1-2-3 Go.

I have about 2 minutes online, so here's a black-chinned hummingbird for ya!

Baby Birds and Cave Arms

 Why hello there friends, hello. Not to be one of those talk-about-the-weather-all-the-time types, but crapballs! May 2nd and I was decked out in long underwear, gloves and hat again today. So confusing.(Above: Black-and-white Warbler with a caterpillar), below: Painted Bunting hunkering down in some thistle)

Black-capped nestlings-they've hatched. Golden-cheeked Warblers have fledgies. This season is going way too fast. WAY TOO FAST! Everyone just needs to calm it on down!

(Above: Orange-crowned Warlber. Below: Bewick's Wren with a caterpillar)   How do you feel about black widows? I have found three fatty females living in my safe zone (two were in the tarp covering my road bike, one under a cactus I have potted outside). Excuse me, ladies, but uh, not a good place to be. Oh yes, I also found of their beautiful egg sacs. I relocated all of them, plus their sac-o'-babies,  but have been having a hoard of spider dreams/nightmares. One involved me frantically going through hundreds of black-capped vireo nests, making sure they were free of black widows.

Speaking of dreams, here's a good one. What does it mean when I have a dream that my right arm is actually a small cave that is housing miniature lizards? The baby lizards use a cliff bar wrapper as a blanket and ride on their mom's heads. IN MY CAVE ARM. They talk to me and tell me they prefer the cliff bar wrappers to the Lara bar wrappers. My cave arm is not gross, by the way, it's just a cool arm that is really a tiny cave full of reptiles.  This is so weird.

Little guys

Welcome! hello there! I'd write more but my hands are frozen and typing is no fun (excuses, excuses, eh? Mmhmm)! Yeah...Texas, what? 35 degrees this morning? I do not approve. I'm craving my happy-thriving temperature of 84 and above. This 30's thing this is pretty unacceptable. I'm not made for this nonsense, guys!  

But hey, the buntings are back! I've had two lazuli's at my feeder set up the last couple days, though sadly they will pass on through here pretty soon. Indigo bunting and some blue grosbeaks. I had 4 warbler species in the feeder tree, along with 13 other species yesterday all within 30 minutes or so. Well that's real special, eh?

"The best people, like the best wines, come from the hills."

          It sure is nice when those oaks bust out the green. (Title is an Ed Abbey quote)

Gickwa, gickwhat?

Ohhh hey there, here he is! (golden-cheeked warbler)

American Rubyspot

Aww man, I don't have a laptop or internet access so my online time is quick and not-so-often. (and also, the closest place for me to get online has blogger blocked)  The field season is off to a good start, though everything, everything!! (err..birds I mean) is acting sort of weird and late this year. Finally got some of that rain stuff though which will hopefully bring out some more food for the warblers and vireos. For now, here's an American Rubyspot!

Sing Sang Sung

Pine Warblers. Pine Warblers!  I've gotten quite attached to these birds this winter. There are a few regular visitors to the suet feeders and this makes me happy. I've seen them chow on the seed a few times- apparently they are the only wood warblers that do that.  The males started singing in January but I'm pretty sure they recently booked it north to their breeding grounds because I  haven't seen or heard a whole lot of P-warblin' lately. That was dorky, wow. (Look how they match the lichen on the tree- that's adorable)

Also. Just had some sandhill cranes fly over the house (yard bird 63, not that I'm counting). Leaving soon to go chase the golden-cheeked warblers and black-capped vireos. So happy it's the field season, so happy! You don't even understand!