Cherry Blossoms in Bloom

Too much rain lately.  The weather forecaster said the March Lion was still roaring.  But the good news is that despite the rain,  my hanging cherry blossoms began to bloom.   Lacey double blossoms remind me of spring, no matter what the weather has been.

The other day, a female Anna's Hummingbird made a short stop to say, "Hi."

So I found an early fuchsia in the store and placed it in my backyard.

When the rain lets up, I hope you'll come back to get the nectar.

Female Rufous Hummingbird

In spring when pear blossoms are in bloom, many summer birds begin to arrive back here in Oregon.

Today another returnee was sighted.  

A female Roufous Hummingbird with roufous colored body and green back returned. Since a male had already arrived here about 2 weeks prior, it was about the time for her to get here.   Welcome back!

"Uumm, good!!  A taste of my Oregon home."

The other day when the sky was blue, a pair of Red-tailed Hawks were soaring high.  When the temperature climbs,  the air warms up and starts lifting.  That is the time when these large birds get in the air, circling in the sky, without much of effort on their part.

Down on the ground, someone was busy getting clean.  Someone who wanted to hide its face like a flamenco dancer.

" It's me.  I just like to clean all over, to every bit of my wing feather."   See, how meticulous Mr. Robin is.

On the fence, after a long absence, Mrs. Towhee was seen hopping around to scrutinize food availability before a nest is built. 

A busy season is here for birds to build nests and raise their young.  The backyard owner is also busy with picking up weeds, manually rototilling a small veggie garden, filling in composts, and so on.  Between those chores, never forget to plant small red flowers for hummers and sunflowers for little birds who live here for summer.

Birds' Salmonella Poisoning

A recent newspaper article talked about birds' salmonella poisoning at the feeder.  The most susceptible is a Pine Siskin who tends to fly in a big flock and consume a lot of seeds on the ground.

"Please help me and my bird friends to stay healthy by following these simple cleanings."

1) Clean up the seeds on the ground to reduce a chance of a bird eating the salmonella contaminated seeds or droppings from a sick bird.

2) Scrub the feeder with a disinfectant solution of 9 parts water to 1 part bleach.   Let it dry before refilling.  To clean a HUMMER feeder, use a VINEGAR solution instead of using bleach.

3) Clean up the birdbath often.

"I will look up to you for what you do for me!!!  Thank you."

Snow and the Sun

Oh boy, yesterday was loaded with a heavy snow.  Luckily the snow stopped in the morning, so birds could fly to find food without any problems.

A male Oregon Junco on top of a neighbor's spruce was overlooking the snow scape.

A chickadee tried to taste the spring snow.

A House Sparrow girl wanted to play hide & seek on the fence.

In the afternoon, Mrs. Lesser Goldfinch was singing everyone's wish,

"Snow, snow, go away. 

Quickly, quickly, melt away.

To let spring blossoms to come."

Thanks to Mrs. Lesser, today the sun came out.  Mr. House Finch was delighted.

"My best tune, la, la, la, ......"

Spring Equinox (春分）

Yesterday was Spring Equinox:  The lengths of Day and Night were equal.

Most of you have seen this symbol somewhere.   It is called "Yin Yang."  It originated in China, but today in western countries it often represents Asian martial arts (Chinese, Korean, Japanese, etc.) 

This spring I learned that this ancient symbol has another meaning; that is,  it can represent the four celestial events of  Spring Equinox, Summer Solstice, Fall Equinox, and Winter Solstice per the drawing above.  How interesting!! 

On or around the Equinox day, everyone in the backyard was busy as the weather was VERY slowly warming up.

Many birds, especially a Scrub Jay,  like to eat peanuts.

A White-throated Sparrow is found munching sunflower seeds. 

An Oregon Junco is a busy beaver bird from early till late. The sun just caught him strikingly good-looking. 

Although the Oregon spring is often filled with rain,

there is a nice day waiting for us.

Time for a bath and a nest

Day Light Savings began a week ago.  So, we now have to get up one hour early to save the daylight time (the 6:00 am in winter became the 7:00 am in summer).  All week long everyone was a bit tired because of losing one hour of sleep.

So I got up one extra hour early to bird watch.  Birds were busy taking a bath.  They hadn't done it since last fall, so it was quite understandable that they were in a rush.

Even in the shade, just dive in!!

Ms. Lesser Goldfinch:  "Auntie House Finch came to check on me, but she was overwhelmed by my swish-swashing water."

Mr. Lesser Goldfinch:  "I'm not that crazy yet.  I'll just dip my face."

After a bath, comes a nest building chore.  European Starlings are no exception.  See, Mr. Starling on the right is trying to get a skinny branch off for his nest material.

