Changes in the Backyard

 March is still cold in Oregon.  But outside you can find flowers in bloom. 

Birds are getting busier.😄

"Do you know I am collecting the nest materials!!"🤔😍

"Do you know I came from south?

I am Orange-crowned Warbler, a summer bird here!"😁🤩

Blueberry Nectar Fans

 Anna Hummingbirds are here to drink the blueberry nectar.

"Sweet juice."

Anna is not the only one who loves the nectar.  A summer bird, Orange-crowned Warbler,  also loves it.

"This year not many flowers are here. 😓🐝"

Last summer, I had to remove the old dead branches and now the bushes are about half the size.

"I can still find some."

It's been cold and rainy again.

  I hope they can find more blueberry bushes in the neighborhood.

Note:  I will be out for a few weeks.  Enjoy your summer!

🤩👀😎👍🦜

Summer Trio

Let me introduce you to the summer birds in my backyard.

"I am MacGillivray's Warbler.  I am a rare visitor here."

"I am an Orange-crowned Warbler.  I come here for 

the sweet blueberry flowers every year.  

There are plenty of them."

"I am Anna's Hummingbird.  I am not a summer bird and stay here all the year 

around.  In early summer, I like to take a bath in the fountain."

Popular Blueberry Blossoms

Back to the rainy weather.  Slowly, but steadily it is getting warm in the backyard.

My blueberry bushes are blooming now. Little birds like to drink the nectar.

"Yeah,  I've been waiting for it for a year."

"Me, too.  I love the taste."

House Finches like to eat the flower petals.  

"I am sneaking in to eat the flower petals.  I know I get scolded."

Another Summer Bird

A few weeks ago, an Orange-crowned Warbler, a summer bird,  stopped by.

 

"See.  I do have an orange crown."

After the bath, he checked the blueberry blossoms.

"I do love the taste of the blueberry nectar."

"Now I look better in the sun."

A Summer Bird

An Orange-crowned Warbler, a summer bird, arrived here the other day.  First it was eating some bugs around the new leaves.

Then, around the bushes.

On a sunny day, it is best to get cleaned.

"After the bug meal, I like taking the bath here."

Any Bug Here?

Some summer birds can be found here in the cold months.  The other day I found one Orange-crowned Warbler flying around with Bushtits.  They are almost the same size.  So I did not pay much attention at first.  When I followed it with my camera lens, I found this bird.  

"I am trying to find a bug in the honeysuckle bush."

"Little bug, little bug, come out for me in the rose bush."

"Any bug around the beauty berries?"

"Wish me luck.  I will have to move onto a warmer area soon."

Red Leaves

For the last two days, the morning temperature on the patio went down to 32 degrees F

 (=0 degrees C).

With the low temperature, the blueberry leaves are changing their color to red.

Right before the cold morning,  I found a summer warbler in my backyard.  Hurry up to south.

"I am finding more bugs here.  Yes, 

I will hurry back home to south."

Here is another one.

"I can feel the cold air coming.  I will leave today."

A Summer Bird

Our neighbor's wisteria began to bloom; ours is in the partial shade and will bloom next.

Not many birds like the wisteria, but there are enough birds who like to slurp the blueberry flower nectar.

"Hi, I am an Orange-crowned Warbler, a  summer 

bird.  I just arrived for the sweet berry nectar."

"Every summer, I return!"

A Summer Greeting

After all those rainy days, suddenly yesterday turned to be a summer day.  Birds knew about the arrival of this hot weather.   I saw several summer birds.

The first surprise was a male Black-headed Grosbeak.  He was busy munching the seeds as he did last summer.

"Yum, yum.  I like your seeds."

Then a bright yellow bird crossed in front.  Who could it be?  Someone yellow with a black cap.

"Hi, I am a male Wilson's Warbler.  I was here last year."

Then, a couple of Orange-crowned Warblers are back for blueberry blossoms.

