Ruby-throated Hummingbird enjoying the Black & Blue Salvia.
Even though it’s not officially Fall for another couple weeks, the turning of the calendar to September feels very Fall like to me. For most, it means the start of school, but for us it means the start of the departing of our “summer guests”. Though I enjoy all the birds who visit our backyard, I have a special place in my heart for the Baltimore Orioles and the Ruby-throated Hummingbirds.
Baltimore Oriole enjoying some sugar water. We haven’t seen one in the yard since September 4th.
I still remember the excitement all those years ago first spotting one of these flying fire balls in the yard and the absolute joy of after 3 years of only having them pass through, they stayed and made our backyard their summer home! They’ve been coming back year after year now, and we usually have 2 or 3 pairs spend the summer with us and raise their young.
Grape jelly and oranges are also a part of the Oriole Buffet.
The Ruby-throated Hummingbirds are like the “jewels” of the backyard every summer. The feeder goes up at the first reports of them crossing the lake, and we patiently await their arrival.
With the extreme heat of a Toronto summer, we make fresh sugar water daily and keep the feeders clean.
We spend a lot of time in our backyard during the summer and these little guys provide a lot of entertainment. We had four coming regularly during the month of August.
We’re working on a hummingbird and butterfly patch in the garden.
We’ll still see them regularly for a few more weeks and we will keep the feeders up until mid October for any stragglers.
One of our regular, year round birds had a very busy summer. This is “Papa Cardinal”, and he raised two broods this summer in our yard.
Papa in his favorite eating spot.
We’ve also had a special summer guest of the furry kind. We normally have raccoons, opossums, and skunks, but this lovely Eastern Cottontail has been with us for a couple months now.
We’ve seen bunnies in the yard before, but this is the first time one stayed.
She’s made herself quite at home.
I think she’s adorable and she just adds that much more enjoyment to our backyard sanctuary.
I hope you all had a wonderful summer season, and may the Fall be just as enjoyable! ~Angie
Bird Canada, in Some how Means ;
the Most Beautiful Canada’s Nature, in Every Body’s Home !
So well written interspersed with such captivating photos! I especially love learning what the birds of this region enjoy eating as I try to attract them to my balcony for photographs.