Are you a wild bird nerd like me?
SAC, most perennials that die back in winter should come back the next season. I would try either googling "flowers that attract hummingbirds" or go to a nursery web site and search for plants that hummingbirds and bees like (they tend to be similar). Red flowers with a trumpet-shaped bloom seem to be a slam-dunk, but the little crittes are curious about just about anything that's brightly colored. We were at the old house last week doing some work, and I was standing on the front porch wearing a coral-colored tee shirt. A male hummingbird zoomed in and hovered in front of me, hoping I was something good to eat. I could see the bright ruby throat gleaming in the sun — it was stunning.
One of the most exciting things I have ever seen in the wild goes on every day at our new house. We have barn swallows by the dozen, and at twilight they do their swallow thing, swooping all over the yard and across the neighbors' properties in their quest for insect dinners. Since the insects quite often congregate on our deck, right outside the huge patio doors, we quite often have half a dozen or so swallows swirling right outside the window. It drives the cats absolutely nuts. But it makes me so glad that we have 9' of glass facing the deck!
The other night, Jim was riding around on the mower at about 7 p.m., scaring a lot of extra bugs out the grass, and the swallows were swirling around HIM as he went. Amazing stuff.
Cool. Barn swallows and bats, our little insect eating friends. Both are fascinating.
Yes. I have high hopes that the swallows will help keep mosquitoes in check this summer! We have a small strip of wetlands across our front yard, and I'm pretty sure that's going to create a lot of little buzzing monsters come July and August.
Baltimore Orioles are one of the coolest birds in our area. We had a nest in our backyard growing up that they would come back to year after year. One year, the tree was trimmed including the branch their nest was on (I believed they had left for the season already) - they never returned. So if you do get your tree trimmed - don't touch their nest branch!
I saw something very similar to this a few weeks ago - never saw one before in the area.
I've been wanting to post a bird question for some time, guess I'll do it here.
When I cut my grass, especially on cooler days, there are these three birds that follow me the entire time. I call them my little bombardiers. They swoop down as i make passes with my mower. They usually stay behind me but sometimes they'll come right down in front, dangerously close, and up out of the way just in time. They are small and black and have reddish bellies (which you can only really see hen they're doing their acrobatic moves. I know what they're doing, they are eat whatever bugs and tiny flying things that come up and out of the grass. It's really cool and I had been waiting to get a good picture or a video before posting my question. It's just really hard to do while moving on a mower and while trying to track the little fliers.
Any guess on what kind of birds do this?
Jamie, that's a nuthatch. They are wonderful, mostly because they spend almost all of their time hanging upside down from trees or feeders. I love watching them.
Ace, you have swallows. If you look closely, are their backs more blue than black? Do they have long tails that look like an open pair of scissors? The behavior is exactly what swallows do when they are hunting for food. They were doing the same thing with my husband the other night.
Do these look familiar?
https://images.search.yahoo.com/yhs/search;_ylt=A0LEVkAspYlVVUEAEzYnnIlQ;_ylu=X3oDMTE0dWpmcDA0BGNvbG8DYmYxBHBvcwMxBHZ0aWQDRkZYVUkzMF8xBHNlYwNzYw--?p=Barn+Swallow&fr=yhs-mozilla-001&hspart=mozilla&hsimp=yhs-001
Nuthatch
https://search.yahoo.com/yhs/search?p=nuthatch&ei=UTF-8&hspart=mozilla&hsimp=yhs-001
PeggyC said:
Do these look familiar?
https://images.search.yahoo.com/yhs/search;_ylt=A0LEVkAspYlVVUEAEzYnnIlQ;_ylu=X3oDMTE0dWpmcDA0BGNvbG8DYmYxBHBvcwMxBHZ0aWQDRkZYVUkzMF8xBHNlYwNzYw--?p=Barn+Swallow&fr=yhs-mozilla-001&hspart=mozilla&hsimp=yhs-001
Yes!!! They look like little fighter jets when the swoop by. So cool
They are my new favorite bird. I always loved swallows because of how they fly, but I hadn't been close to them on many occasions. Now, they are an ever-present fact of every-day life, and I love it. I took some great photos of one perched on our pergola today, cleaning itself. I will post one as soon as I download them to the laptop. 
This is the best I can get. They are so fast. If I post the video you'll get dizzy.
Yeah, it's really fun to watch, all right. One of the most interesting birds I have seen in the wild.
The osprey chicks were taken by an eagle. The parents are still on the nest, calling. The father bird is still bringing food to the nest. My heart is broken.
unixiscool said:
Do folks ever go out tot the great swamp to go birding?
My spouse (an avid birder) goes as often as he can, usually very early on Saturday mornings. If the weather cooperates, he'll probably be there tomorrow.
Tree swallows in the bird houses by the South Mountain Reservoir/walking trail - here's one of them:
eta: corrected per meandtheboys's comment below-this is a tree swallow (I don't think there's a sparrow variety even called "tree sparrow" is there?)
You are absolutely right - I mis-typed it. And I had looked it up in my bird book, too, because I never had seen such blue swallows before. I've fixed the original post. Thanks!
I saw a Scarlet Tanager flash across the yard at our old house. There was no chance to even think of getting the camera, it was moving so fast. What a gorgeous moment. I was just as excited, though, when I spotted an Indigo Bunting and had a flock of wild turkeys march through. And hearing thrushes and owls in the woods was thrilling. Here, I've also seen a couple of Baltimore Orioles gleaming at the top of the cherry tree next door, surveying the surroundings.
Yeah, I'm a wild bird nerd. And I feel terrible that we took down the shepherd's crooks and bird feeders at the old house to tidy up the back yard. I'm trying very hard not to think about the birds' disappointment at not finding the food source they've grown so accustomed to, and I miss the goldfinches like crazy. But I remind myself that our neighbor feeds birds, too, and it's summer -- there's plenty of food for them in the natural state.
I guess I need to put up some feeders here!
Yes, folks do. I have.
I actually caught the hatching. So cool. The babies seem to double in size every day. It's amazing how quickly they grow.