Posted on 05/31/2016 12:38:20 PM PDT by nickcarraway
I use tap water but boil it first.
Years ago I had feeders hanging on the front porch, now they are in the yard. I’ve had three come through buzzing the front porch where they used to be.
We had a flock of 50 Red-Crowned Amazon parrots pass through once. Unbelievable sqwacks!!!! Deafening, actually but they are stunning to see. We have a few that lurk about year'round it seems.
My best bird story is the Macaw I saw flying around our neighborhood. My mom was driving and I told her to follow that bird. Well, the bird landed in a tree in someone's backyard and I ran up to the house where the bird landed and it was Arthur Laffer's house. He let me in to see his collection of exotic birds. TRUE STORY.
We have the Rufous hummers. Known to be the fiercest fighters.
Why do they hum?
/straight man
We have two large feeders; one on the back porch, the other in the breezeway, both have to be refilled twice a week.
We have a heat lamp focused on the one in the breezeway which comes on automatically when the temps hit 34 degrees. We have between 5 or 6, maybe more, that winter over here in southern Oregon.
Just like humans.
Well if that’s the case, I could fly across the Atlantic!
Gnarliest of all birds - fearless - chase all other hummers from my feeder. Noisy too. Love them all.
BUT...I cannot fathom these guys flying straight for hours when their energy consumption is so high.
You would think these Spitfires are short rangers.
That is so cool. Where do you live that Amazon parrots pass through? That has to be absolutely beautiful to see them.
I remember one year, at a house we lived at years ago, where we had many hummers hitting the feeders. You could sit out on the deck drinking a beer, and watch them fight over the feeder.
It was like watching aerial combat I image. Little fighter jets jinkin and turning And attacking. Aggressive little guys.
C’mon, everyone knows they ride on the backs of geese heading North. :)
I’ll bet the oil derricks in the Gulf have been very beneficial as a place for them to rest.
They really are amazing.
Check out this swarm
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g4m8fGTMXHI
I read of a woman in Louisiana that goes through 5 lbs. of sugar a day when the hummers come over the Gulf.
I'll go out on a limb here and say,
Because they don't know the words.
badda bing
I believe they do have memory! We had a tufted titmouse that used to hop on the back of our golden retriever and shuffle her feet to stir up any loose hair. She would gather it up (she looked like she had a big mustache) and go build her nest. She spent days getting hair from the dog, with her honey cheering her on from the railing. This went on for at least 7 years. Always one bird shuffling, and one cheering.
My son and friend were watching the hummers from the window. Something spooked them and they all took off...... one straight into the window screen! Its beak went through the screen, the screen provided a sudden stop for its body and it spit all its juice all over the window. The boys cracked up, and went out to free him. Just as they got there, he backed up and took off, none the worse for wear.
You are lucky.
LOL, I don’t have enough experience with them to see that fearlessness expressed against me, but I have seen them dart at far larger birds that flee at their approach.
When I am at my kitchen sink, they occasionally come the feeder near the window, but instead of taking the nectar, they hover there looking through the window at me with what appears to be honest curiosity.
I find them fascinating, apart from their avian abilities!
See my tagline. ;^)
As far as I know, the TT’s don’t migrate in your area (or mine). Those little birds are there all year round, and are watching your dog all the time! They’re comfortable with their environment, and have learned how to use it :-)
Great Story!
-JT
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