Ruby-throated Hummingbird activity

The Ruby-throated Hummingbird activity has finally started to pick up. On Sunday morning, Susan and I were eating breakfast when we noticed four and sometimes five hummingbirds at a time fighting over the feeders on the deck. What was amazing about this is that none of them would back down. The playing field was completely level.

We quickly got ourselves out on the deck to get a closer look at the action. As usual, they were a little shy about feeding with us out there. It did not take long for all of the competition to resume though. There were three main players that waltzed around the feeders taking shots at each other. The two other hummingbirds were taking a “fly by” approach and striking one of the three main players on each pass. It was fascinating watching all of this take place a few feet from us. I was able to get a few pictures and hope there is something worth keeping once I get them developed. I sure am glad they all got through it without injury. Later, Jim

The hand that feeds you…

Friday morning, I added a small amount of hummingbird solution to a hanging feeder we weren’t using and took it outside onto the deck (where the camera is mounted). I seated myself near the hummingbird feeder that was already hanging up and held the other feeder steady on the arm of the chair in which I was sitting. There was a beautiful mature male ruby throat guarding the hanging feeder, but we also had activity from two female hummers as well. I continued to sit very quietly and after about 20 minutes, a female flew up to my handheld feeder and, at first, hovered at one of the ports. She then settled herself in on the perch and drank for about a minute. She was totally unfazed by the fact that I was holding the feeder and, luckily for her, the male was off chasing some other threat. She was beautiful and I marveled at being so close. After she flew, I didn’t stay out there much longer, but plan to sit out there tomorrow morning again. Oh, if you are seeing a hummingbird feeder on the bird cam, that is because I hung the extra one up when I was done with it, not realizing it was in the camera’s view. Consider it a bonus!

One side note: while Jim is NOT a fan of bees, I find them to be fascinating - going so far as to hand feed them bits of chicken once. Anyway, while I was waiting for the hummers on the deck, I noticed a small yellow jacket come to the hanging feeder and it had discovered that there was one hole on the beeguard that was just large enough for him to squeeze through to get at the hummingbird solution. He’d enter, apparently enjoy his newfound Nirvana for a few minutes, then he’d search several of the holes until he found the one by which he’d entered and make his way back out. He’d fly off and after several minutes, fly back and repeat the process. Bees and wasps can be a REAL nuisance around a hummingbird feeder and the hummers will back off if challenged, but this bee was just doing his thing and did not interfere with the hummers at all. I found it amazing.

He’s Just A Little Different ……….

We are very fortunate that our window feeder is so popular with the songbirds around our home. We get up close views of everything from little Carolina Chickadees to Red-bellied Woodpeckers that can only hang onto the edge of the feeder and reach over the side to grab some sunflower seeds. To sit in the office chairs and see the birds eat, fight and even chill out no further away than 4 feet from us is a year round delight. And we have learned much about bird behavior from these very seats.

Today we are going to describe a fledgling Tufted Titmouse that we are going to assume is a male. This gut feeling that he is a male comes comparisons to human male behavior. The first contact with him came a few weeks ago. Susan and I were sitting in the office when we noticed him fluttering and bouncing into the office window. He ends up grabbing onto the bottom of the top window frame, using his tail to keep him erect. He immediately starts to peck at the window. I have no idea if he was attacking his own reflection or confused by the invisible “wall”. He decides to take flight again and ends up grabbing onto the tiny ledge at the bottom of the window. Again, he starts to hammer away on the glass with his beak. We could tell at this point he had a very small crest in addition to his other challenges. He looked up and could see the window feeder above him. He did at least know he wanted to get there.

He took flight once again, bouncing off the window and feeder a few times until he settled on the rim of the bird feeder. I said he knew he wanted to get up to the bird feeder, however I am not sure he knew why. Well the bird feeder was empty at the time. Okay, so more pecking on the window. He then opens his beak and tries to bite the plastic rim of the feeder. That did not seem to produce any satisfaction for our young Einstein. He then decided to try laying in the feeder like it was a bird bath. It’s not that big of a feeder and is decidedly dry.

