Migration
The 2010 Hummingbird migration lasted for two full days.
From early morning until almost dark on April 8 and April 9, hundreds of
Hummingbirds
migrated north along the coast. From my yard, I watched these tiny
bullet birds whiz past
my deck. A few stopped for a drink of the flowers I put out
(not much was blooming just yet)
but most zoomed by at unbelievable speeds, barely lifting over the shore
pine, and then dropping
to probably about 8 feet above the grass as they flew north. The
flight started around 8 am and
continued all day long until near dark.
This Hummingbird stopped to investigate the flowers I put on the deck,
most of the birds
few right on by, but I did get quite a few to stop and take a sip before
they went back to their
journey. They seem to fly at unbelievable speeds, as the eye
cannot even focus on the
bird as he flies past the yard. It was only when a few were able
to stop for a very short visit
that I could be sure they were actually hummingbirds!
Flying just over the Hummingbirds, were hundreds of Swallows heading
north, as well as a
small yellow bird I am not sure about, and something that looked like
Starlings. I also saw
one V of geese later in the day as well.
NEXT MIGRATION to watch for:
The gray whale mother and calves will come by soon,
they usually pass my back yard in mid May, and I will see them very
close
to shore for a couple of weeks.
This is a photo of a gray whale looking out from the water "spying"
taken from my back yard
last May. It was probably a female with calf nearby, as I
saw many of them, only a few yards from
the beach, which gives a wonderful close view of the whales as they roll
and scrape along the
sand in the very shallow area.
Come to the coast and enjoy nature!