I keep hoping the photos I take each day are the last since we are leaving for MD and the feeder will come down on the AM of the 25th. There is a feeding frenzy going on with a lot of eating and a lot of perching going on near the feeder. I recall they were gone last year by this time but they also arrived here very late.
Oh that's too bad. Wish there was a neighbor that could take care of the feeders for you.
I've had one sighted here now and then. Will have to try and get pix.
Oh man, that's funny, the one hummer is sitting on the other to get to the feeder..
I can't know for sure, of course, but I always assume - that when they stay close together, using the same perch, etc, that they are siblings out of the same nest. A few years ago I had two immature male rufous that were never more than a few feet apart. They battled constantly, except when they took a rest break, then they perched together. They had to be brothers, right?
The feeding is slowing down and I am getting much more perching. I didn't have to fill the feeder for the first time in three weeks yesterday. I counted 5 hummers sitting on my deer protection cages yesterday evening. I was checking my feeder this AM looking out the window and the party was broken up by this Cooper's Hawk. It is a grainy photo because it was taken through screen. The chipmunks are still barking. A few days ago I spotted a bird I thought was a juvenile Robin perching and it was a sparrow hawk. They are keeping a close eye on my chipmunks and songbirds that I ground feed.
The hummer on Monarda has sugar on her nose. I am glad that the feeding is slowing down they will probably be rolling out of MI about the same time we do.
Hunmmingbird plants are my favorite plants because those tubular flowers have NO AIRBORNE POLLEN to aggrevate my allergies. The fact they attract hummingbirds as their pollinator is a wonderful bonus. Anyway, the stuff you see on their heads is probably pollen not sugar.
I chose the name "pollen garden" because "pollen- free-allergy- free-gardening" is both unrealistic outdoors, and too long a moniker.
I love the Cardinal Vine also for a hummingbird plant. I left the one I was given this year in MD as they love warm soil and with the winter we had it took 4 weeks for the switchgrasses to start taking off in MI. Here are a few photos of pollen. Even though my camera is a point and shoot if the light is right it can pick up individual pollen grains. These photos are from last year. The deer had eaten the Lilies and really damaged the Baptisia this spring.
Phenomenal photos.
I think the hums are beginning to go. ...sigh.... Sill plenty around, though. but not the hyper action of a month ago. I did add a bit more sugar to the mix, hoping they will be able to store up for the long flight. Such courageous little creatures!
My hummer numbers seem to be peaking. I think I will put up a second feeder to stop the brawling. This morning it seemed to be mostly Black chinned. They should be leaving soon and the Broad tailed will move in for about a month.
This is the Ruby Throat thread & I don't have Ruby Throats, but I am posting my pics anyway.
1 Black-chinned male
2 Black-chinned female
3 I think this is a Broad-tailed (they migrate in as the Black-chinned migrate out)
4 Mature Black-chinned male giving immature male a warning look
Pollengargen, ANY hummingbird pics are welcome, in my humble opinion! I must say those are some great pics! I love my ruby throats, but I would love to have other varieties also.
That last one, boy if looks could kill.....They are SO fierce! I guess in a body so small, in a world so big, you have to pack a lot of attitude per square inch! I wish I was able to draw, bcuz I am picturing a John Wayne hummingbird with hat & holster........haha
we used to have a western hummingbird thread, but a couple of the participants don't really participate as much. Ha. So this is a wonderful place to show them off.
Hummer migration is in full swing around here.
We have enough hummers flying around that occasionally I'll see two sharing a feeder...normally a rarity here. At first I thought it was just female siblings, but day-before-yesterday I saw a male and female sharing. Of course, they sit at opposite ends of the feeder, but it's still a treat.
Here's some recent hummer pics.
1) Hummers sharing...oh my! Not too common in my yard.
2) "Bird Bath"
3) Typical pose
4) Sipping Cardinal Flower blooms
Nice! Where did you get the sun? Ha.
I haven't had a chance to stalk them at the flowers, but seems my migrants go between the feeder and the tithonia.
I can't match NutsaboutNature's clarity and detail, but here is recent attempts. I have been taking a lot of feeder photos the past few days trying to catch an oddly marked bird I saw. No luck so far, If it was a rare female Blue-throat, I think she has moved on.
I think the second photo is a female Rufous. I have seen the males off & on since I was a kid, but this fall was first time I have seen the females.
I was hoping the 4th photo was my odd-ball, but it appears to just be an immature Black-chinned
What sun? The first pic was right after a heavy rain. Feeder was still wet. But the sun is on it's way...and cooler temps, yay!
I'd love to grow Tithonia, but it's so large and I'm limited on full sun areas. But I've recently seen some pretty dwarf varieties and from the comments, they're great at attracting butterflies and hummers.
Cute pics, pollengarden!
