29. Hummingbirds returned to Maple Hill on May 10th.
Last Sunday we spotted the first hummer buzzing around the house, looking for the feeder he remembered from last year. The plan this year is to put a feeder on opposite sides of the house, increasing the likelihood that a male will claim each feeder without fighting.
Map of first reports this year.
I thought it might be a little early for the hummingbirds to be this far north, so I headed over to hummingbirds.net to find out.
Nope, it turns out that the first report (map to the left) of a hummingbird in my area was submitted five days earlier (5.5.09).
Either way, I'm thrilled to have the little guys back!! And now, in the following days, a female has been showing up at the feeder too.
Snowflakes still being reported across parts of northern Wisconsin.
Three locations reported a trace of snow last Saturday, which shows up as a 'T' in this 7:00 report from COOP observers (to the right).
* Butternut, Ashland County. * Clam Lake (4 mi W), Bayfield County. * Madeline Island, Ashland County.
Then, two more locations reported snowflakes this last Friday, listed in this report from 7:00 Saturday morning from COOP observers (to the right).
In addition, I saw snowflakes at two locations in northern Bayfield County, but was unable to submit a COOP report in time for this report. I had snowflakes at my house on Maple Hill at 6:00 and then again at 6:30 at Mawikwe Beach along Lake Superior.
Freeze warnings last night.
Cold overnight temperatures continue, as a very large portion of Wisconsin had Frost Advisories or Freeze Warnings early this morning.
From MesoWest, I grabbed a map (to the left) that shows minimum temperatures since midnight. On top of this map, I drew in a line between temperatures below & above freezing.
Interior sections away from Lake Superior fell as low as 25 degrees, but certain areas managed to stay above freezing. Here on the Bayfield Peninsula, the temperatures were warmed by Lake Superior... my low temperature was 35 degrees.
Snowflakes still being reported across parts of northern Wisconsin. 
Freeze warnings last night.