red-winged blackbirds return - a sign of spring

I was surprised to hear a red-winged blackbird today. Everything is snow covered and seems quite wintery still. I looked up when they returned to my yard in previous years:

2015: March 27
2016: March 5
2018: February 25
2019: March 12

I also looked at the site Journey North, a citizen reporting site. These dates fit with their observations. Some springs are late, some early. This looks like a pretty average one based on the blackbirds.

The swallows have arrived!

I just looked up when I’ve first heard red winged blackbirds around here in the spring over the past few years. I think it shows a trend:

2018 February 25
2016 March 5
2015 March 27
2009 April 9

spring red winged blackbirds

The red winged blackbirds are a full month early this year!!! I saw a small flock of 4 or so males at a nearby pond a few days ago and have been listening to them (cookalokooo) from my window today. We’re having the warmest February on record here. I don’t see much spring going on with the trees and bushes outside. but the birds are reflecting the warmth.

I’m tempted to plant peas now. My soil is workable. The old saying is to plant peas when the female red winged blackbirds arrive. I’ll prepare some soil and listen for the click click of the females replying to the males.

snow day

We are being hit with a blizzard today. Over a foot of snow is predicted. I added food to the bird feeder this morning and it's rapidly being covered up. Juncos, blue jays, titmice, and song sparrows are braving the wind and digging down for the seeds. There's been a chickadee and a bluebird coming to the feeder too, but I wasn't able to get their photos.

my (and my mom's) birdfeeders

My bird feeders are a hodgepodge: half falling over, half broken, and more often empty than filled. Today, the birds and squirrels have emptied most of them.



This green feeder is my nicest, even though it's bent and faded. A spring-loaded perch closes when a large bird or squirrel tries to eat. Only smaller birds can perch and get at the seeds. It's very nice. Problems I've had with it: larger seeds get stuck, accumulate, and clog up the seed opening; it seems that water gets into the seed area somehow. Now that I look, the "spring" (that little wire) is sticking out. I'll need to fix that.

The feeder on the left below is like my mom's. She has empty plastic bottles strung on a cord that holds several feeders. No squirrels. My feeder on the right below is on a pole - until it falls over.... There's a plastic platform below the feeder. Squirrels can't get up the pole past the platform. So - no squirrels. However big birds, like blue jays, can get on it. Often they hog it keeping small birds away.



My feeder on the left below is freely available to almost any bird or squirrel that comes by. Squirrels hang down and eat for what seems like hours. My thistle feeder is on the right below. No squirrels can get up - or maybe they're not interested in thistle.

backyard birds

Not much variety in the winter, but very pretty birds. Maybe I'll see something special if I keep watching my feeders.

it's a bluebird day!

Well, "a bluebird day" is supposed to mean a beautiful day. I can't say it's that today. Low temp was 16F last night. Still snow on the ground. The magnolia blossoms that were just opening have turned mushy brown. And I don't think the forecast is looking very good. But, yippee for the bluebirds! They are beautiful. (So are the gold finches that are turning bright yellow now.)



I'm hoping a bluebird pair will nest in one of my bird boxes this year. Last year I had both my boxes up against the woods on my garden fence. Not a good location for bluebirds, who need at least 80 ft of open area all around their box. So I had house sparrows. This year, I moved one of the nest boxes out to the center of the yard. Not quite 80 ft from the woods, more like 50 I think. But I'm hoping it will be enough. If not, maybe a swallow will like the box.

The bluebird in the picture perched on a post on my patio. I was able to take his picture from the kitchen window. It was the second time I saw him perch there today. The first time I got so excited that the dogs started barking and he was gone before I grabbed my camera. The second time I was very calm and quiet. The dogs didn't know anything was up.

the swallows are here!

The swallows are here!! We got 3 inches of heavy wet snow overnight and everything is white. But there are swallows all over the place! I love to to see them swooping and soaring over the pond.

Someone asked for pictures. So I did my best a couple days later. It's pretty hard to photograph a swallow in flight. And it was too cold for me to try too long. This is what I got. One of the blurry swallow photos caught the mute swan pair in the background.

redwing blackbirds are 3 weeks early

This afternoon I hear redwing black birds at the pond for the first time this season. Last year I didn't hear them til March 27. So this is three weeks earlier! I wonder if I should adjust my planting calendars by three weeks?

A pair of mute swans arrived today too. The ice on the pond melted about 2 weeks ago. We've had buffleheads and ring-necked ducks diving since then. Also flocks of Canada geese making all sorts of noise all night. They're starting to pair off now. I think the swans keep the geese away, so maybe it will be quieter at night now.

I've had a bad cold so I haven't posted (or planted) in a while. It seems to be gone so hope I can catch up.

our Christmas tree

There wasn't room for our tree inside this year, because of renovations we are doing, ... so... the tree is out on the patio decorated with lights and bird food.



Who came to the tree? First a couple of noisy red squirrels! Then, Suzie (my little Portuguese water dog who loves birds food), my chickens, and then lots of birds. A Carolina wren, junco's, ground sparrows, chickadees, and cardinals.



Oh, and Santa came by too. On Christmas morning there was a big pile of new garden tools!! I can't wait to use them all.

piliateds

Two enormous piliated woodpeckers making a racket in my backyard! Must be a sign of spring. (I couldn't find my camera in time. Dang. ) And towards evening, a great horned owl was hooting. Not to mention the racket from all the other smaller birds all day today. The snow is turning to slush. Four feet of slush on our walking trails, nice!

winter birds in Florida

I went to visit my parents in southern Florida (Naples area) last week. Talk about a great time to get a break from New England! It was sunny the whole time, 70's, and no snow! Fortunately I was able to get into and out of Logan between storms with out delays. I was lucky. Anyway, here are the birds I saw down there.

winter birds in my backyard

The big bluejays get first dibs at my feeder, while little birds wait in the trees for them to have their fill and move on. I love the little catkin-like buds on my star magnolia where the little birds wait. With all this snow I am trying to keep the feeders full. I should get a bigger feeder because the birds empty it in a couple hours.

The big guys in the sky are the red tailed hawks. A pair hangs out in our back yard. I took these photos while the female was perched watching my chickens through the new glass roof. Look at her craning her neck to see in!