How exciting that you might have had a Blue-throat. My brother told me the other day that his Rufous hummers left earlier than normal this year, but he's way north in the mountains.
Sorry that it might have moved on, Pollen. If you've got some extra play money, something like this could be helpful. I keep one on my stream during migration to capture warblers and other birds that I miss while not outside. http://www.wingscapes.com/
Here are two taken from behind a dirty window on dreary days. The adult male was on 9/3. He was here for a couple of days.
Great shots! I take a lot of window shots, too.
Most of my males have headed south. I do see one adult male now and then, but I'm sure he'll be gone soon.
How can such tiny things be so aggressive. I have at least two here today. One has discovered a sunflower perch halfway between the yummy flowers and the feeder. It's all in my view from the office and so funny to watch them zip off after each other.
I attach thin branches to each of the shepherd's hooks that hold my hummer feeders. At this time of year the hummers tend to "set up camp" at each feeder and spend most of the day guarding it against intruders. Occasionally other hummers catch them off guard or temporarily away, but the chasing goes on endlessly.
Every once in a while the dominant ones will patiently allow another hummer to sip some nectar, but their patience wears off very quickly.
The aggression in a tiny package is a surprise, but so is the noise. They like to cuss, and can cuss loud when necessary.
I have a motion activated game camera. I have used it on birds as small as as sparrows, finches, juncos - but it usually takes more than 1 bird to trigger it (photo 2). No luck with Hummingbirds so far. I had it set up in July for several days when the hummingbird feeder was busy, & all I got was a juvenile oriole (photo 1).
So I moved it up into the mountains for a few weeks. I discovered that I had to set the distance very carefully to get it work right. (3 was too close, 4 about right) I decided to try it on Hummingbirds again, but I didn't retrieve it from the mountains until yesterday. No Hummingbird pictures so far today.
PS: After three days of setting and rechecking my motion camera, I still don't have any Hummingbird photos. They must just be too small and too fast for my type of camera - I guess I will have to get one of those that can handle the shorter focal distance.
This message was edited Sep 13, 2014 4:45 PM
They are still here in MD but they are a timid bunch compared to the MI birds. There is a lot more feeder competition here. I will check in with when I have seen my last hummingbird. No time for photos now, I have a summer's worth of weeding. ;-(
Ah, I have to set mine pretty close for hummingbird. The wingscapes cam has and 18"-24" setting. and then I put it on High sensitivity for the HBs.
Cool Cam shots you guys!
I took these this morning.
1 & 2) This little girl was really "ticked off" over the wasp intruding on her feeder. They're kind of out of focus, but I think you can get the idea. She was chattering non-stop, giving it a "piece of her mind".
3) Shhh...nap time.
4 & 5) The hummer on top is the dominant one. The one on the bottom is testing his(?) luck. The last pic is just a close-up. I think it's juvy male.
Gorgeous photos nuts(). You can see every stab mark on them. I love the sleeper. It is amazing how they can feed with yellow jackets - I guess the hummers are too fast for them.
I haven't seen a hummer here in MD at my feeder in 36 hours so I think they may have already moved on.
Thanks, otta!
We're in full migration now and still have quite a few hummers coming through, but it will probably thin out soon. Our birds are generally very competitive, but I've seen more hummers share a sip this year than ever before - never more than two at a time, though, and only occasionally.
My latest visitor has been October 6, so not much time left now.
Way too soon :o(
Way too soon :o(
That second pic looks like the hummer was going to bite off the yellow jacket's head...Lol
Sallie - Yeah, they're hyper all right. Most of mine are getting pretty chubby, too.
Sequoia - She was definitely annoyed and in no mood to play around.
Haha...darned yellow jackets!
I had one straggler around today but no fighting going on. I will miss the little guys. Even the yellow jackets are slowing down. We are in the woods here in MD too so maybe they are staying in more open areas and feeders.
My second peak of activity has come and gone. They usually hang around until the end of September, but I have had Juveniles as late as mid-October. I am already down to stragglers, one at a time - so I am wondering if this might be an early fall.
Otta & Pollen - Mine are still here, though it has thinned out a bit, but my brother (in Colorado) said most of his left early.
I actually saw an adult male this evening, which was surprising. But I know it's just a matter of time. One day they're here and the next day...well...you know.
Gone in a flash.
These pics were 9/13, but they're still buzzing around. Last night we actually saw 2 on adjacent feeders, but a 3rd came up and did the fight dance and the other 2 flew off.
Sallie - Love the pics! I think the first one is my favorite, but they're all great!
I think we've had a bit of a turnover in the last couple of days. The little girl that was practically "living" at the kitchen window feeder may have left (see the 3rd pic in one of my previous posts - taking a nap). The one I now see most often is thinner and she doesn't hang around very long. I'm sure some of the others have left with new ones coming in, but I don't see the other feeders close up as often.
