Words On Birds 04-18-25

 

     A couple of weeks ago I mentioned that our eastern phoebe hadn’t arrive yet.  Well he arrived the day after I wrote that. It was a cold day and there were few flying insects around. But this resourceful guy learned quickly that we were putting out dried mealworms for our bluebirds. He came to the deck railing and would swoop down to grab a mealworm off the deck floor, on-the-wing flycatcher style, and return to a perch to consume it.

 

     A number of days later, the phoebe learned that there are mealworms in the domed feeder that we have hanging from our slider.  (This feeder makes it more difficult for the starlings to steal mealworms). We have since seen the phoebe actually land on the feeder and consume a mealworm, bluebird style. Since phoebes are flycatchers, I never thought of a phoebe as a feeder bird!

 

     With the milder temperatures this week, birds have been on the move. We were delighted to see 10 males and 1 female purple finch invading our tray feeder of sunflower. The glowing raspberry color of the males this time of year is simply stunning! They continue to visit in smaller numbers this week, also visiting a tube feeder with our Premium Cardinal-Finch mixed seed that includes sunflower.

 

     The Buxton’s of Merrimac, who wrote about their western tanager last week, had a brief visit from a handsome male evening grosbeak. Keep a close eye on your sunflower feeders, you never know what will show up this time of year!

 

     Milder temperatures are finally returning and winds are supposed to turn southwesterly by this weekend, so we should start to see more of the expected April migrants. A rose -breasted grosbeak was singing on Marblehead Neck this week and a hummingbird appeared at a feeder in Westford. There was also an earlier report on a hummingbird in North Andover.  

 

     More hummingbirds will soon arrive, so now is a good time to ready your hummingbird feeder. Though the bulk of the hummers arrive in May, there are many April arrivals, and you don’t want to be embarrassed when your hummer shows up and darts around where the feeder is supposed to be! One part sugar to three or four parts water is the recommended solution. Be sure to change the nectar every few days to keep it fresh. If you want to look at the progress of migrating hummingbirds, go to hummingbirdcentral.com.

 

     Not far behind the hummingbirds will be the orioles, so you should begin preparing their feeders as well. These birds are also attracted to backyard feeders with nectar (one part sugar to five or six parts water) and also with grape jelly and oranges. Some folks also feed meal worms to orioles, especially as the orioles begin to nest, but orioles will also continue to enjoy jelly all summer long. There are feeders that will hold a combination of nectar, jelly (or meal worms) and oranges, with some new clever ones designed to keep starlings and other larger birds from getting to the goodies. If you are feeding bluebirds, you may already know that there are meal worm feeders designed for bluebirds that also keep out the larger birds. 

 

     Nectar, jelly, oranges and meal worms are all ways to attract some different birds to your yard this spring and summer. Catbirds, mockingbirds, tanagers, Carolina wrens, thrushes, and even some warblers might make an appearance to partake from this different menu. Speaking of bluebirds, some have already begun to nest, but many more are still looking for houses.

 

     Now that the weather has improved, it is a good time to put up a house for them or for any of the other birds that may nest in your yard. Chickadees, tufted titmice, white-breasted nuthatches, woodpeckers and tree swallows will all nest in nesting boxes, though cardinals and goldfinch will not. A nesting shelf can be erected for robins, phoebes, and barn swallows. Arriving in May will be the house wrens, and they also will take to a house hung in a nearby tree and they will delight you with their gurgling song.

 

     Don’t forget to add water. Birds need and enjoy fresh water all through the warmer months. Add some motion to the water with a dripper, a waterfall or a battery-operated “wiggler” to help attract more birds and to help keep the water aerated and fresh. You might be surprised to see the different birds that might show up – birds that might not otherwise visit your feeders.