The darter is gorgeous!!

One of my favorites when going to Fl. is seeing all the great bird life.

Got a call from my son Josh he was down to the River (that's the Susquehanna River) last night and there were thousands of different types of Water Fowl, geese, swans, several different types of ducks. He said hundreds of each variety, huge flocks.

So I knew if they were here they would be at MiddleCreek Wildlife Refuge. They had 40,000 birds there on Monday.
Here is a link to the article the video is an old one from 2009 but interesting.
http://blog.pennlive.com/wilda...

Great article Holly and video too! It would be amazing to witness such enormous flocks in one place as they migrate back to their summer grounds! Wow, and estimated 40,000 birds in one area, I've never seen anything like that! I was surprised to read that many were roosting on the ice at night ... how do they not get stuck and frozen to the ice? It was neat to see bunches of them flying and I can only imagine how noisy it was there in person! Thanks for sharing.

Thanks Holly. It was an amazing video to wake up to this morning.

We saw our first hummer of the year today. They're baaaaaacccckkk.....

Wonderful!!!!!!! I can look at photos of hummers all day!!!!!!

flaflwrgrl said:We saw our first hummer of the year today. They're baaaaaacccckkk.....

Hurray for the hummingbirds!

Looking forward to their arrival here in a few months. Have to find that map that shows where they have been sighted. You can follow their progression.

Here's one for the Ruby-throated.

http://www.hummingbirds.net/ma...

That's the one. Thanks for posting it.

You're welcome, Holly. Don't you just love them? I sure do!

Thank you for the map. That is just the bee's knees.

I have a feeder near the Gazebo and can watch them come and go all summer long.

I haven't spotted any hummers yet but the bottlebrush tree is in full bloom and they usually flock to those flowers. The blooms are covered with bees every day so maybe that's why the hummingbirds aren't visiting the flowers yet. I have a few hummingbird feeders but I've never seen a hummer at any of them! One of my neighbors has tons of hummers at her feeders throughout the season and she told me a few weeks ago that she'd cleaned and filled them so I need to ask if she's had any visitors yet.

This photo is from last year:

That Bottlebrush Tree sure is a beauty. Lin I don't think I realized that you lived on the water. What is that body of water behind the house?

Holly, it's a man made waterway; there are many that run throughout the neighborhoods and around the golf courses here in the subdivision. The HOA keeps the waterways stocked with fish which is why we see lots of Egrets, Herons, Storks etc. Bald Eagles and Ospreys nest in the area and also catch fish from the water. There are Otters living around here and it's always fun to see them swimming and playing in the water. There have been reports of alligators too and though I haven't seen one in the more than two years I've lived here the HOA reports at times about one being trapped and relocated. I've seen snakes twice, once in the water and last year I spotted one sunning just behind our porch at the edge of the water. A few months ago a neighbor said she saw a really huge moccasin, the largest snake she'd ever seen around here and she's lived here since the early 1980's. Residents are not allowed in the water but can fish from their property with cane poles only unless they have a fishing license.

Lin, what kind of fish are in there and do you eat them??

That sure is a beautiful bottlebrush tree!!

I have been down to that area a few times and just love the back waters, always teaming with life. What a beautiful spot you live in.