During this, he keeps looking out into the branches of the tree that is right next to the feeder. Susan spots another Tufted Titmouse that appears to have an interest in this little guy. She can see an insect in the other birds beak and it seems to be trying to get our little feather heads attention. He looks at her and she keeps squawking at him. However, he is not budging from his current source of interest. He bites the feeder rim a few more times as we listen to the other Titmouse’s continued fussing. At this point it has become obvious that it is likely mom in the tree. Again, I am calling her mom from a behavioral standpoint and nothing more.

What happens next is familiar to a large number of us as parents and when we were children. She bursts from her perch, flapping her wings and screeching in front of “junior” in such a manner that even I felt reprimanded. I can only compare this to when mom has been angered by one of her children to the point that only the full legal name of the child will suffice in communicating what is wrong and what needs to be done immediately. She has to do this a second time before junior gets the point and follows her back to a branch in the tree.

Well, we see junior on a regular basis at the window feeder. Easy to identify him as he still pecks on the window every time and has that tiny little crest. At least he now grabs the sunflower seeds instead of the tray before he flies back to a branch to crack open the prize. Yeah, he’s just a little different. Glad he’s with us.

Mr. Sandman, Bring Me A Dream ……

I mentioned before about birds roosting under the deck on a small ledge. Last night when I went out to top off the cracked corn tray I noticed this little cutie. It is a wren and most likely a Carolina Wren. In order to get this picture, I turned off the outside lights and carried a flashlight and the digital camera back outside. I used the flashlight to locate the bird and with the flashlight in one hand and the camera in the other, I snapped a couple of pictures.

What you are looking at is the underside of our deck that is on the second story (the deck with the feeder cam). The wren is facing the wall (deck beam attached to house). It is setting on a 1 inch ledge that lines the bottom of that beam and helps support the floor joists. The weather was a little wet last night and it had found a nice dry place to spend the night. We find them roosting along this beam on a regular basis. Later, Jim

Deck Feeder Cam Is Back Live

Hope to get more pictures for the websites Pictures area as well. Dying to test out the digital camera. Jim

Deck Cam down until Thusday

Hi All,

Due to technical reasons I will have the Deck Cam down until Thursday, July 10th. The rest of the website will be functional during that time. Thanks, Jim

If I Keep Acting Cute, Will You Take The Baffles Down?

Not anything new to report here. Birds visitation patterns are stable and a little light right now. Waiting for the Ruby-throated Hummingbird numbers to pick up in July. Later, Jim

Night Songs and Day Battles

I think I may have reported hearing a Whip-poor-will singing at night recently. I started to listen a little more closely the past week and discovered I was incorrect. The calls are of a Chuck-will’s-widow. They pretty much go on all night long. Rather neat to go to sleep and wake to.

Also Susan, my wife, saw two Ruby-throated Hummingbirds battling over the nectar Thursday. This marks the first time this season we have witnessed more than one hummingbird at a time. It’s very early. Back to coffee. Jim

Monday Updates

I really have not had any time recently to do any real bird watching. I do have a couple of updates though. The Eastern Bluebirds babies are getting very close to fledging. I was probably a little early on announcing they were tending to young in an earlier post and it was likely just the male feeding the female on the nest. We rarely see a Ruby-throated Hummingbird at the feeder. The numbers will hopefully increase dramatically later on. I noticed a Blue Jay in the motion snapshots on May 28. I guess they are a little shy about getting so close to the house. Also, I know different bird species have a preference on feeder mounting (pole mount or hanging) and that may keep them from visiting the feeder cam. Cool that one of them got over it for a visit or two.

Bluebird Mania

It has been a very successful breeding season around here for the Eastern Bluebirds. I had already reported one brood that fledged and now I see babies getting fed in the nestbox again. Also, we have parent Eastern Bluebirds visiting with and feeding their fledglings the sunflower meats at the feeder cam.

Yesterday I saw a male/female pair of Eastern Towhees at the cracked corn tray. And back to fledglings again, I saw a Downy Woodpecker feeding one of its offspring some suet yesterday as well.