Not So Fast!

.
The other day I was commenting on how spring had arrived. I was a little premature. Winter seems to have returned for a  final short spell. One result is that bird species that I thought had left our yards have reappeared.

One Orange-crowned Warbler and several Yellow-rumped Warblers are again frequenting our yards. The Orange-crowned visits the suet feeders while the Yellow-rumped feed in our trees or drink at the birdbath.

We currently have at least two Red-breasted Nuthatches.

Unlike their Brown-headed cousins, these Nuthatches are amazingly unafraid of people in our yards. They will fly down to eat at the feeders even when I am standing only 3 feet away.

After seeing hardly any American Goldfinches in our yards for weeks, a small flock has appeared and is constantly at our feeders. Many of the birds have much brighter plumage than they had earlier in the year.  

A solitary Chipping Sparrow has returned also, a pretty little bird that Dee and I are always glad to see in our yards.

Our resident Blue Jays, Northern Cardinals, Northern Mockingbirds, House Finches, Carolina Wrens and Carolina Chickadees all continue to show a high profile, too. And our White-winged Doves are as omnipresent as ever. This one demonstrated the species' adaptability by managing to eat from our suet feeders.

.