Aside from on RTHU of whom we only got a glimpse, all our first-arriving birds this year were females.
You may recall that from 2020 through 2022 I was incredibly fortunate to be able to watch and photograph the same RTHU (with the unique head "bump") as she created nests and reared young. I didn't see her, or other RTHUs nesting, after that.
...Until yesterday, when I spied a female working on what I estimated to be her 4th day of nest construction. She's in an oak near the "Hummer Hickory" that housed previous nests. (This year the late frost destroyed much of the foliage on that hickory.) Her nest is even closer and more accessible to photography than those were.
RTHUs have natal nest fidelity, so it's likely she's a descendant or close relative of the female I started seeing 6 years ago. If she's following the schedule of her predecessor, yesterday was indeed day 4 of her nest building, and, yep, she likely laid a first egg today, because she's spending relatively long periods sitting in the nest, while also continuing construction. If so, this is apparently another new early record for egg-laying in AR, by 8 days.
And my husband noticed that N. Cardinals are nesting in a Devil's Walking Stick directly below the hummer!
Happily,Janine PerlmanAlexander Mt., Saline Co
