Mid Summer Activity

It's almost the end of July, the weather in North San Diego County has been very nice - save for a couple days earlier this month when it was around 90 F. Certainly, compared to much of the rest of the USA, we are sitting pretty. The birds seem to be enjoying the low to mid 80s. Our Desert Willows (Chilopsis linearis) are beginning to bloom in earnest and the hummingbirds are checking the flowers for nectar along with the feeders. Where as most of the trees have a reddish maroon bloom, one of the 2 trees we have has white blooms.

Remember, all photos are clickable to enlarge for viewing!

Hummingbird activity is quite high now, well recovered from the first of the month when we were gone for 4 days and the feeders ran dry. Have seen several female Rufus or Allen's but not males. They must be around somewhere. Blackchinned and of course lots of Anna's.

The Honey Bees are a bit of a problem still, more so for the Orioles since their feeders are harder to 'bee proof' and still give access to the Orioles. A work in progress... Speaking of Orioles, at least a couple families are visiting the backyard, based on adult males and juvenile males. Click click - as they launch from the spring loaded Perky feeders, and the 'R2D2 beeps, clicks, and whirs' when several meet up at or near a feeder to play continues to crack me up!

A little off topic, but it seems to be the time for baby lizards to hatch. Starting to see the tiniest little guys running around, maybe an inch long - tail included. Pictures later if one will stay still long enough.

Update: New photos July 28th
Here are a couple baby Side Splotch lizards making their home around the back patio.

Grrr, I'm big and fierce! This little guy is up and posing.

Ouch, my tail. This guy is missing a bit of his tail. They both are about an inch long.

 The birds and the Bees. Dinner time in the neighborhood, a few females of undetermined spicies and a Blackchinned (and honey bees)

 A couple waiting turns in a holding pattern

 Our little bit of 'haven'!

Thirsty female hooded oriole, can't tell if adult or youngster, though not so svelte as the fledglings might be, so my guess is adult.

Must bee Summer Cuz lots of Bees!

June is wrapping up and although I have not gone back through the blog to see what time of year the honey bees show up and commit suicide in the oriole feeders, it is probably about the same time as years before. I dread having to bee-proof the oriole feeders because most of them become oriole unfriendly. I will try, again this year,to find a way to exclude bees while feeding orioles.

A couple of photos to illustrate the problem..

Death by sugar water!

 

Goin' in. I had tried drilling out the openings to convert feeder to oriole friendly - too big!

Bee guards partially working, bees are not inside feeder - but bees are keeping away birds. 

On a more pleasant note, oriole population seems as high as last year. This includes what are likely several batches of youngsters, fledgling male for sure - so most likely females as well.

Also, continuing to see at least one pair of Allen's hummingbirds. Have not id'd a Rufus male yet. Of course, lots of Anna's, and a good quantity of Blackchinned and Costa's.

September 11, 2010

A good day to look back and remember those gone...


It's almost the middle of September and the hooded orioles that stop by for the spring and summer are mostly gone now. I thought maybe they were all gone, but this afternoon I saw a female on the fence next to a feeder. Could not tell youngster or Mom. Update: Sunday morning - 2 females at feeder.

We are still having a cooler than normal summer, much to my pleasure, but this does not seem to be impacting the hummingbirds in any way I can see. There are plenty around, 2 gallons a day worth anyway!

The 2 feeders below hold 1/3 gallon each, they are emptied every day.

Just when I think the 'old guy' Anna's is not around, the feeder he guards starts draining very slowly and a male Anna's is chasing off all comers. But I can not tell if it is him, older for certain, but less bold toward me so I can not get too close.

This is the 'hummingbird tree' next to several feeders and behind the webcams. It's hard to see, but if you click on photo to enlarge, there are 30 or so hummers in the dead Ramona lilac bush. I would take it out but the hummers really like perching there.

I am waiting to see a few Rufus hummers as they make their way back south, none identified yet.

We have always had a few black phoebes flitting around, lately one has taken up bug patrol along a fence below several hummingbird feeders and flies back and forth between a coyote bush and a small Tacoma Stans (Yellow Bells) shrub. The coyote bush (Baccharis pilularis) is blooming, such as they do, and there are extra bugs attracted to it.