Video: A Rubythroated surprise
I have put out the pretty Allura feeder again, and yesterday in the evening as a late surprise for my birthday, a Rubythroated Hummingbird came to visit. He needs to figure out how to sit down but I am sure he will learn.
(I am livestreaming this camera in my channel on birdsy.com. The feeder is made by Perla: www.allurafeeders.com.)
I am getting spoiled
with hummingbird visits right now. It is wonderful and makes up for the beginning of the season. There are several individuals. I have three feeding stations around the yard as well as flowers and vines. There seem to be two adult males, the teen and then several females. I can tell the males apart because one of them is molting and the other is not. Their red gorget is awesomely vibrant when they move one way, and elegantly black when they look the other way. The photos show the two adult males, the video is the teen.
Video: The hummingbirds
are making themselves really rare this year. I hear it is not just me, everybody seems to see less. I am not giving up hope, traditionally I have seen an uptick in activity by late July and August and even into September. So I am keeping the feeders clean and refilled. The Allura feeder that I was sent has proven to be very pleasant and practical because it is so easy to clean and has not given me any issues with ants or spills, and I don’t have to make huge batches of nectar that never get used. At least the baby Orioles are explory enough to come and visit. I am streaming this camera on BirdsyTv (birdsy.com), and hopefully there will be some hummer visitors at some point. The Allura feeder is available on Amazon.
It has been a strange season
for Hummingbirds this year. They arrived about in time like normal but they have been extremely shy this year so far. Hummingbird activity in my backyard has been constantly decreasing in the last three to four years, and I am not really sure why. It might be the extreme weather they experience on their journey, it might be more flowers around, or more people having feeders out. What I do know is that I miss seeing them more frequently, they are so magical. Here is one that visited yesterday. Come good into Friday.
This was supposed to be
my garden prep week, and the weather and life somehow got in the way, and nothing went as planned. We had several thunderstorms, and suddenly, the Bluebird house had a leak that I spent a lot of time on to fix (I think I finally got it!). Now today after a big thunderstorm, the sun is out and I will continue to work the veggie garden so things can start to grow. Because of my constant back and forth in the yard, there wasn’t a lot of bird photos either. But here are two. A Hummingbird lady and a Grack that looks like I did today in the mirror at my new 44-year-old face. Have a great Saturday and weekend!
Things have gone
very quiet in the last two days, and the backyard feels almost deserted. There are still Doves and Blue Jays and some Chickadees and Finches, but somehow it is like everyone left abruptly. It is nice after the frenzy of the summer but it also feels strange. However, whenever I go to forage in the garden, I can hear the adorable squawks of the Titmice, and I see Hummingbirds buzzing around, checking out the flowers and feeders, and it makes me happy and content. It is nice to have a bit of a break. The Hummingbird in the photo appears to be a young male with the gorget just starting to come in. I hope he stays around for a bit and develops at least one red feather there. Have a great Wednesday!
Video: Yesterday at some point,
power came back for a little bit, but with lower voltage. We were hopeful, so I put the cameras back out, and they recorded for a little bit. Now this morning, we are back to no power and the generator. I am glad I decided early to use the generator because I had deadlines and did not want to risk damaging the computer or losing data. Anyways, in between that tiny timeframe, this adorable young hummer came to the grape jelly. I lowered the volume in this video to make the generator noise less noisy but you can still hear the tiny chirp. Hopefully, tomorrow will be a better day power-wise. I am beginning to tire of this.
The Hummingbird situation
is truly a bit sad in my yard this year. I never really had many but I did have regulars that came steadily. This year, there are fewer than that, so I am extra happy when I get to see them. This little lady looked so cute in her curiosity. The flowers are just starting to open, and I hope she has babies in a nest somewhere that will later feast on the goodies in my garden. And oh my, how is it July already?! Have a great Friday!
Video: molting Hummer
I have mounted one of the Birdsy cameras by the Hummingbird feeder again. Now that the Orioles are slowly starting to migrate, Hummingbird activity might increase a bit for a couple of weeks. This one appears to be molting on the head.
Tiny case of "Nope"
I saw a male Hummingbird today on the regular feeder and then decided to try and get video eith this cute little homemade button feeder. He did not come, but this one did, a female or younrgster. Also not happy about it haha I’ll give it another try tomorrow. I took the video with the GitUp camera at 60 fps and slowed it down a lot to show some of the cool flight movements.
Video: Ruby-throated Hummingbird
There are very few hummingbirds around this year, but last night one of my cams captured this cutie. Looks like she has a white dot on the head. Could be a discoloration or could be pollen. I wish she would have had a sip but at least she now knows where it is.
Video: female Rubythroated Hummingbird
This little Rubythroated Hummingbird lady showed up in the evening yesterday. She seems to have some difficulty with the insect guards that I put over the ports, so I took these off today to help her getting used to it. It also looks like she has some spider webs on her tail, so hopefully she is building a nest somewhere.
The Hummingbird situation this year
is so different from previous years. Usually, by now I would have regulars. Few, but still. This year, I am seeing very little Hummingbird activity at all. I don’t know if it is because of the big storm that happened when they migrated or because so many more people are home and putting feeders out, but I have been missing my hummers. Today, though, I have seen a female and a male! And the female was brave enough to go for the camera feeder. I hope they both return.
The nectar is fresh and the feeders are clean here - spread the word!
Video: Ruby-throated Hummingbird
This morning at 6.30 AM, a Ruby-throated Hummingbird man checked in. I have so little hummingbird action this May that I had started to think they are avoiding my yard this year. And every time I see one, I hope it sticks around and comes back. We will see how this goes. I am glad I set Birdsy up with the Hummer feeder, otherwise I would have missed him.
Today is my birthday,
and I turned 42. It feels weird and I don’t feel like it, and after all, it is just a number. But birthdays are a thing in my family. We celebrate them in a big fashion. So today was a special day for me. I was lucky I did not have to work, and I worked in the garden today. And it was wonderful. I am achy. My one wish was that a Hummingbird would show up. And I got my wish granted. Here he is. And I hope he comes back. This is me, tipsy-posting. 42! What a weird number. Let’s spin some Binaural…
What a strange spring this is.
After having seen a male and female Hummingbird the other day, I haven’t seen any more. Things really seem to be off to a slow start this spring because of the weather but hopefully we will catch up with everything soon. Here’s to a great start of a new week. Be safe all of you who go back to work! And if you need a mask with a bird on it, check out my Redbubble shop.
All profits will be donated to Feeding America. The way Redbubble works is that I am getting paid each month. I am waiting to make my donation until June because that is when the bulk of the mask profits will get paid. I will post about it here once the donation is made. This is all very exciting!
Video: Rubythroated Hummingbird lady
I saw several hummingbirds today, and it finally warmed up as the day progressed, and I think we finally have some real spring coming here in Michigan. This must be the latest spring start I ever experienced, and as a May child, I cannot even begin to express how excited I am. I decided to name her Martha, after my wonderful niece who was named after my fantastic and resilient great grandma.