I woke up one morning to the bright red of a scarlet tanager at our jelly feeder! Turns out that this brilliant red bird with jet-black wings is very fond of grape jelly as it continues to visit all day.
The tanager is competing with five or six Baltimore orioles and a couple of catbirds so we have had to add additional jelly feeders to try to keep them all happy.
At our other feeders are a handsome, male rose-breasted grosbeak along with our usual cardinals, blue jays, house finches and dozens of goldfinches. We have one male cardinal with no “mask,” just black around the chin. The added red around the face makes him stand out.
At least three hummingbirds are visiting the hummingbird feeders so far, two males and a female. We still have visits from our regular cardinals, titmice, chickadees, nuthatches, white-throated and chipping sparrows, along with red-bellied, downy and hairy woodpeckers provide a steady background of activity. We now have a pair of phoebes visiting the deck for mealworms. The pallet of color and the symphony of song in our yard is just amazing this week.
This scene is being repeated all over the area. So many customers are telling us of multiple Baltimore and orchard orioles, hummingbirds, and grosbeaks arriving at their feeders this past week. A few have even been lucky enough to add a splash of blue to the array of color with visits by an indigo bunting at their finch feeders. More indigo buntings will appear in the weeks ahead.
A few white-crowned sparrows have joined white-throated sparrows under some area feeders. One Georgetown resident has a Lincoln’s sparrow feeding under her feeders. Some bluebirds are feeding their first broods around this time. Others are still searching for that perfect nesting location. Our pair of Carolina wrens continue regular visits to our live mealworms – stuffing their bills and carrying the worms off to feed their first brood.
Speaking of wrens, the smaller house wrens are arriving. Customers have said that their male house wrens are already bringing sticks to their wren houses, and other bird houses around their property, with the hope that the female wrens will approve of one. The house wren’s bubbly song is a welcome addition to the backyard chorus of orioles, tanagers and robins.
These birds, and so many more, are also being seen beyond the backyard. Spring migration is upon us, and many of the warblers, vireos, thrushes and flycatchers are flitting among trees and shrubs everywhere. Recent days have produced more than a dozen species of warblers on Plum Island Common terns have arrived in Newburyport Harbor this week and a few of the smaller least terns have been spotted on Plum Island. Joppa Flats is once again being dotted with yellowlegs, willets, black-bellied plovers and other shorebirds.
Spring migration always peaks in mid-May, usually in time for Mother’s Day. The store is very busy with folks choosing a gift for Mom that helps her enjoy the birds even more. Hummingbird, oriole, and other feeders are “flying” off the shelves. Birdhouses dress up the yard for returning birds are always popular. Binoculars for bringing birds and nature closer enhance the viewing experience for mom.
Happy Mother’s Day to all the mothers out there! Enjoy the colorful birds in your backyard and beyond!
Steve Grinley is the owner of Bird Watcher’s Supply and Gift in the Port Plaza, Newburyport. Email him at Birdwsg@comcast.net. On the web: www.birdwatcherssupplyandgifts.com.