The Orioles are back

Sunday was warm and windy here in the desert.  The humidity was sitting on seven percent, so you didn’t dare drag your feet across the carpet.  I’m glad we don’t have a lot of it.  No wonder my feet and hands are in such shape and I have snakeskin all over.

 Male oriole

Female Oriole

The orioles have returned to the yard.  I spent part of the day trying to get good pictures of them.  The other part I spent working in the yard.  As I ache all over now, the thought of getting a condo is sounding better to me than it once did.  Yard work beats you up.  I just don’t know if they make a condo big enough.  I have to have a place somewhere that I can escape to that’s quiet.

 Female oriole on feeder

 Look at this handsome fellow - Beautiful color

Anyway, back to the orioles.  We had three in the yard flying in the trees and taking turns at the hummingbird feeder.  For those of you who have orioles and don’t know it, these birds love the hummingbird feeder.  We tried Oriole nectar and orange slices and they wouldn’t touch it.  So fill up your hummingbird feeder and watch for them.  But be warned they can drain it in a couple of days.  I have a giant sized one now.

 A couple of sparrows enjoying the feeder

The Orioles will hang around all summer and then migrate in the late fall.  They don’t mind sharing the feeder with the hummers.  And, as you can see, even the finches and sparrows take a turn.  They’ve learned if they rock it back and forth, they can get the nectar out.

An Accident that Turned out Okay

  Hummingbird - Sunni's Photo's

We have large windows on the back of our house. From them, we can look out at the patio and the desert landscape beyond. Since we’ve lived here, many birds have hit the windows. Some of them fly off and others aren’t so lucky. The windows are low E and double pane because it is very hot here in the summers. We need all the help with the heat that we can get. We do have roller shades, but the windows are reflective and it looks like the desert to the birds, reflecting the scene behind out house.

Hummingbird - Sunni's Photo's

A couple of days ago, two hummingbirds were playing chasing each other as they darted back and forth, landing on the feeder and then the trees. They were having a gay time when they both hit the window. As always, we hated to see that happen. Usually other birds hit the windows. I always wonder if I’ll have to dig another grave. It takes the birds a bit to come around. They sit there awhile until they steady themselves and get oriented again. I’m sure they’re wondering what just happened to them.

Hummingbird - Sunni's Photo's

We both went outside after one of the hummingbirds flew off. The other was lying there askew, so my husband picked it up. After another couple of minutes, it started to wiggle a bit and then sat up. I ran and got the camera to get these shots. We both touched it and it was so soft. It sat staring at us the whole time. My husband says, “It’ll probably poop on my hand.” I just laughed, glad that it was okay as it wiggled a bit more and gradually made its way to his fingertips. A couple minutes later, it flew off to the bird feeder where it sat awhile before flying into the desert.

Hummingbird - Sunni's Photo's

I wanted to share this story. The only other time we’ve been that close to one of the hummers is when we rescued one that was stuck in an open house we visited years ago. Someone left the front door open and it flew in and to the big window where we found it. It didn’t know how to get out. My husband grabbed it by the beak. The little thing was wearing itself out from flapping its wings so hard to fly away, so it wasn’t that hard to grab. We let it go at the front door, glad that we came by because it probably would have died in there.