The Uncaged Bird - Keep Hummingbird Feeders filled for Migration!
Dad sits guarding the nest. The House Sparrow male is easily identified by his black beard.
Morganna said:
I haven't seen a Hummingbird at my feeder for days!
I've had my feeder out for a couple of weeks, but no sightings yet this year. We have some lobelia that bloom later in the summer and sometimes they bring the first hummers, but then they find the feeders and go for them. I keep hoping they will "remember" from year to year.
sac said:
I've had my feeder out for a couple of weeks, but no sightings yet this year. We have some lobelia that bloom later in the summer and sometimes they bring the first hummers, but then they find the feeders and go for them. I keep hoping they will "remember" from year to year.
I had one at least for a few days in April then nothing. Maybe there is too much activity at the bird feeder but that usually doesn't deter. Well there's activity at the bird house and one of the does just gave birth to a fawn so plenty of happy parenting going on in the meanwhile.
A rare visitor, the illusive Goldfinch.
I haven't had success with thistle. Other birds don't care for it and it gets molding quickly and it is sold in a pretty large bag but I may try again. I had success luring them briefly with Coneflowers but I live with quite a few Woodchucks who finish them off quickly so not sure if I'm ready for these lavish buffets.
Anyone have luck?
I: asked this fledgling Robin why he was sitting on my hammock. The cheeky bird explained, "Branches are so last year."
House Sparrow males are great Dads. The fledglings have left the next box but are crying for food, so Dad delivers.
A heated debate! The Tufted Titmouse is arguing vehemently in the Treetops Primary. Moderating these debates is exhausting but we will all breakfast peacefully in the morning with suet cakes and sunflower seeds and a sunrise swim in the bird baths.
Blue Jays are big babies and scream for food like every other fledgling.
Red Bellied Woodpecker. I hung the suet cake to keep him around, but the Sparrows devoured it in one afternoon.
Was I snorkeling? Please make sure water is available for our feathered friends and our wildlife!
I have daily visits from Red Finches! Its been a strange year, with less Hummingbirds, Bees and Butterflies so I'm happy to see these visitors. I had one visit from a Goldfinch but I'm used to them being scarce.
dave said:
Silver-eared mesia
WOW. Are these common? I didn't get to see any wildlife in Hong Kong. That bird is exquisite.
They're even hard to find in the HK Aviary—where I snapped this some years ago. They're most common in India and Malaysia. We lived very close to the HK Aviary at one point. Two or three weekly visits over a few months to get this shot.
dave said:
They're even hard to find in the HK Aviary—where I snapped this some years ago. They're most common in India and Malaysia. We lived very close to the HK Aviary at one point. Two or three weekly visits over a few months to get this shot.
I have a kitchen filled with drawings of birds. I do my best to shoot my own reference, but that's limited so I treat myself to photo reference from Pinterest for the occasional exotic. I've never seen this bird. Nice shot.
Wow, and I see @marksierra hit Like so we can expect something flashy from down under.
Morganna said:
Wow, and I see @marksierra hit Like so we can expect something flashy from down under.
How about something fast .. and just a blur as it flashes by?
Not so much pretty, as built for speed. That's the peregrine falcon (picture, below) which has recorded speeds of close to 250 mph!
Raptors are being used in Australia (and around the world, no doubt) as natural pest control.
They're being used to move on flocks of birds which may become nuisances by their presence - for example, at airports and sporting events
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-07-28/raptors-keep-pests-away-workplaces-sporting-events/104142116
marksierra said:
How about something fast .. and just a blur as it flashes by?
Not so much pretty, as built for speed. That's the peregrine falcon (picture, below) which has recorded speeds of close to 250 mph!
Raptors are being used in Australia (and around the world, no doubt) as natural pest control.
They're being used to move on flocks of birds which may become nuisances by their presence - for example, at airports and sporting events
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-07-28/raptors-keep-pests-away-workplaces-sporting-events/104142116
I love Peregrine Falcons! Are there any raptors that are faster? 250 mph is wicked fast and I find them very handsome. Here's a NYC PF!
How can you not love this face? Grackles are some of my favorite birds.
Hummingbirds are showing up at last. I'm on a couple of national sites, and I'm hearing complaints from several local communities and nearby states that they have had few hummers. Some gave up and took down their feeders, seeing none. I kept going for weeks without a bird but now I'm seeing them. Definitely a male and either a juvenile or a female. If you can keep your feeders up. In a few weeks you will start seeing weight gain as the males will start their journey south in September and females and juveniles will follow. I take my feeder down in mid-October. The birds I see are shy ones so I'm not moving to grab my camera. These are older shots.
We had a female spend quite a bit of time at our feeder and flitting around our backyard last weekend but haven't seen her back since. The flowers they particularly like in our garden are starting to bloom so I'm cautiously optimistic now.
sac said:
We had a female spend quite a bit of time at our feeder and flitting around our backyard last weekend but haven't seen her back since. The flowers they particularly like in our garden are starting to bloom so I'm cautiously optimistic now.
This was my slowest summer. I have a huge bee garden and had less bees. My butterfly bushes are blooming so I'm getting butterflies but they are a little later. The heat may be throwing things off.
The illusive Goldfinch. They visited me 2 years ago when I grew Zinnia from seed. I skipped this year due to them getting powdery mildew. I'm going back to a few for next year. I'm also not have a great summer for Marigolds. They are remaining very short and not very full. Same with the red Salvia which the Hummingbirds like.
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I haven't encountered Sandhill Cranes but, I posted this time last year a rare visit from a gorgeous Blue Heron who landed on my garage roof. A similar look.