Regular Crowd + Two

The backyard gets very active before a storm.  Severe thunderstorms moved through the area on Thursday afternoon, and the regular crowd shuffled in:

Brown-headed Cowbird

Robin with Dinner

Female House Finch

A lone Starling also made a surprise appearance.  Where there is one Starling, there are usually 300!  They are very social birds and travel in flocks, but I only saw one this time.  Although they may be considered a pest, I like their colors--very peacock-like.  

Our male hummingbird was in full guarding mode.

A new male appeared (the markings on the birds are different), and a quick scuffle started, but they took it to another yard.  The new male paused a few times so I could get a few nice pics.  He likes the same feeder perch the other one does!

Some resources indicate that males may migrate first as "scouts" to find the best territories for breeding. This is the first year I've noticed more males early in the season.  In fact, I've only seen one female so far this year, and she is very skittish.

I'm still waiting to see a hummingbird nest.  Don't these birds know that my yard is the local bird nursery?  Do I need to make a sign?