Arrivals from the Tropics

In May the banquet of tropical songbirds is served, in your backyard, as well as in the forest. The hummingbird feeder went up on the first day of May. There was no hummingbird that day, which was the last of nine consecutive days of sunshine and northerly winds. On May 3 clouds and showers took over and continued for five more days with the wind northeast. Migrants were held back in the face of these northerly breezes.

On May 8 the weather broke with a light south wind during the night. The next day our valley was flooded with migrants and arrivals. They practically dripped from the trees and filled the dawn air with a merry chorus. A Mother's Day walk through Robinson State Park in Agawam by members of the Allen Bird Club produced 44 tropical songbird species, including 21 kinds of warblers.

We estimated that three to four hundred individual tropical birds were encountered in the park that day, well over half being warblers. They were found in flocks of 5-30 birds, busily feeding in the tall treetops, which were only partly leafed out. It was still hard to get a good look, as we craned our necks back and scanned the high twigs for these tiny bundles of energy. They were feasting on newly hatched worms, getting ready for another night's flight farther north.

It was worth waiting for this spectacle. Especially delightful were the over thirty noisy and beautiful Baltimore orioles in the park. The nesting oriole of my yard had arrived on the 2nd, calling out his own distinctive set of clear, pure whistles over and over all day long. The oriole likes suburban yards, because they often provide the right mix of scattered tall trees with plenty of open space. If their black and orange colors grace your yard, put out oranges for them to dine on, or pieces of thread for them to weave their hanging nest.

Our eastern hummingbird, the ruby-throated, also came to many yards for the first time that day, although feeders had been hung with hope and care on May 1. To attract and keep a hummingbird, the nectar feeder should be in a mostly shady spot, filled with a mixture of one part sugar to four parts water. Do not add any coloring. Most any style feeder will do, with ease of cleaning and filling the most important feature to look for. If there are flowers in your yard or neighborhood, and woods not far away, the hummingbird will come.

On Sunday, May 2, there was a hummingbird at a feeder in our valley, but she did not come from the south. It was release day for Rufie, the rufous hummingbird that has spent the last three winters at a Northampton greenhouse. The previous two releases the bird has disappeared almost at once, presumably eager to get on its way to the far northwest.

At noon the greenhouse door was opened and her feeder was placed outside. After a few minutes she flew out and perched in a tree in the yard. Over the next hour she returned to this feeder again and again. Was she stoking up for the long journey? Apparently not, for although she was not seen the rest of the day, nor the next two, on the third day a rufous hummingbird was present at one of the feeders. Had the poor weather delayed her departure as well?

The fruit trees are in full blossom now, so hummingbirds have plenty of food in the wild, but it will not be long before more than one will be trying to defend the feeder in your yard against other hungry tongues.

A third tropical arrival to look for from your windows is the rose-breasted grosbeak. The males have black backs with patches of white, and a crimson breast sandwiched between the black head and white belly. The females are giant sparrows, streaked brown with fat bills. They sit quietly at your sunflower feeder, munching away at the seeds.

You can take a walk on the wild side and find many beautiful tropical birds in the woods, but even the tame human yard will attract some of that beauty. Have a taste at the banquet and enjoy the month of May!