Hummingbird Adventures 11

Worse still because of this bird giving me the TWEET treatment, none of the hummers showed up. I tried herding him out and must have scared him enough that he finally left. I just walked around and talked to him. I left the door open too. DH and I figure that he is some kind of a gnatcatcher. I'll post a separate thread if we can't ID him.
Totally thrilled about the update, KC. I'm glad she will have the chance to live a life with purpose. She's gonna be a teacher!
KC, what is it with you and the toes? Is it the way they fold into the body or the way he has them curled in that photo? LOL!
Are they really toes or talons since we're talking birds here?
duc, Duke sort of earned his name. He's one tough hombre. He's charming as well. It fits. Thank you for letting me give him a name.
Weather here supposed to continue cold and cloudy, our June Gloom for another week. Hope the hummers come out, I kind of missed them these last few days.
WIB,
SW

So great to hear the little baby is in good hands and has a buddy :-). Great pics on here as usual.

SW, your mystery guest reminds me of a Black Phoebe. I don't know if you remember when I posted a bunch of black phoebe fledgling photos on the backyard birds thread, but Mom looked like your visitor. http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Black_Phoebe/id

And boy-oh-boy, is s/he squawkin'!

I agree with Sunny, that's a Black Phoebe. They're nice birds and I don't think I've ever seen one around a hummer feeder. Maybe it was just tired of the cold, cloudy weather.

Phoebes and hummers like the same protein sources. In the evenings here, I get families of both showing up and showing off their incredible flight maneuvers as they snatch flying bugs out of the air.

An interesting thing about the phoebes---they like bugs that congregate over water. We had a pond for years and no phoebes. But as soon as we put in a Doughboy pool, they moved in. Apparently they've learned that "swimming pool blue" means a food source. After we took the Doughboy down I thought they might move away, but they stayed; I think we're probably on the 2nd or 3rd generation now.

I'm tired of the cloudy weather, too! Yep, Black Phoebe - lovely flycatchers. We've found they usually pick a few favorite spots - a sprinkler head, our mailbox, a fence post - where you can find them often, watching and resting between bug catching forays.

Hmmm, our parrots have toes with nails on them - don't know where toes leave off and talons start, but the word usually implies a bird of prey. Hey, my DH says "give me your paw" when we're out walking, what do I know?

sunny, You nailed the species! : ) Happy Dance! I have at least one Black Phoebe! Happy Dance! : )
I often hear and see them flying around but they are always moving so fast. I'm sure that he was probably eating the bugs in there. I never saw it approach the feeder and the level didn't change inside, but he seemed to like the blooming bananas. Lots of nectar there. When I first saw him, he was walking around on the deck next to the pool. I was relieved when he found his way out.
What you heard was a distress call. The last two tweets are very close to the only sounds it was making. Glad to know I didn't scare it into to the two syllable teeeweeet! I had another headache. This one I think was a sinus headache. Lots of allergines in the air right now. And it was so cold & windy yesterday here.
Your DH and I say the same thing. The appendage hanging from your wrist is a paw. When my toe nails get too long or someone has abnormally long finger nails, I often refer to them as talons. I guess I always think of claws as being retractable, so they aren't the same.
Get this, (chuckle) I'm so bad that when I take the kids to the Dr. I refer to it as taking them to the vet's. They get it, and long ago decided to humor me. : )
Basically, we are just a different kind of animal, and it's good to be reminded of that every once in a while. No better than any other living thing, and probably worse, because of the influence we have over the environment.
Saw hummers earlier, we are getting some sun today. Hope to have hummer photos later today. Feel free to post any you manage to capture a photo of. : )
WIB,
SW

What gr8 bird stories, you guys. SW, how on EARTH did Phoebe find her way inside the greenhouse? Watching a hummer find its way in? Amazing, isn't it? I never think of "animals" watching one another. Like, duh!! {chuckling} I watched the Mockers out back this morning and wondered at the time why we don't seem to have the varieties some of the rest of you folks do. Is it the greater extremes here in Central California vs. you SoCal folks? But then, the more Eastern US folks have what seems to be a greater diversity, as well, and much of that area can't be called less extreme, temperature-wise over time, can it? Makes me wish I was wiser on the ways of biodiversity. So I'll keep reading and learning, thanks to you.

We had a gorgeous week here this week. It seems that spring has found its center finally. YES! It felt good to do some early morning gardening. It's hard to believe that only 3 weeks ago it was 106, doesn't it? Oh, and I have a bird question. I'm accustomed to our local Mourning Doves hatching up to 3 clutches throughout our summers. There was a clutch of finches which recently left an ideal nesting spot tucked up under my garage eaves on top of the Star Jasmine vine growing up the wall. This morning I saw a pair once again flitting about the roof as if to lay another clutch. Do all birds lay more than one clutch a season? Or do only some varieties do so?