"I am busy with the berry nectar this time.  It's so sweet. 

 I may like it better than the pear blossoms.  I can keep on 

drinking till the evening."

Another Summer Bird

Finally my camellia bush had flowers.   This individual, too,  was waiting for the sweet blossoms.

A summer bird, Orange-crowned Warbler, stopped over to feed on bugs on pine needles early in the morning.

Then, down below were a lot of pear blossoms with sweet nectar.

"I've been waiting for this nectar."

Sweet Blueberry Flowers

April weather is still unstable.   My blueberry bushes are getting old and do not have as many flowers as they did before.  Here are some in bloom.

An Orange-crowned Warbler, a summer bird,  arrived here a week ago and so far I saw it twice,  once early in the morning and again late in the evening.  It likes to  hang around the rose bushes and blueberry bushes.

"It's not warm, so not enough bugs are under the leaves today."

" I can't wait to drink the sweet blueberry nectar."

Fall Visitor #2

This weekend the annual air show is going on.  In the afternoon with the swishing white smoke against the clear blue sky,  the Canadian Air Force jets were roaring high above.

One came right above me with the deafening noise.

Earlier today I saw an Orange-crowned Warbler.  He/she makes a short stop on the way to the south for the winter.  This must be the one I saw in the spring.

"I can't drink any more blueberry nectar like in the spring, 

but I can still find some bugs around here."

Bath Time

An Orange-crowned Warbler stayed here for a while on its way to the north.

"I like to slurp the blueberry nectar.  It's so - - - o delicious."

"Today was so warm after a week of cold temperature 

that I decided to take a bath for the first time here.  Yahoo!!!  Splash, splash..."

"I'll stop over in the fall if I can."

Upon My Return to the Backyard

This afternoon my brain was dazed due to the jet lag.  As I looked into my backyard, one warbler just arrived.  Right now the pear blossoms are gone, the blueberry flowers are not many....  Under these unfavorable conditions, Orange-crowned Warbler arrived to welcome my return.

"Hello!  I can find bugs around here."

"I'm gonna swallow tender bugs on the new rose leaves."

"I'll find more bugs on the sweet honeysuckles, too.  I'll be back."

Big Fans of Blueberry Flowers

Summer is coming slowly, but steadily.  And my blueberry flowers are now in bloom.  Many birds enjoy drinking the nectar.  Anna's Hummingbird is one of them.

"Ummm good, this is my blueberry."

Summer birds, too, are lured here by the sweet nectar of the flowers.  The other day, I found one Orange-crowned Warbler secretly drinking the juice the first time this spring.

"I'm supposed to be hidden."

Bees also smelled the sweet scent in the air, appeared out of nowhere and buzzed busily on the bush.

"Buzz....z......z........."

Just a Little Help Goes a Long Way

When I was checking on the Audubon Society Website, I noticed they were asking people to remove Invasive Plant Species because many invasive non-native plant species destroy native habitat for birds survival.   Five of the most common ones around Oregon are English Ivy, Himalayan blackberry, Garlic Mustard, Japanese Knotweed and Clematis. 

A few years ago,  I had a huge mound of overgrown English Ivy around the  pine tree in the backyard.   One day I decided to get rid of it.  I really WORKED till exhaustion for several days in pulling those vines.   My back and fingers were sore for sometime, but I was glad I did it.   So my message to you is to get rid of it before it gets out of hand.


The Orange-crowned Warbler can appreciate my hard work.

"That's why I can find a lot of food in the backyard.  I like your bugs, pear blossoms, and blueberry flowers particularly."

"See, I have to raise young ones here, so an ample supply of food is really appreciated."

A female Roufous Hummingbird says, "When I come to Oregon for summer, I always like to drink blueberry nectar here!"

"And this time I just have to figure out what's on the ground here.  This looks like my favorite little spider web.  Glad the English Ivy did not take over here."

During summer, any little help you can do to make your backyard bird friendly will be much appreciated.