Doreen Cubie will be here on Tuesday to band my birds. I've set up trainer cages over four feeders in hopes of increasing
the likelihood of trapping hummers by getting them comfortable with going into a cage like environment. The training
cage is a four sided cage with two open sides so that the birds can get comfortable going into an enclosed area to feed while
still having plenty of room to escape.
The female Rufous is still around and I may be seeing a few more adult male Ruby-throats along with a couple of young
males. There's been a considerable amount of hummer activity in the yard today. Much of the activity appears to be surrounding
a new bird... my first probable female Ruby-throat of the year. Hopefully, more surprises lie ahead before Tuesday with the
passing front.
The freeze last week did minimal damage to my flowers as I still have a number of blooms in the yard. I
was hoping for more damage in hopes of getting more hummers to my feeders.
I feel let down that I have yet to find a Clay-colored Sparrow among the chippies this year but I am seeing a Nashville
Warbler occasionally. There's at least one good warbler flock that includes at least one each of parula, Yellow-throated,
Pine, Black-and-white, Palm, and Yellow-rumped. A dozen or so goldfinches are also coming to the feeders with the sparrows.
