This a.m. I had the sprayer turned on to water my tomatoes in the garden. After about 20 minutes, as I walked along the fence, I saw something fluttering on a plant. It was a female HUMMINGBIRD thoroughtly enjoying a bath. Since we've had so little rain the water must have been very welcome to a little creature that doesn't use the bird bath. In yrs. past when I've had the sprayer on in the back yard, the swallows would sit on my clothesline enjoying the unexpected "rain."
I have a large, old garbage can lid that I use for a bird bath, sitting on a tire (perfect fit) atop a wooden spool up in the woods. It's amazing how many varieties of birds come there that don't come to the backyard bath. Amongst them are bluebird, robin, starling, red-winged blackbird, brown thrasher, mocking bird & catbird as well as h. & ch. sparrow & g. & h. finches. I suspect even a crow tries to use it when the lid is full because water is splashed over a wide area. Something leaves the water very muddy. Some mornings the lid is completely dry so I feel sure the deer have been there, saving them a trip to Mill pond or the lake. Even our cat stood tall yesterday afternoon as we were going for a walk & drank his fill. Two wks. ago when it was so hot, I saw a doe standing in the water of Mill pond, in the shade. Smart animal ... & she likes to get in my garden. Last night a deer bit off a couple green tomatoes & feasted on my beets & beans. GRRRRRR!! We see the ospreys still bringing food to the 2 youngsters on Center St. ext./Number One Rd. platform. Last evening I saw a green heron flying over. Haven't seen one since spring. Finches very quickly found the new niger feeder I put on the clothesline arm on Fri.. We're having fun watching the new barn swallow babies as they try to grasp & balance on the clothesline. Already we're seeing dozens of swallows sitting on power lines ... too soon. Several chimney swifts are using the tall dorm chimney for nesting &/or roosting. My best, & last treat last evening was seeing a bat swooping around the trees. Fritzie ... in Union Springs -- Cayugabirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsWELCOME http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsRULES http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm ARCHIVES: 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/cayugabirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html 2) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/Cayugabirds 3) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/CAYU.html Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --
