First Days of Spring

This morning when I went outside to fill the bird feeders I was in my shirt sleeves, no jacket, and comfortable with the temperature. The buds on the pear tree, where my feeders hang, are swollen and will burst open this week, I'm almost certain, if the warm weather continues. Squirrels, finches and jays have been munching on the little flower buds, which, like alfalfa sprouts we eat, are full of nutrition.

It seems the goldfinches have transformed themselves almost overnight from their drab winter clothes to their daffodil-yellow spring plumage, and they look spectacular! Unfortunately, that also means they'll be leaving me soon. In my yard American goldfinches are winter visitors, and they head out for open country and nesting territory as soon as plants start blooming and producing seeds. The same with the pine siskins and dark-eyed juncos, which have fed from my feeders all winter. Already their numbers are dropping, and in a couple of weeks they will be gone, and I won't see them again until October or November. Although I will miss them, it won't be long before I welcome back the pair of lesser goldfinches which nested in my yard last year, and the broods of American robins, song sparrows, scrub jays, spotted towhees, finches and chickadees which are year-round residents that also nest nearby.

Rufous hummingbirds have been sighted all over Oregon, back from spending their winters in warmer climes. I haven't seen any in my yard, but I've hung an extra hummingbird feeder just in case, so there will be plenty of nectar for everyone when they arrive. The two Anna's hummingbirds which spent the winter here are much less visible now, and I suspect they may have set up a nest someplace. I only see the female, and then only occasionally. I miss them, and plan to put in more blooming plants this year in an effort to encourage the hummingbirds to nest in my yard, instead of just wintering here. Last year we put in a red flowering currant, which is just beginning to bloom, specifically for the hummingbirds. Two or three of those will go a long way towards keeping the hummingbirds close-in and happy until it warms up enough for fuchsias!

Yesterday Al and I went for a long walk at the Fernhill Wetlands area, in Washington County, and saw the first tree swallows and violet-green swallows of the season. The ones we saw appeared to be mostly males, and they were actively disputing over nestboxes. So far no birds have taken up residence in the two nest boxes in my yard, although I've seen house sparrows and jays with nesting material in their beaks. I'm going to add some wood chips to the chickadee nest box in the hope of enticing one of the pairs of chickadees I've seen. I know the squirrels are already nesting, because Mrs. Squirrel has been stripping bark off of the apple tree for a couple of weeks now.

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