Let the Nesting Begin!

Phoebe on nest

It was 50 degrees this morning and overcast.

As I drove down the driveway to the parking lot, I had the pleasant surprise of having two white-tailed deer leap across the road right in front of me! They took off into the woods near the JCC. That's always a nice way to start the day.

Little green leaves are starting to show on many shrubs and vines. There are robins everywhere, the song sparrows are singing their hearts out and there were several juncos. They really seem to like the meadow right now. It won't be long before they start their journey northward.

Tufted Titmouse

The upper gardens were fairly quiet. I could hear goldfinches, but never quite saw them. They've been very elusive, even though I know they're there. Saw a few song sparrows and robins. Looked for the tree swallows and didn't see any. Just when I had decided that maybe the swallows from last weekend had just been passing through, they turned up - circling in the sky and chittering. Also in flight was a blue heron, grackles and a seagull. Several gardens had cheerful, bright yellow daffodils blooming. A first sign of things to come. It was really nice to see some color.

The pond revealed our friends the mallard couple and the red winged blackbird who've been hanging out there for the last few weeks.

This place is mine!

Today, the river was the place to be! Right away I was greeted by the phoebe in its nest! There were two of them and they took turns finding plant material and food and then sitting on the nest to see how it was shaping up. There were lots of chickadees and the cutest little titmouse looking very coy from behind the tree trunk. I could hear a red bellied woodpecker from across the river and saw a downy female hiking up and down the trunk of a tree.

As I was returning to the parking lot, I saw that the tree swallows were now investigating the same boxes the bluebirds had been looking at last weekend. One of them was very intently claiming one of the boxes as their own. No sign of the bluebirds today.