“I hear like you see — like that hummingbird outside that window for instance.”
Ray Charles, American singer and composer (1930-2004)
My neighbor Joe stopped and asked if I had my hummingbird feeders out. This was about a week or so ago. I panicked thinking Joe would have beaten me to it and he’d have all the hummingbirds by now.
“Is it time to have them out?” I asked.
Joe’s wife said, “You can put them out after March 15.” It hadn’t even occurred to me since we were still having these mid-30s temperatures. Joe said he had already seen one hummingbird.
I dashed home and found the hummingbird feeders, cleaned them up, filled them and hung them on the porch. I tried a new arrangement by spreading them out so possibly the birds wouldn’t fight so much they couldn’t feed. I strategically placed them so each one could be seen from the breakfast table. The next time I passed Joe’s house I saw his hummingbird feeders hanging at the corner of his house. I wondered if he had hummingbirds. At my house I was still watching and waiting.
Here’s my annual warning about praying mantises. If you see one on your feeder it is not waiting for insects nor is it praying. A praying mantis will kill your hummingbirds. I know it’s incredibly hard to believe, but they will. There are plenty of YouTube that capture the dastardly deed.
And so, the weather began to warm and the porch was washed down from winter’s debris and spring’s pollen and swept clean. The Adirondack furniture was rearranged, and bright cushions and pillows were added. Down from the porch, near the water’s edge, the bird feeders were filled. I settled in with a good book and the intentions of watching spring unfold.
The wild cherry trees were in full bloom where the swallowtail butterflies were madly competing with the bees, possibly bumble bees or honey bees. I was unable to get a close enough look to tell the difference. I do know that both bumble bees and honey bees have a “pollen basket” in which to put their pollen. How clever. Only the female collects pollen in her basket, and there must have been hundreds of shopping bees.
Oddly enough, it is possible to walk undisturbed through the trees to the bird feeders surrounded by a steady, swarming, but not-so-quiet hum. The bees are working quickly as the blooms are quickly fading and blowing in the wind.
The same afternoon a squirrel skipped from the cherry trees to the adjacent ash tree. The ash tree has tiny green buds. The squirrel stopped, barked a great deal, then ate some buds before continuing through the canopy. A cardinal came and perched on a branch of white cherry blossoms. The contrast of the brilliant red bird and the snow-white blossom was enchanting. Then came a prothonotary warbler also called a “swamp warbler” dressed in his sunshine yellow suit. He didn’t stay long, and I wouldn’t see him again.
Over the top of the book I raised my eyes and there appeared a hummingbird. The very first of the season.
Email reaches Shannon Bardwell of Columbus as [email protected].
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