they're baaaack

This morning as I was rushing out the door, camera in hand, I looked out the back door and saw for the first time this year an indigo bunting! Very exciting. I told Olivia today and she was speechless. They're her favorite birds.

I've been getting pressure from a certain Chadd Watkins to put up my hummingbird feeders so that we can have lots of hummers on campus. I made nectar last night and put the feeders up just after noon today. Within 20-30 minutes, there she was!

While stalking the hummers, this little nuthatch was pretty bold about sneaking over to the peanut feeder. It got within 5 feet of me.

The male hummer showed up for a drink too, right before he flew straight above my head to the other feeder. He sat about a foot from me, looked at me, and then flew back to the other feeder.

I also found a new robin's nest, but it doesn't have any eggs yet. I really managed to tick off the soon-to-be parents!

In other birding news, we've had a pileated woodpecker (spell-checker thinks it should be "pleated" woodpecker!) in our back yard, pine siskins at the Watkins' thistle feeders (maybe one in our back yard today), a chuck-will's widow calling last night, and a bob white calling this afternoon!