Springtime Watching and Waiting

The changing of the seasons brings a changing of not only the birds and animals at the Colvin Run Habitat, but also a change in the habitats of birds and animals seen year-round.
Over the last few weeks, I watched with eager anticipation for the arrivals of the hummingbirds and the bluebirds. On the advice of a colleague who advised that the hummingbird feeders should be up no later than ‘tax day’ (April 15 in the US), the first of the hummingbird feeders was put up this weekend. A new bluebird house, a gift from my daughter and son-in-law, was installed about eight weeks ago. While a pair of bluebird was observed on February 1 in the Habitat, the bluebird house and the hummingbird feeder remain unused. Like spring, hope springs eternal.

The extremely active Cooper’s and red-shouldered hawks of winter have not been observed for some time. The Coops have not been seen for the last 8 weeks. The red-shouldered hawks were clearly preparing to mate in early March; the last observation of either red-shouldered hawk was four weeks ago. These photos show the hawk flight through four weeks ago.
Similarly, the red-tailed fox has not been observed for three weeks. Hopefully, the fox pair is busy with denning responsibilities.