuzz in their
mouths.

We have a Cassin's that has been singing on a daily basis so I am hoping he
finds a Mrs soon.

Our Western Kingbirds have built such a grand nest that it is visible to the
naked eye. I can hardly wait to see the babies flying.

The only babies we have right now are baby House Finches with their bushy
"eyebrows" (pinfeathers) doing their "feed me, feed me" shake/dance.  Pretty
cute.  We had a baby red wing a couple of days ago.  Compared to the other
babies he was just a big, quiet chunk and didn't move much.

Of course, it is hard to hear the songs of the other birds over the raucous
cries of the huge Starling babies chasing the parent's around.  Their call
is so strident it is hard to ignore.  The parent's are so desperate to shut
the little "noise boxes" up they have been feeding them seed.

I know the Robin's are having babies and the Brown Headed have been doing a
lot of mating, but I haven't seen any babies yet.  They are doing a good job
of chasing off the Magpies that come close to the yard though.

We have had a few sick male House Finches this year.  They maybe getting
old, or there could be something going around.  One had a growth on his
chest.  I got some good pictures of him while he was sitting on the nectar
feeder.  I don't know what is going on with them.  It isn't growths on their
faces like it has been in years past.

The Yellow Headed Blackbird and Yellow Warbler seem to have gone.  We get
flocks of Waxwings flying through but they don't stay long.  Here is a list
that may or may not be complete.

Enjoy the spring!

Brenda
South Weber

Bullock's Orioles
Red Wing Blackbirds
Brewer's Blackbirds
Grackles
Brown Headed Cowbirds
American Goldfinches
Lesser Goldfinches
Pine Siskins
Black Headed Grosbeaks
House Finches
Black Chinned Hummingbirds
Cassin's Finch
House Sparrows
Starlings
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://secureserver.securesites.net/pipermail/birdtalk/attachments/20070529/125b2482/attachment.htm