Welcome to our Hummingbird Adventures, we try to have fun, share photos, and stories, and have a good time on this thread. Feel free to jump in at any time.
We came from here: http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/972304/#new
Special thanks to all of you have been following the adventures of our hummer friends.
Walk In Beauty!
SingingWolf
duc advised me to go stand close to the feeder. Before I even had a chance to get the camera set on the proper settings, I started having visitors. Thanks duc, you deserve a lot of credit for the following photos. My bad if they aren't perfectly in focus. I would try holding them as your DH did, but then I wouldn't have anyone to take the photos. Sigh.
Sweetie Pie came to visit.
Then Zoom buzzed by, but didn't let my presence 2 feet away deter him. Boy is he fast!
Not the best of photos, but we were both surprised!
Here Zoom is coming in to feed! The photo that started this thread was taken just before this one.
Zoom's exertions must have tired him out. Here he is perched among the wisteria leaves.
Wow---really close!!
I had a bunch of people sitting around in the heat yesterday in back, and they were amazed at how much activity there was at the closest feeder.
I'm always yapping at the hummers, so they're used to that. I'll have to try the "early morning feeding" technique!
Last one for now. This was taken at the other feeder, Zippy had to make an appearance. It's like she is waving "HI"! ^_^
Still think I need to figure out what setting to use if I'm that close. Probably should stick to the telephoto. I did crop some of these, but only so you could see what I saw.
duc, thank you for the advice. I was amazed at how they just didn't care how close you are. I sing all the time or am talking to something. So they are used to me. I wonder if I can talk one of my kids into helping me the next time the feeder goes empty. Hmmm. YS takes decent photos sometimes.
Enjoy!
Great job on all the photos. The more you stand close, the more they'll get used to your voice-or maybe they just like voices. You'll get the hang of it pretty fast. By the way, I stand close and still crop a lot of my photos and there's nothing wrong with that!
I'm going to have to post my banding photos tomorrow afternoon. I'd forgotten we've got appointments this afternoon and tomorrow morning. Please forgive me.
Twincol, I'm not sure if that is Zippy, but I'm thinking of changing her name to Dances on Air. LOL!
The last photos is definitely Zippy, doesn't she look pretty with the pink background!
WIB,
SW
No problem duc, if we can't wait we can go back to the last thread, and look for the hyperlink KC posted. I kind of feel like it is worth the wait. Thanks for the encouragement. I'll go play some more and see what happens on different camera settings.
WIB,
SW
Last Sunday was so interesting to me because I was participating in another hummingbird banding session. We have them twice a month from March until October and if you can stand getting up at 3:30 a.m. and driving for 45 minutes out into the middle of nowhere in the mountains, then this is the perfect volunteer job for you.
This particular weekend, we trapped 43 hummers, 31 of those were recaptures (or previously banded birds). 8 of the recaptures were birds that had been banded earlier that morning and I guess they didn't mind the personal attention we give each one. The biggest excitement was that one bird had been banded here in 2007.
Here's just a few photos from previous sessions-no time this week for more photos, but next time I'll try to get more.
First thing is to hang a cloth net over a feeder. (We have 4 feeders out earlier in the week, then at trapping time, we pull two down and use the other two for trapping the birds)
We have a fishline from the trap (that is pulled up a little ways which allows the birds inside) and when a bird is bent down feeding, we pull the string and it lowers the net to capture the bird. We then reach in and get the bird.
Each hummer is placed in a cloth net bag with a paper showing the exact time the bird was captured. We will not hold a bird longer than 10 minutes, but it has never been that long while I've been there. Depending on how many people are banding, it averages about 5 minutes for the whole process. Believe me, everyone has a specific job and the care of the bird is the first thing on our minds.
The bags are lined up on hooks by the time the bird was captured.
The bill is measured.
The wings are counted and checked for anything irregular, like length, damage etc.
A small straw is used to blow the feathers apart. The person is checking for fat (yes, they do get chubby), molting and any disease or bugs.
This is where the band is attached to the leg. There are several sizes of bands and the leg has been measured to be sure it fits properly.
Here's a photo of the bands-the tiny little things are held on the larger rings until needed. By the way, a magnifying headset is used to see everything perfectly.
You can see the band on the birds leg here-but you have to look close. Hard to believe, but there's a letter and 5 numbers on each band to identify the banding station.
A material screen is wrapped on the bird and secured. The bird is weighed-most Anna's weigh around 3.8-4.1 grams.
All the information is put into a computer and the bird is given a drink of sugar water to give it a chance to recover from this ordeal. Then the person lets the bird sit in the hand until it flies off on its own-which is usually immediately.
Sorry no photo of this last part. It's the most interesting, but on the day I was photographing all this, (it was my first day), I was given the privilege of holding the bird and releasing it. That was much more fun than photogrpahing it!!
