Yahoo! Not only are our hummingbirds back, I'm also seeing a ton of orioles and rosebreasted grosbeaks. Here's one of our orioles:
Isn't he pretty? It cracks me up how they steady the orange with one foot. I've seen 2 males and two females. I've seen them in previous years, but only one couple. Nice to see our population growing, because I really do like these guys, and they have a very pretty song. How is it that they love oranges and they're the exact color of an orange? That's always puzzled me.
Here's a rosebreasted grosbeak:
As Ken said, "Man, that's a gross beak!" Hardy har. Actually, it comes from the German "gross," which means big, because they really do have quite a large beak. I think they're very striking, with the black back and white belly, and what looks like a red bib. Or it looks like they just tore the throat out of something...but no, grosbeaks are pleasant little birds, and they are not raptors. Like the orioles, in the past I've only seen one female and one male grosbeak here. This year I've seen at least 4 males and 2 females, so their population is up, too, at least here at Nutwood.
They're all hungry, too. They must be getting ready to nest, or else they're just hungry after their migration. They're on the feeder constantly, and the orioles have gone through 2 oranges in about 4 days. Little sections of orange are flying everywhere!
I love this time of year!
Later that day...
Apparently the orioles aren't as voracious as I thought.
So that's what goes on around here when we're at work! I do and do and do for you critters and this is the thanks I get. <sigh> I looked out the window, and Piney Squirrel had the orange half in his mouth, dragging it along the deck. He's awfully cute, though, isn't he?
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