Hummingbird Haven: 2011-05

2011-05-24

Spring is here! (At least the birds think so!)

Yep, Spring is officially here - although here in Washington State, we're all wondering about that! The birds, however, have embraced the time of year with their courting & nesting activities. I've actually got a pair of chickadees nesting in one of my bird houses! The first time in years one of my birdhouses has been "rented".
We've also been visited by the cute hummers. The first one showed up about a month ago, then disappeared again. Now, we've got a pair of them coming by fairly regularly. The funny thing is they seem to prefer my mother's old feeder. (It's about 15 years old, by now!) This is one of the ones that is designed like a hot-air balloon. I've got some newer ones, along with the small tubes, but they seem to be all but ignored.
Another thing I noticed, is one of the frequent feeders at Mom's feeder is a Purple Finch! I must say, it looks a bit odd, seeing that large bird (compared to a hummer) sitting and drinking from the hummer feeder!
About the tube feeders, I keep experimenting to see what will actually attract the hummers to them, but so far, haven't had any success. I'm going to try to attach one to one of our bushes to see if that'll work. Then maybe the hummer will come drink from the one I've got suction-cupped to our kitchen window!
Time will tell.
Well, folks, enjoy all the wonderful birds that Spring brings, especially those gorgeous Hummers!
~Rob~

2011-05-17

Hummer News - Vol. 15 - May 2011

At last!!!

After a longer wait than most springs, I finally eyeballed my first hummer visitor of 2011, here in New England. I am reasonably sure it was a male that has been coming for at least three years now. Unlike many other males, this fellow is extremely furtive and makes all of his visits at dawn and dusk, when the level of light is very low. Further evidence of it being this particular male is the feeder he chose. It is a very early proto-type of my Foto-Feeder™ that has been in the same exact spot for quite a few years now. Very likely there are others about and that the first visits were probably as much as a week earlier, since nectar in two or three of my feeder tubes, at a few locations, already seemed to be reducing by very small amounts.

After so many years, the first hummer visit witnessed is still such a special moment. In spite of our dismal wet and cold spring so far, the warmth of a season, as yet unrealized seems closer and more promising now. This year, after winter travel in warm climes full of hummers, seeing my first “home bird” bridges my first ever 12 month cycle being able to view hummers live. I have always envied those of you who always have a year round presence. Since they are here now, I expect just about all of you have had your first visits now. I wish everyone a great spring and summer with lots of visits and maybe a nesting family. That is something I would really like to experience live.

I hope you will share how the hummer sightings are, currently, in your region.

Spring cleaning

While most of you are already finished with this step by now, it is a good idea to do a thorough cleaning of nectar tubes and caps. I use a 10% bleach solution to nicely sanitize all my tubes before setting out.

I welcome you all to share any hummer sightings or stories that we all might enjoy here at the blog. Just drop an email note and I will send an invitation to become a contributor

Happy Hummers and a Great Late Springtime!

Can anyone identify these hummers?

Barry Aronoff, a customer in Pasadena, California, who is also an excellent photographer, sent these shots along and wondered if I could help identify the hummer varieties. If you have any ideas, please share them with us. The best I could come up with is that the really beautiful one on the pine looks like it could be the Xanthus perhaps - apparently a little bit off its beaten path - it is listed as rare in Califonia - this may be very rare shot indeed! Here is a link for Xanthus: http://www.hummingbirds.net/xantus.html