Uncle House Sparrow has found some extra feathers for his nest.

Aha, this morning my new birdbath was dusted with spring snow. 

Currently, March Lion is still being tamed here.

St. Patrick Day

March 17 is St. Patty's Day.  Irish people like to celebrate the day for simply being Irish.  Every year, there are many St. Patrick's Day parades in the U.S.  If you do not have something green on you, you will be pinched by someone.   So watch out tomorrow!!!  Make sure you have something green on you.   Little leprechauns are watching you.

Sending you my favorite Irish Prayer:

                                May flowers always line your path,

                                And sunshine light your day,

 

                                May song birds serenade you..

May a rainbow run beside you in a sky that's always blue,

                               And may happiness fill your heart each day
                               your whole life through.

Rufous Hummingbird's Return

After spending a warm winter in Southern California (or further south in Mexico), a Roufous Hummingbird flies back all the way to Oregon in the spring.  Last year on March 14, I saw a male Roufous Hummingbird coming to feed on a sugar water feeder here. 

This year on the same date, I saw a male Roufous Hummingbird make a beeline from the wisteria vine to his favorite red feeder hanging on the patio. 

Wow, does he know a calendar date to return to my backyard?!!!!

Whatever it is to guide him back here right on time, he must be a darn smart little bird!!!

He was happy to be back here, spreading all the tail feathers.  These photos are rather blurry due to the dark, rainy condition,  but I wanted to let you know he is officially back for the season.

"My little smarty hummer, welcome back to Oregon."

The Sun Appreciation

Another snowy, rainy, and sunny day.    Despite the changeable weather, at our house, we had our overgrown apple tree and flowering cherry tree trimmed.  The trees must feel better when a breeze goes through.

On the ground, daffodils came to bloom with rain drops on their petals.

A bright yellow coated Lesser Goldfinch stopped by at the birdbath as if asking, "Mirror, mirror, can you tell which one is prettier, me or the daffodil?" 

I am sure both of you are the prettiest in your own way.

My viburnum bush begins to form buds, attracting insects.  That is why a insect-loving hummer likes to hang around there. 

High in the sky, a Cooper's Hawk dashed out of  nowhere, drying the wings under a temporary sunshine.

We all appreciate the sun, don't we?

In Memory of Eastern Japan Great Earthquake

Today, March 11, was the one year anniversary of the Great Earthquake off the Sendai Coast. 

"A prayer to those who lost their lives with the devastation."

The saddest memory of the recent history in Japan is still fresh.  The long recovery has just begun with the help from all around the globe.

"My bird friends lost their lives and many others lost their habitats, too."

"Please join me in asking your backyard owners to keep buying products from Japan  to revitalize her economy to aid those affected by the Earthquake, Tsunami, and Nuclear disasters.  I will fly to your backyard to thank you."

March Comes like a Lion

Here March weather is very changeable and often referred as "comes like a lion and leaves like a lam."     An equivalent saying in Japan can be "三寒四温," meaning it gradually warms up in the spring time (alternating three days of cold and four days of warm).

In the neighborhood, a plum tree has full of blossoms, withstanding the cold temperature.

A bush of Forthysia  is another spring blossoms.

Yesterday Uncle House Sparrow  was making sure the sun stays on.

A couple  of  House finches were chatting in the sunny spot.

Today turned out to be a cold day with the sky covered with clouds all over.

But there is a bright spot in my backyard,   because I found someone NEW. 

A sort of...

He looks like a male Oregon Junco, but his dark head has white feathers scattered all over.     A new hybrid Junco since Juncos have many varieties?

So far I have not seen this type in my bird books.   If  any of you has seen    this hybrid, please let me know. 

Cedar Waxwing's Surprise Visit

Today I bet everyone was as happy as a lark with the sunny blue sky.  And so are all the birds chirping from early morning on. 

European Starlings were ready to dive from the neighbor's maple tree down to my suet.

They came one after another and kept on pecking. 

"I love this suet, nom, nom, nom."

A House Finch found a new blueberry leaf bud irresistible.

Mr. Lesser Goldfinch kept on singing as happy as can be.

Mr. Robin was ready to get back to digging the ground for a worm.

Then I suddenly noticed a couple of Cedar Waxwings on the maple tree.  Since last summer, I haven't seen any in my area. 

As I looked on those branches, I found more on the tree.  How many can you see here?  They must have been out looking for spring blossoms to eat.  Unfortunately, I have no plum blossoms, so quickly they took off in a flock of a dozen or so.  What a pleasant surprise!!!

Come back again when your favorite apple blossoms are in bloom later.