Once Again Come Spring

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My heart is a little bit sad
As I bid my hummers adieu
Yesterday, I had one last glance
But I didn’t know it was goodbye

One drank from the feeder
Another hovered above
As if to bid her to come
For the time has come to go

Take one last sip for the flight
Follow me little one, let’s go
Once again, make our long trek
Fly to our warm winter home

In spring I delighted
When I set out our feeder
Only to see it in use
Just a short while later

At first there were two
Then four, before long there were more
Of course we accommodated
Strategically placing more feeders

Each morning it was my delight
To sit on the patio so quiet
Soon the hummingbirds would appear
For their early morning feedings

So beautiful and delicate
A testimony to God’s marvelous creation
How can one so tiny
Be so feisty and fierce

As spring moved into summer
Our feeders went from nonstop busy
To frenetic feeding
And now there are none

I will fill the feeders
One last time
In case a tiny migrant flies by
In need of energy for his flight

Even now my heart looks forward
Once again come spring
When the little hummers will return
Come, drink and stay for a while

Until then, have a safe flight
My little feathered friends
Enjoy your stay
In a warm sunny place

By Susan Wachtel
September 21, 2015

Coming from southern California, I was used to having hummingbirds in our yard year round.  One of the attractions about north Texas is we have real seasons.  Along with those seasons some of the birds come and go.

One of my favorite spring and summer birds are the black-chinned hummingbirds we have in our area.  Even now I look forward to springtime when they will return.

Hummers in Roanoke! Yeah!!!

Collage Hummer 2One of the hardest things to leave behind from our home in southern California was all of the wonderful birds.  The regulars included Towhees, Wrens, Warblers, Phoebes, and many kinds of Sparrows and Doves.  During the migration time we had Orioles and Black-headed Grosbeaks.  One of our favorites was the resident Hummingbirds that made our yard their home.

Our kitties loved spending time looking out the window at all the activity in the yard.  It was like big screen TV for cats!

Hummingbirds in this part of Texas are not here year round…only during the migration season.  I’ve been monitoring the maps to see when we should start seeing the Hummers come through…and mid-April was when the first sightings were being reported.

On Saturday I put out our Hummingbird feeder and it wasn’t even a day before we saw some activity.  Yeah!!!

Here we get Black-chinned Hummingbirds.  From the pictures I got today I think we have a male and female coming to our feeder.  They are beautiful creatures and a marvelous picture of God’s creation.

Below are a few pictures I was able to snap.  These birds seem very skittish and don’t linger long at the feeder.  I sure do enjoy them when I see them…I hope you do too.

 

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 Male Black-chinned Hummingbird

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 Female Black-chinned Hummingbird

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As a side note, my favorite Hummingbird Feeder we have is one that sticks on the window.  We got ours at Wild Birds Unlimited.  Already, it’s been through some crazy storms in the few days that included torrential rain, hail, lightning and thunder.  It stayed in place.