Saturday, April 20, 2013

Don't Mess With My Birds!

Ok, Spring...you can play around with the weather and tease us all you want but just don't go around messing with my birds!  Spring has come in with a crazy vengeance here on the Bayou just like it has over the entire country.  It has been in the eighties on one day and dropped to the forties during the night only to return to the eighties again.  This is all fine and dandy for me and I am quite happy to go about my business either layering or shedding clothes as the weather prescribes.  The other morning required the heavy jacket to be donned for my hike.  I did not mind..nor did Ms. Ez.  With her eternal fur coat, she had no problem chasing squirrels through the frost-covered grass.  But I did come across one small critter that was having quite a time dealing with the cool snap.  The tiny Ruby-throated Hummingbird was trying its best to find enough nectar in the Amaryllis blooms to keep itself warm.  Cold is not a friend to these little guys!

Ruby-throated Hummingbird waiting for me to fill the feeders.


This was enough to make me hustle back inside to fill several feeders.  As soon as I hung the first one, my friend made a beeline for it.  I hardly had time to climb off the ladder before it was feeding!  Ahh..that is good.  Now maybe he will feel better!  I hung the other three feeders.  Before I left the garden six more hummers were feeding.  I had not realized so many were here already!  They must have migrated in a few days prior to the cool spell not knowing what they would be facing.

Ruby-throated Hummingbird with his feathers fluffed as he tries to  ward off  a cold  rain.


The hummers have a hard time coping when the temperatures suddenly drop.  They must eat more to survive.  Some of these birds migrate across the Gulf of Mexico to overwinter in either Central America or Mexico.  This is a non-stop flight that can be very grueling for the hummer.  I always try to have my feeders in place as soon as the weather warms but with the sporadic winter-like weather, I neglected to do so this spring.  I feel terrible that I nearly caused problems for the tiny birds!  Now, however, they seem happy and many more have stopped in to feed.  The Buckeye bush and jasmine have started blooming so they can feed there, too.  I blame the fickle spring for throwing the birds off on their migration.  Most years, they time their flights according to flowers that are in bloom but this year, the blooms are not following the normal sequence.  Usually, the orange trees and peach trees bloom right after the wisteria and jasmine followed by roses.  However, this spring the oranges did not bloom..the wisteria was early..the jasmine is thinking about it and the peaches have bloomed twice!  Crazy Spring!  Can't you make up your mind?  And quit messing with my birds!  Folks..fill those feeders!  The little guys need your help!

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