A couple of years ago, DH & I were out for a birding/photography drive. We went down an old road and came upon really large sloughs on either side of the road and full of reeds & cattails, where blackbirds like to nest. There were hundreds of Yellow Headed Blackbirds and they were all singing/chirping. On the other side, in the other slough, were a lot of Redwing Blackbirds and they were also singing. The combination of sight and sound was absolutely incredible. This morning I hear the Purple Martins - looks like the neighbor raised his Martin house and they found it immediately.

Thanks everyone, We're always filled with anticipation as nesting season approaches, and we love to share our birds :) Kris- Yes we have hawks quite often here. We don't always see them, but we know when our birds do. So far we've been pretty lucky that they usually take a House Sparrow or Starlling rather than our beloved native songbirds. But we did lose one Titmouse to a Cooper last year. Not sure there's much to do about them... they are majestic creatures which share the habitat with all the other birds... and they must eat. We do always fear for our favorites of course, but we love the hawks too, and try to photograph them when we can. Here are a couple of shots of them... Cooper's Hawk: Redtail: Thanks again, and happy birding all. Kenn

Not that I ever want any bird to suffer but they are most likely House Sparrows (a non Native invasive species). Do you get this news station? I wonder if Sandra Man is still a newscaster there?

Reptiles probably would be more reliable, but they are somewhat "rare" around here. I just go by the calander and hope for the best haha. In years I plant potatoes I do use dandelions as the cue for when to plant them. Once the neighbors yard turns yellow, I stick them in the ground. It takes a white for the tops to break the soil and even if they do, I can just throw dirt on top of them if it gets too cold. Peppers go out in mid-late May (because I grow them in containers I can move them out of inclement weather) tomatoes get planted in the garden a week or two later. If we get a frost in early June (which is pretty uncommon), it doesn't much matter if the warm season stuff like squash and tomatoes get hurt by it, at that point there's not really enough season left for them to produce anyways.