They've Arrived!

First sighting was late yesterday afternoon when I spotted a little flash of red and green hovering in front of Jax.  In the blink of an eye, he was off.  Today he's been visiting the feeder about every 15 minutes so I set myself up on the deck and waited.  Sure enough, there he was, in fine feather and dazzling flight.  For anyone who doesn't know, this is a male Ruby-throated Hummingbird, the only hummingbird we usually see hear in the eastern US.  They winter in Mexico and Central America but breed all the way up the eastern states and into Canada.  Males arrive first to establish territories and then await the arrival of females, usually several days to a week later.  We'll be watching...

Another first of the season was a Gray Catbird, one of my favorite summer residents.  As is usually the case when they first arrive, he furtively darted into the thick growth of the cherry tree, away from my prying lens.  But I'll have plenty of time for he and his friends as the summer approaches. The bird bath has had a steady stream of guests all day - robins and cardinals bathing, sparrows drinking (and bathing) and a bright yellow goldfinch having a sip.  I'l have to go out and change the water later.

Our private session with the dog trainer last night was SO helpful!  She showed us some techniques to stop him being so grabby with his toys and to have him learn a more effective "leave it".  Then, she showed us the next step of the prong collar using a leash.  For the next week or so, we will just do short 5 minutes sessions with the leash, only in our driveway where there are minimal distractions.  The idea is to get him used to gentle pressure as a means of communicating.  So far, he and I have had several sessions today and he's done really well.  We even had a very enjoyable walk on the halter with no pulling.  Of course, we also didn't see any other dogs, which helped.  

So almost the end of April - hard to believe.  It calls for some dark chocolate though, doesn't it?

One more shot in Extra - wings blurred because of the relatively slow 1/640 shutter speed.

xo
Debbi