About Shreveport's Ellerbe Road Estates

This from a fellow bird lover in Ellerbe Road Estates neighborhood in Shreveport. He sent an email out to his neighbors generously alerting us to the migratory birds now passing through.

"I wanted to alert you that the beautiful Rubby-Throated Hummingbirds are now arriving in our neighborhood. I have a pair that started feeding 2 days ago.

I have had many Goldfinchs all year, but they are just now turning that beautiful golden yellow of their summer feathers.

The Housefinchs stay here year around. The males have red on their upper parts.

If you have a hummingbird feeder, it's time to put it out. You only need to put about 1/2 cup of sugar water in it now. Later as more Rubby-Throated arrive you will need more.

In about a month I will have 10-12 feeders out, each containing 2 cups of sugar water that will have to be refilled every day. I usually have about 200 hummers feeding on these feeders. As you walk down the south end of Sawgrass please feel free to stop and watch them feed and fight. The best time for watching is in the mornings and afternoons. They will be swarming like bees.

Other birds I see at my feeders and around the house are:
Mourning Doves
Red-bellied Woodpecker (they come for peanuts)
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker (in the trees)
Downy Woodpecker (in the trees)
Blue Jay (they come for peanuts)
Chickadee*
Tufted Titmouse*
White-breasted Nuthatch
Carolina Wren
Blue Bird*
Robin** (on the ground)
Mockingbird** (on the roof)
Cedar Waxwing (saw one today with the Mockingbird chasing it)
Red Bird**
Rose-breasted Grosbeak (only saw him twice last year)
Indigo Bunting (only saw him once last year)
Dark-eyed Junco (sometimes called "snowbird")
Red-winged Blackbird (have not seen them for a few weeks)
Purple Martin (they visit my Purple Martin house but never have moved in)
English Sparrow (keeps trying to nest in my Purple Martin house)
Starling (keeps trying to nest in my Purple Martin house)

*=Nest in birdhouses in my back yard.
**=Nest in the trees around my house

He requested anonymity, which I'll respect, but I just want to thank him for taking the time to let us know what to look for. I'm off to find my field guide to North American birds!