gardeninacity

A male Baltimore Oriole feeds a juvenile at our feeder this afternoon.

Another Avian First for Gardeninacity: Yesterday a Cedar Waxwing came to visit a couple of times. Here’s hoping he soon returns with a flock of friends. This is the first sighting of this species in our yard. I’m guessing the red elderberries made the difference, since this bird is a big fruit eater and has …

Break Out the Hoses. It’s definitely turned into a dry Spring. Hot, sunny weather, and just a little over an inch of rain for the past thirty days. It’s a point of pride with me that except for the vegetable gardens, I almost never water. I do hand water my containers and new shrubs and perennials. …

Yes, there are parrots living wild in Chicago. See below for proof. These parrots were eating at our peanut feeder this morning, then flew up to the telephone wire when Judy went to get her camera. I’m guessing they have down coats to make it through the winter.

The snowdrops are blooming. Hooray! This is something of a relief. Many of them emerged from the ground during those mild January days we had, and I was afraid they’d get blasted by a hard freeze. But it appears that snowdrops, as the name implies, are hardy beasts. The crocuses (croci?) are always up. In …

I have a seed problem. I bought a new bird feeder from Wild Birds Unlimited. It serves its purpose admirably, which is to attract large finches, such as cardinals and grosbeaks. Well, the grosbeaks don’t arrive until spring, but the cardinals definitely love this feeder. It’s a tube feeder with extra large perches designed for the …