Hello Tweets,

This afternoon my mother and I encountered our first Rufous Hummingbird of the season in our yard,which was a female bird. We normally encounter male Rufous Hummingbirds in our yard first then female birds usually follow within a day or up to a weeks time. We also have resident Anna's Hummingbirds with up to 5-6 birds encountered during a given day,including the breeding display of the male birds noted with their steep dive immediately followed by a sharp loud call note. Many of the flowers,bushes and trees in our yard are in near or full bloom,including one of 3 Red Flowering Currant bushes that we have,which is when the Rufous Hummingbirds normally arrive. Many of the other species in our yard and nearby areas are in near or full song including Am.Robins,Oregon Juncos,Bewick's Wrens and Black-capped/Chestnut-backed Chickadees Chickadees to name a few species. Other noteworthy sightings observed in our yard this afternoon included the following:

10 Band-tailed Pigeons
1 pair of Downy Woodpeckers
1 Red-breasted Sapsucker(heard and seen drumming on a telephone pole near our residence)
4-5 Varied Thrushes
4-5 Red-breasted Nuthatches
2 Bewick's Wrens
1-2 Ruby-crowned Kinglets
3 Golden-crowned Kinglets
1 female Townsend's Warbler(using our birdbath(s)on a daily basis for 4 days)
1 pair of Spotted Towhees
1-2 Song Sparrows
8-10 Pine Siskins


Sincerely,

Ruth and Patrick Sullivan
Fircrest,WA
godwit at worldnet.att.net