And tomorrow I'm heading over to Big Lots to purchase a white 2-seater iron bench to replace the sad-looking wood bench presently resting on the patio. It's the perfect dimensions for the spot the wood one is on now. I plan on putting the wood bench in the front yard inside the new landscaping to use as a potted plant bench with a bird seed feeder atop it. That, too, is perfect. With the dogs having 24X7 access to the patio I can't leave seed out here or they end up jumping up and clowning around to capture the pretty little creatures. Phooey on the dogs!!

And, I found a new (but already well-weathered) concrete statue at the nursery today, it is awesome. A dog lying down with a large ball between her paws (speaking of paws--LOL). The problem is that I can't get it out of my trunk, oh my! So I guess I'll wander down the street tomorrow morning to see if I can find a big young man to help me.

Linda

Oh Linda,
You are so funny, use an old blanket underneath to lift out the dog when you find the kids to help you. A blanket helps distribute the load better, and it's easier to hold on to the corners. It also supplies a little padding. I can't wait to see a photo of it in your yard.
I have no idea unless she was chasing a bug and it flew in there. The gh is placed in between my goldfish/turtle pond, and my bottom waterer area. The swimming pool is enclosed in there. I need to take a new photo of the inside of the gh.
Wasn't able to get many photos yesterday of the hummers. I tried, but they were acting really wary. I wonder what scared them? The Phoebe?
What I got is blurry, sigh!
Think this is Sweetie Pie, she sure has a big belly, in this photo.

One of the BCH's showed up. Still blurry. Sigh!

Linda, that's too funny! Do you stand out there and stare in the trunk? I would! You'll have to post a picture of your pup - it sounds adorable. DH is waiting until he retires to get a golden lab, so I bought a small statue for him - he has a little sign around his neck that says "welcome" and it glows in the dark. The best thing about it is his sweet face - we named him Buddy.

Birds - some have one clutch, some more. The only reason I know is having read so many entries in our bird books!

As for diversity, we live right on the main migration route for the west coast. We live in a river valley and there is a lot of protected land just across the highway from us. Seems like we would see a little of everything, doesn't it? Nope. Once in a while we will spot a newbie, but they have so many hidden places to go, why be near people? At least that's what I think. Also, I think we're just not there when they are around - like 5 a.m.! I'm sure you see a lot where you live that we don't see, too.

This was the best picture all day. As I said they have been acting wary of everything, including shadows. Was able to catch her backwinging away. LOL!
WIB!
SW

Got to agree with KC. I know we have several species of birds that live here on the farm. I seldom see them, and as I age it gets harder to see them. (I am ready for Trifocals, sigh!)
I hear them though. I know some birds clutch more than once, but also it depends on the the food supply for some of them.Besides, DH has a load of bee hives down by the best place to bird watch and until he moves them out, I'm not going there.
WIB,
SW

SW, your visiting phoebe might have been attracted by the pool in the greenhouse----in my neck of the woods, they seem to have learned that color means dinner!!~~

ima, Well I do leave the gh door half open all day, so may well have been the reason for her visit. The gh itself is covered with a layer of dust tho. Saw it yesterday tweeting away and chasing flies in the area of my bottom waterer. Seemed happy. : )
Been busy out in the garden, will go look for hummers, they seem to be hanging out here (see photo) a lot.
WIB,
SW

Pretty shrub, SW. And there was a point in submitting it? ^_^

I mean . . . is there a hummingbird hanging around the bush I couldn't see on my laptop? LOL, ROFLw/MBP (w/my beloved poodles)

Here's the statue. Isn't she awesome?

Linda (bein' cute again)

P.S. When you already wear trifocals can you still be cute?

Twincol, What, you can't see that sweet little hummer working that Butterfly bush? Or the honeysuckle behind it? Glad you had company while you were LOL, ROFLw/MBP!
Really between the B.fly bush and the honeysuckle they spend a lot of time out in the front yard these days.
I bet you a smile, that the pretty concrete puppy is still in your trunk! LOL!
When you wear trifocals you can be cute or contentious. It's up to you. Personally, I'm perennially cute.
Better question, is it normal for me take off my bifocals to read the small print?

But hey, it's time to move to a new page on this thread, it's hard on our dial up friends when the thread gets too long.

This is where we are going : http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/1002745/

I hope you all join us there for our continuing adventures with our hummer friends.
Thanks to all who have posted or just stopped to take a peak. Can't wait to see what happens next!
Walk In Beauty!
SingingWolf

I wear trifocals and do sometimes take them off to read small print. They tell me that's normal.

Linda, that pup is adorable.

OK, over to the new thread.

Yeah, KaperC, so do I. I have never been able to figure out why, having worn glasses for "distance" much of my life, they can't fix my closeup vision as adequately. Aaaaah, the vicissitudes of outliving cancer . . . another aspect of aging for which I am grateful.

Now then . . . at 5'10" I've never been called "cute." I was hoping trifocals would help. {chuckling}

SW, keep smiling, girl!!! I'll let you know when you can stop.

Thanks, both of you, for the laughter. I needed it tonight. LOL ROFLw/MBP

Off to the new thread . . . .