In mid and late summer, when cardinal flowers (Lobelia cardinalis) are blooming along stream banks, pond edges, and the edges of wetlands, the Ruby-throated Hummingbird’s affinity for these scarlet gems is on full display.
The good news is that this is exactly the type of habitat and the time of year that we might be lucky enough to hear or even see a Yellow-billed Cuckoo.
In early June this year, I observed fascinating behavior of a pair of waxwings that flew into the mulberry when its fruits were developing but not yet ripe.
I hear a repeated, melodious, elaborate song—a warble coming from the top of the aspen trees that surround a small pothole on the edge of a sedge meadow.