Blast of Color!

On an otherwise a dreary, drizzly, chilly May morning here in southern Maine my day has been brightened enormously by the first-of-year appearance of a dazzling array of some of the most colorful birds we get in these parts. Rose-breasted Grosbeaks, Baltimore Orioles. Indigo Buntings, and Ruby-throated Hummingbirds have all shown up at the feeders today! I'd spotted a hummer or two yesterday, but today was the first time I've seen them coming to my feeders. I note that last year we had our first Orioles on May 10, along with Grosbeaks and Scarlet Tanagers. The Bunting didn't show up until May 11. No sign of Tanagers here yet this year. Last year at least one pair of Grosbeaks nested around here. I hope they do so again!

I've managed to get some halfway decent shots of all the new arrivals with the exception of the Bunting, who was around for only a brief time. Last year the one that was here tended to visit the feeders late in the afternoon, so perhaps this guy will re-appear at tea time.

Grosbeaks first:

There were three males and one female around this morning. This male in the photos below has a good deal of brown on his wings. The field guides that I've consulted indicate that this is a feature of the plumage of "first summer" males. I find myself confused by this term, at least in this case. To me the term would seem to indicate a bird that was hatched and fledged in the spring, and that would therefore be in its first summer in July and August of the year it was born. But here it is only May...so can I assume this guy was born last year and has yet to acquire full adult plumage?

 

Note that he also appears to have a touch of avian conjunctivitis, or some other eye disease.

The lone male Oriole that I've seen thus far got into a bit of a hassle with the Grosbeaks, fighting for space at the seed feeders:

 
He then moved to the suet feeder, where he had to compete with a Downy Woodpecker:

I do have some orange halves out specifically for Orioles, but so far this guy has not discovered them.

Both male and female Ruby-throated Hummingbirds have been around. I managed a few shots of each, though the male was always just out of the plane of focus, so there's a bit of dog-walking-on-its-hind-legs aspect to these:

 

 

The female was a bit more obliging about posing for me:

Between these newcomers and the Usual Suspects such as Cardinals, Goldfinches, Blue Jays, Purple Finches, and three kinds of Woodpeckers, my yard was quite the colorful spot this morning! There was generally a lot of avian activity, with numerous White-throated and Chipping Sparrows, Chickadees, and Titmice visiting the feeders and scratching around on the lawn and in leaf clutter on the edge of the woods. Things have quieted down since it began to rain a bit, but it was fun to see things really hopping for awhile. A Black-and-white Warbler in the trees on the side of the house was just icing on the cake!

As always, click on the images to see larger copies of them.