A very cold spring - have you considered putting a suet feeder in your backyard?
The weather this spring has been unseasonably cold after a brief warm snap in early March. It was sad to see the beautiful cherry trees blossom and then lose all the blossoms to cold and rain - without the delightful buzzing of great basin bumble bees, honey bees and wasps. Last year the yard was alive with pollinators. The weather may impact the harvest for local agriculture. Even the balsam arrowroots flowered early, but no bees were flying around enjoying all that pollen.
Bees fly about in weather above 55 degrees F, or around 12.7 degrees C. It has been colder than that almost the entire spring.
I have only seen 2 bumble bees and less than five honey bees so far this year. Almost no bugs.
Birds that migrate to the area for spring that enjoy an insect diet might be hungry. I have added a suet feeder and wild bird seed and have seen different birds in the backyard, because the birds attracted to the cherry tree blossoms and bugs have nothing to enjoy.
Visitors this spring include:
California Quail
Mourning Dove
Eurasian Collared Dove
American Robin
White Crowned Sparrow
Dark Eyed Junco
House Sparrow
Pine Siskin
Northern Flicker
Great Horned Owl
House Finches
Magpies
plus a few other little ones I have not identified yet.
North America has lost 3B birds since 1970. One of the things you can do locally is protect habitat and steward mother nature's harsh climate change fallout in an ecologically safe way.
In my region, there are several red and blue listed bird species. Did you know scientists are only starting to trace the migratory path of endangered species in the Okanagan, BC? Many species that arrive here in spring arrive from South, Central America, Mexico, Texas, California. Trying to save the birds means understanding the conditions they face here and all along the migratory route. DNA testing and classification of many species in this region is only being approached now, when the situation is critical.
Having lived in Toronto, a city without any ecological truth, I appreciate the sound of dawn and dusk here so much. The forest clearing next door sounds like a jungle with its wild bird calls, it is a habitat for so many kinds of life.
