Apr
9
2016
For a short time all the trees were covered with snow. It was April ninth and we had a “dusting” of snow–an inch or two. It was not unheard of: a snow “storm” this late in spring but it definitely was unusual. The trees did not stay white too long. I am waiting for the warmer weather to return. And it will. The forecast for my birthday less than a week away called for sixty degree weather and clear skies.
Apr
30
2013
I did spot the first hummingbird. It was not in PA but in my friend’s yard. I was visiting a friend in another state. It briefly hovered over one of his two bushes of red flowers. The bird immediately disappeared. My wife did not see any hummingbirds in our yard. Usually by the end of April I see one. Today is the last day of the month. Still no hummingbird there.
Apr
26
2013
My wife will see the first hummingbird of the season. I am going away. I am jealous.
Traditionally the hummingbird (???) have been spotted by the end of April. I leave for a week in less than forty-eight hours so I am running out of time.
Apr
5
2013
I put out nectar for the hummingbirds. Let us see when I see the first one. Traditionally it is usually by the end of April. It has been abnormally cold the beginning of spring. It is just now starting to warm up so we will keep an outlook for the first one of the year. I expect it will be like other years and I won’t spot one until the end of this month. Only time will tell.
Mar
19
2012
Spring is a day away although it feels like it had arrived early. By now the daffodils are blooming everywhere. The crocus are done. Forsythia are also blooming. The deciduous trees all have buds. I have already dug out my shorts. There were some days that warranted them. For a few weeks now it has been in the sixties and seventies. I have even wore my tee shirts although not every day was warm enough to do that. In a few weeks I will put out hummingbird nectar. I am shooting for April 1 to do that although I usually do not see them until the end of April. With the warmer weather maybe they will come sooner. We will see.
Feb
17
2012
There are many visitors I am waiting for. At some point, sometime soon I will put out nectar I have prepared for the hummingbirds. The first sighting is usually not before the end of April but I am awaiting them. The regal great egret will come back. Maybe, I will see flocks of goldfinch under the tree, again. I don’t understand it but they stopped coming to my thistle feeder but during the beginning of spring I see the most–often a dozen or two at one time. I will put out fresh thistle. Snowy egrets I will see, again, along the river. And about now I will keep my eyes open for the first sighting of a robin. And that is a short list. And includes only the birds.
Jan
5
2012
Yesterday it hit 16 degrees and today was 34 and it seemed warm. I wore the same clothing. Yesterday when I went out it did not take long for me to become chilled. I would reach for my gloves right away. I wanted them just for the fifteen feet walk to the car. Come April or May, 34 degrees will seem cold but today I was grateful it hit that temperature. Your expectations define the weather. I almost considered today to be a heat wave. And praised the Lord for small favors. Everything is by grace. Even the temperature outside.
Aug
18
2011
Soon the hummingbirds will stop coming to my feeder. And will take the long journey south. I never know when I see the last one of the season but I will keep nectar out for a few more weeks for any stragglers. The “passing” of the hummingbirds is another sign the warm weather is out and the cold temperatures are on their way. I can become too used to their sight and they have to go away for me again to marvel at this creation of God. It will be April, again, before they come back. And I will await their arrival.
Apr
22
2011
The temperature is all relative: today it is forty-seven degrees. Cool for a late April date. Yet if we had the same temperature in December or January, it would have been considered a warm day. It is all a matter of perspective (and our expectations). The best thing is just to enjoy the weather no matter what it is and make the best of it. You have no control of the weather. You just adjust. There is no other way.
Apr
19
2011
Every time I glance out the front window I await the entrance of the first hummingbird. I just put out nectar the other day for it. In the past, the first one of the season came by the end of April so I know it could come any day now.
Yesterday (or the day before) I saw three cottontails munching on the grass viewed from the back window. I never saw three at one time so I was thrilled. Now every time I look out into the backyard I am looking for those three bunnies.
Nature has a way of surprising you: when you least expect it, there it is another surprise. It may be a northern mockingbird (you have never seen before in the yard) or some totally other different sight like the large orange salamander that we spotted twice. Somewhere in back near the creek lives a large box turtle. You never know and all you can do is live and view life with an expectant attitude.
Apr
17
2011
Another rite of spring: I put up fresh nectar I prepared for the hummingbirds. In past springs the first usually appears in the end of April so let us see exactly when the first one comes to the feeder. I did not want to put up nectar too soon. It would just mold. This year I decided my birthday would be a good time to do it. Now my wife and I will wait for the first one to come to our feeder.
Apr
21
2009
The sky is dimly lit just before the dawn. The birds are in song in full crescendo. I am wondering when I will see the first chickadees, tufted titmouse and downy woodpeckers come to my feeders.
I am thinking about that Carolina wren that built a nest in the large pansy pot hanging from my garage door. Yesterday before it became light I shined a flashlight into the nest–flushing the poor frightened bird who high tailed it for parts unknown–and peered into the nest spotting three tiny speckled eggs. My wife reprimanded me for scaring the bird. I will leave her alone now. I want the mother to successfully raise its young and I do not want to scare it out of its wits further, possibly abandoning her eggs.
Two years in a row (the last two) an eastern phoebe built a nest just outside our front door on top of the right lamp but I guess there was too much traffic in and out the house so it abandoned the nest and raised its young somewhere else.
This year a pair of robins have built a nest in the right corner in the gigantic bush. At least twice I looked inside it but I could not spot the nest. A few times when I walked nearby I flushed one of them. Two robins keep feeding under our large pine tree which is somewhat unusual. Several time I saw a robin extract a worm from the earth, toss it above its head, then gobble it down.
I love to observe the natural world around me especially the birds that come to our four feeders. I am expectantly waiting for the first hummingbirds to come to our two feeders I have set up for them. One is hanging from the pine tree mentioned and the other is hanging close to the window.
According to my bird journal I have kept for over five years the first one usually appears the end of April. It is the twenty-second of April so my eyes have been continually sweeping the area outside our large living room window. It was over a month ago the local nature columnist reported someone spotted one passing the Mason Dixon line and they would be here any day. I put out nectar immediately after that announcement. Well I am still waiting to spot one and already had to replace the nectar I set up and clean the feeder immediately after I noticed black mold in the feeder. I guess they must have turned around or taken an extended stay along the way.
Watching birds give me such pleasure. The money I spend on feed for them is worth every cent. I love observing their antics: they are all different. This has been a lifetime hobby.
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