The tree swallows are back!
Tundra swans on the nearby ponds
The tree swallows have arrived back again and have claimed some of the bird houses here on our acreage. They arrived suddenly (as they usually do) this past Monday morning. It's great to see their return! They are our diligent mosquito patrol for the 2 months that they are here to raise their young. So far they are just claiming nesting space. The swallows have to compete for space with the sparrows which have been back for several weeks already. Through the kitchen window at breakfast we saw a swallow fighting with a sparrow who was also trying to lay claim on the same location. Looks like the swallow prevailed!
One of our bird houses in the front yard has been claimed by a squirrel, the discovery of which almost gave me a heart attack! I noticed some pink insulation peeking out of the hole and thought that was strange since we had cleaned out most of the birdhouses in the fall. (The old nesting material may contain parasites, which you don't want the next springs birds to get, so it's best to let the birds start nests from scratch each spring.)
I walked over and curiously flipped up the lid on the birdhouse and suddenly this furry thing came bolting out of the hole, jumped on top of the birdhouse lid, (which I had dropped shut in my surprise) and leaped to the willow tree behind! It clung to the trunk for a while, not moving, probably as shocked as I was!
Unfortunately Phoenix, our big orange cat saw it and so did Spirit, our husky/ shepherd cross. Now they know the squirrel is there. Phoenix curiously went over to the tree trunk where the squirrel was clinging a few feet up. I quickly picked Phoenix up and walked away with him to another part of the yard and made Spirit come with us so the squirrel could escape. I think she went back into the birdhouse soon after that because both Phoenix and Spirit sneaked back over there and kept looking up at the birdhouse. Luckily there is a steel pole on that house so the cats can't climb it, but I don't know how the babies will get out later on... Will be interesting to watch the progress.
The Canada Geese were the first birds to arrive in mid March. The ponds were still frozen solid and you have to admire their determination. They like to claim the best nesting sites so they try to get here as early as possible. What they find to eat that early in spring I have no clue! They braved 2 vicious snow storm before the weather warmed up.
The beautiful white tundra swans have been here on the ponds in our area for about 2 weeks now, but they have started heading for parts further north, since the warm sunny weather has arrived. They are magnificent to see in full flight. I love their elegance and beauty as they float across the water and wish they would stay longer. They will make another brief appearance in the fall on their way south to the USA.
Swans are beautiful. As a child I often saw the big Trumpeters but they are now very rare in Manitoba. There were some on Lake Manitoba a few years ago and that's the last time I saw one. As for Canada Geese, they always fly in just for my birthday but this year they were a day late!
ReplyDeleteEnjoy all your flora and fauna.