New Bird Feeding Areas

The Rio Grande Valley is a mecca for birders and here in Trophy Gardens we are setting up some feeding areas.  Serving on the "birding" committee are Tom & Sara Daggett, Barb Brooker, and Jim & Deon Spangler. Also helping us are the Garden and Butterfly Garden  groups. This is a work in progress but we have one area set up in the garden area just east of the main street when you come into the resort. It is on the corner of Champion Parkway and Grand Slam. There have been several birds sighted at the suet and seed feeders there including a Northern Mockingbird. Here is the setup with the feeders as well as a photo of a Northern Mockingbird. There are lots of these birds here in the park and I believe they are the state bird of Texas.

Shown below is the setup behind the apartment house which is on the corner of  Trophy Gardens Drive and Blue Ribbon. It is directly behind the little building by the swimming pool and kind of across from the laundry building. This is an unrentable lot because it is too small for the size of the rigs that most folks have nowdays so it was suggested as a way to make good use of it. We are hoping for a bench of some kind to sit on and I would like to see some sort of bird bath. Birds love to splash around in a bird bath and it could be fun to watch them. The folks who are in the motor home right next to this spot have reported to me that they did see a hummingbird there and I noticed this evening that the suet has been pecked on. It always takes a while for the birds to find a new source of food but it would seem they are going to like it. This morning when I went on my morning walk I toted the camera along and happened to see this hummingbird in a tree back in the "North Forty." It is a Buff-bellied and I am guessing that is most likely what has found the feeder. It has a red bill with a black tip which makes it easy identifiable. There are lots of other kinds of birds in this park and it is fun to watch to see what will turn up next. It is just one of the many things that we like about Trophy Gardens!