Every May I can’t help but wonder what the local birds think about all the visitors that drop by in May on their way to northern Wisconsin and Canada.
Believe me, my birdfeeders rarely look like this, but this year the migrants got stranded in our area for an extended period of time because of rainy weather and north winds. Usually I get to enjoy them for a day or two, but this time they were here for over a week, and I have thousands of photographs and a severely-lapsed to-do list to prove it.
The local birds must feel like a town that’s been inundated by weekend convention or festival guests. There’s so much more noise and activity, and there are long lines everywhere (although in this case it’s for grape jelly and oranges and birdseed).
The locals seem to take it in stride, but it makes for a lot of interesting bird species combinations at the feeders. Mourning Doves and House Sparrows dining with Indigo Buntings and Rose-breasted Grosbeaks? That rarely happens in my neighborhood!
Robins with Baltimore Orioles? Weird (it’s weird enough that my robins continue to eat at the feeders when insects abound)!
Or Rose-breasted Grosbeaks with Blue Jays:
I enjoyed the red and blue combination of this Indigo Bunting with a Northern Cardinal. There’s also a Baltmore Oriole hiding underneath the feeder where I put the secret stash of grape jelly:
You notice in all these photos that the locals tend to keep their distance from the visitors just in case.
The circus has left town, and it’s back-to-normal at the feeders again until next spring.
