nice day to snap a few pics

gathering 'round the ol' watering hole

For Mandy

the winter birds are back

it's migration season

They are flying south for the winter.  The activity at the feeders has been astonishing.  I've counted up to 8 birds at a time at this feeder.  They are drinking 5 cups of sugar water a day.   At dusk it gets crazy, they nudge each other out of the way to get a drink.  If I stand still, I can stand just 2 feet from the feeder and see them up close and personal.  

His favorite spot

hummingbird babies all grown up

These are the same two babies I had shown on the April 22nd post.  Apparently they have no trouble flying because they took off like rockets.  Here is their empty nest.

These are few of my favorite things

When the dog bites, when the bee stings...when I'm feeling sad.....
I simply watch my favorite things…and then I don’t feel so bad.

Baby hummingbirds

My husband took this photo of two baby hummingbirds in our yard a few minutes ago.  The opening where the two babies are lying is about the size of a quarter.  These two napped peacefully in the sun.  Do you see their black beaks?  Check out how their feathers are starting to sprout. 

circling the feeder

a male and female

hummingbird in the garage

He wouldn't leave!   I left three garage doors open for three hours and he wouldn't leave.  Here he's sitting on a wire that is attached to the motor of the garage door opener.  My husband had to practically throw a blanket over him to get him out.  Check out his size in comparison to the standard electrical plug on the left.  He's tiny.

I call him Mohawk

I put up a hummingbird feeder and quickly figured out the following:  Hummingbirds are territorial. A male will guard a food source and chase others away (with the exception of breeding females).  I named this little guy Mohawk due to the scruffy feathers on top of his head.  

He guards this feeder by sitting on top of the pole.  The feeder is located between two trees and he will perch in the trees and chase off any "intruder" that dares enter his domain by crossing back and forth between the trees as needed.  While there is lots of chirping and squawking, the fighting may crest into a few pulled out feathers but it mostly just ends up with Mohawk chasing off the intruders.  I've enjoyed watching 3 to 4 other birds trying to give him the slip and drink his nectar.  He'll chase one away and the others will fly straight to the feeder for a 5 second drink before he returns to chase them off.

Hummingbirds guard a territory of about a quarter acre. 

Anna's Hummingbird

The brilliance of the fuscia color has not been captured in these photos.  The color was so vivid and bright it reminded me of Dorothy's ruby slippers in the sunlight.

This is the male bird, the females do not have the magenta heads.  Hummingbirds sure have a fiesty spirit.  Despite being the smallest of birds, they bravely defend their territory (1/4 acre size) against other birds without fear.  They are very talkative, softly but frequently chirping. 

I often see them sitting in my pine trees.