What's Happening?
With the arrival of spring, it brings with it a changing of the birds in your yard. Gone or leaving are the Juncos and Harris' Sparrows. White-throated and White-crowned Sparrows will also be going soon. And returning are the birds of spring and summer, Purple Martins, Barn swallows, House wrens, Orioles and Hummingbirds! Kingbirds will again be seen on the fence lines. Scissor-tailed flycathers, their long elegant tail forked behind them can be seen hovering in air in search of a meal.Spring and summer is also the nesting season for our bird friends so they will be pairing up and starting their annual ritual of repopulating the species. Birds will be fighting over territory and building nests so they can begin laying eggs and fledging young.
In your yard you should continue to feed your birds as they need the supplemental food more now than any other time of the year! Nesting creates big demand for food for both adults and the young in the nest. Adults will also bring the young to the feeder after they fledge and the interaction of the young chasing the parents around the yard is a joy to watch!
It's now time to put up the oriole and hummingbird feeders. Put them somewhere close where you can see them and most importantly, KEEP THE NECTAR FRESH! Nectar can ferment and mold in a very short time, especially after it gets hot, so don't let it go more than 3-4 days without changing and cleaning the feeder. And only use sugar and water, 1part sugar to 4 parts water, with NO food coloring. Your feeder should have enough color to attract them without using coloring.
Also, nest boxes and nest material will be appreciated this time of year. Most cavity nesting birds start nesting earlier than others so get them up as soon as possible. Now is also the best time to put up a new Purlpe martin house. The first year birds are just starting to arrive, so you have until about the first of June to get one up and have martins use it this year.