It was cool (for August in Texas) yesterday morning and I was able to enjoy sitting in our front yard for while.
Our feeders were drawing in quite a few Northern Cardinals, including juveniles and females. There were several males, too. The latter are molting at present and so they're not looking their best.
Female Ruby-throated Hummingbirds repeatedly tried to reach the feeder only to be chased away by a very territorial male. He lurks up in our mulberry tree and then swoops down to chase away intruders.
In the afternoon, as the temperatures again reached 98F/37C, most of the hummingbird activity moved to our back yard. All the rushing around in the heat clearly got too much for one female, who had to rest on our fence to catch her breath and cool down a little.
4 comments:
As a gardener who spends a lot of time working in this heat, I know just how that female hummingbird feels!
Me, too. Even watering the yards is tough work this summer. And unfortunately it comes around every couple of days.
Have you ever read Birdchick's blog? She has some interesting posts on cardinals experiencing a molt so severe that they become bald: http://www.birdchick.com/wp/2009/06/cardinal-with-a-receding-featherline-singing/
Hi, Elizabeth. I do read Birdchick's blog. Birdwoman recently had bald cardinals, too.
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