Here's a link to the place that I volunteer-it's an old gold mine, but now a reserve. You can read more if you go to the "Events, Opportunities and News".
http://nrs.ucdavis.edu/McL/index.html
This message was edited Apr 21, 2009 7:46 AM
Great start to the new thread, SW. Zoom is looking especially handsome in these new shots. I love it! :-).
Thanks so much for the photos and explanation, Duc! Wow, that's an incredible process, and your photos are so detailed and completely fascinating! How neat you go to hold and release the hummers that day...it must be such a special experience.
Here's mom sitting on her new nest. This is a pic from yesterday. It was 95 degrees out at the time, so she seemed to be sitting above the nest, more than actually in it (although you can't really tell from this angle). I just checked the nest a few minutes ago, and mom isn't there at the moment.
Sk, any news on your hummer nests? I hope you've started feeling better.
maybe she figured she didn't need to sit on the eggs for them to stay warm in this heat & she could go have a spa treatment...LOL!
LOL Ima! I can just imagine her off getting a little mani/pedi and a facial. I do wonder if she was shading the eggs from the heat (sun had just moved past her nest when I was taking the photos), but that is pure speculation on my part, of course. ;-)
Those are great photos sunny! Mom looks nice and comfy sitting there.
My hummers are sitting in the trees now to stay out of the heat. I'm hoping this hot weather will last through the weekend. It's our Heron Festival at the state park and you can bet I'll be right there-rain or shine!
sunnyg, wow, I love momma's dot markings under her chin. Should name her Dot. LOL! Still having nest envy. I know they around somewhere, but not inside the gh.
Thank you so much for posting the hummingbird banding process, duc. I sure am glad I'm not responsible for banding the tiny birds. They are so fragile. Fascinating process, and great explanations of each part. So you capture them early in the day, and release in about 5 - 10 minutes. I am truly amazed. How long do most Hummers (annas) live?
Hope you have a great time at the Heron festival. duc, don't forget extra batteries for your camera!
WIB,
SW
SW, when I volunteer, I have learned how to do everything, but I refuse to do the actual banding too. It would kill me to cause injury to these beautiful birds. Besides, I'd be shaking the whole time.
We trap the birds in groupls of 4-6 depending on how many people are working. Then when the bander gets down to 1 bird left, we trap several more. This way we don't keep the birds too long. The whole session is done exactly 5 hours in a day. We start before the sun comes up and at the end of 5 hours, we stop totally. Everything is recorded, including the temperature and wind every hour. If it gets too windy, we'll cancel. It's too dangerous for the birds if the wind is blowing and the light weight trap could get tangled and possibly injure the bird.
No one really knows how long a bird will live for sure, but it's thought around 4 or 5 years.
I haven't seen any bath time pics. yet so I'l throw some in. These aren't very good as it is early in the morning and still bretty dark. The girls take turns every morning...the boys, not so much. I'll try to get some better shots when I can be out there a bit later in the day.
And another
and one more
Beautiful fountain, Carol. They are cute when they bathe, aren't they?
I bought that just for the birds! It's perfect for them, a a joy to sit and watch them in the morning while I have my coffee and smoke.
Yes, that is a beautiful fountain Carol. Your hummer looks so comfortable enjoying that water.
Great photos! I just opened my front door and was watching a hummer enjoy the small fountain nearby-no camera of course.
Here's one enjoying the backyard fountain. This was last year and we haven't put the solar fountain out yet because of the wind.
camera envy, camera envy, camera envy.....my mantra every time I see one of your great photos, duc----just fabulous!
I have skill envy! LOL
I'm pretty sure I have both ;-). That's an awesome shot, Duc!
Carol, what a wonderful fountain! Thanks for sharing, and I hope to see more of your hummer bathing shots in the future. I love watching them take their little baths. I have waterfall "steps" leading into my little pond, and it's a hot spot for all sorts of bird bathing and drinking action, including the hummers. One of these days I hope to be able to get a decent pic. Somehow I never have the camera when the hummers show up for their baths.
Thanks for the comments on mama "Dot" (I like it, SW). She built her nest higher this time, and my little camera is having a bit of a challenge getting shots. I am also fighting the fact that the tree is leafing out very rapidly...hurry up babies, otherwise I won't be able to see you.
Here's the view from below this morning. LOL
The babies are in today's article about Lichen :-) http://davesgarden.com/guides/articles/view/2407/
Sunny, you're going to have to make a platform with two ladders to get photos now of that nest. We have lots of lichen on the boulders and trees here. It's really kinda pretty. I keep trying to see where my hummers are flying off to, but there's just too many trees and heavy shrubs in our area.
This hummer was trying to see where the water (which was rain really) was coming from.
Aww what a cute photo, Duc!
LOL I totally need some scaffolding or something, so I can see better. The tree is on HOA property, and I've been standing in the middle of the little common drive while taking the photos. It's been an interesting and fun way to meet the neighbors, if nothing else ;-).
Mama Dot has been on the nest a lot today. She has been moving her head back and forth, and adjusting the eggs a lot more than I've seen thus far. She had her tail all fanned out as well:
