Backyard Bird Watchers

#477
#477
JustFunnN'Orange said:
RirlshVol, Noni, Vol30
You guys were correct!! The lil Hummers are back on the Cumberland Plateau, wife and I are loving it! She makes a quart of sugar water almost every day to keep the feeders full.
I do think the cold spell we had here in early May changed a lot of things this year. But now we're sure enjoying watching them feed, sitting on the string of lights we've got around the deck and watching their flying acrobatics.
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I didn't think I had many this year as I'd had only seen four at once but the other evening a storm was heading in and they all came to feed before the rain. We counted 10, but there very well may have been a dozen. I love watching them dart around trying to defend every feeder from interlopers. They're amazing little birds.
 
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#480
#480
Finally saw a hummer after we got back this afternoon.

Oddly, the goldfinches are hitting the hyssop and eating ?something?, alternating with the sunflowers.

The hyssop is visited by bees (and now the hummer), but by seed-eaters? I guess hyssop seed is pretty tasty, too.

Lavender (anise) hyssop, with borage in the foreground, and some bees if you look hard enough (late in the day):
1690149854508.jpeg
 
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#481
#481
Two female hummingbirds have found my feeder. No head to head confrontations as yet, but one did move away when the other showed up.
 
#482
#482
A male ruby throat has shown up at my feeder.

Edit: The male is actively defending the feeder, chasing other would be feeders, including one female that reached the feeder before being intercepted. It will get interesting when more show up.
 
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#484
#484
The competition for access to the feeder is heating up!

Edit: I think the male hummingbird is looking a bit plumper, but he’s not going to continue fattening up for the journey south chasing away all comers.
 
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#485
#485
Hummers continue to visit my zinnias, portulaca, impatients, and swamp begonias, but the feeder is close to the cypress vine and a point of contention.
 
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#486
#486
Tin Man said:
A male ruby throat has shown up at my feeder.

Edit: The male is actively defending the feeder, chasing other would be feeders, including one female that reached the feeder before being intercepted. It will get interesting when more show up.
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You should put up another feeder or you likely will not have more show up. The males are, as you have noticed, very territorial.
 
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#487
#487
VolNExile said:
Finally saw a hummer after we got back this afternoon.

Oddly, the goldfinches are hitting the hyssop and eating ?something?, alternating with the sunflowers.

The hyssop is visited by bees (and now the hummer), but by seed-eaters? I guess hyssop seed is pretty tasty, too.

Lavender (anise) hyssop, with borage in the foreground, and some bees if you look hard enough (late in the day):
View attachment 565056
Click to expand...
I grow hyssop for the bees. I get plenty of bumblee bees, but I seldom see a honey bee on the hyssop or in my yard.
 
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#492
#492
A female hummingbird is visiting my feeder. She seems unconcerned with the male who has been attempting to defend it. He tries to chase her away, and she circles back around to it. Another female who has been visiting my flowers also darts in when he is on the chase. I’m loving the action!
 
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#497
#497
Though my feeder is hung in a cool, shady place, in this heat, I keep a close eye on it. At the first signs of possible mold or corruption, I wash it in a solution of hot water and distilled vinegar, rinsing it repeatedly with hot water before refilling it.
 
#498
#498
A new male hummingbird has shown up at my feeder, but a female is perching in the nearby tree to defend it.
 
#499
#499
Saw a hummingbird in our front flowerbeds yesterday. I don’t know much about them, but I assume his nest is up in a hickory in the back. He is always zipping in and out of it. Maybe not.

But this morning, the back yard is really active. Cardinals, Blue Jays, Grey Catbirds, Carolina Wrens, a Woodpecker, a Hawk, and a couple of Mourning Doves all out and about.
 
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#500
#500
franklinpence said:
Saw a hummingbird in our front flowerbeds yesterday. I don’t know much about them, but I assume his nest is up in a hickory in the back. He is always zipping in and out of it. Maybe not.

But this morning, the back yard is really active. Cardinals, Blue Jays, Grey Catbirds, Carolina Wrens, a Woodpecker, a Hawk, and a couple of Mourning Doves all out and about.
Click to expand...
Love catbirds. I don't have enough open spaces to have any kind of mimidae
 
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