Thru my window

[Reef Bass]

Showoff.

Jay, sweet hummingbird shots. In #1, I'd bet the throat stretch posture also involves the wing angle and tail flare your photo demonstrates. We have rufus and Anna's here also. Your shots will help me to distinguish.

My best encounter with a hummingbird was when we were having a 100 year cold snap in the early 90s. Temps got down to 13 by morning which is wicked cold for us. I took my hummingbird feeder inside to thaw because it was frozen solid. After thawing, I went back outside to hang it back up. As soon as I held the feeder in my outstretched arm, a hummingbird zoomed up to it and ate / drank mightily. I stood there holding the feeder until it was done, and then hung it up.

 

[Nina51]

awesome pics, jay!! are these all in wisconsin?? i didn't know you had such a variety. we only get the ruby throated here but i guess i should be thankful. i don't think i can afford any more sugar!

 

[JaYbIrD1969]

No Nina. I only get the rubys here. The others were taken in the PNW

 

[Nina51]

ah ok. as much as i love 'em, i am glad to see them start their migration. it's almost a full time job keeping feeders cleaned and filled. in all the years i've had swarms of hummies, i have yet to find a nest. since they are the size of a walnut, i don't hold out much hope!

 

[jroovers]

dad coaxing him out of the nest box.
<a href="http://s6.photobucket.com/user/Ninapearl/media/dadbb_zps4f9facc2.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y203/Ninapearl/dadbb_zps4f9facc2.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo dadbb_zps4f9facc2.jpg"/></a>

they get pretty tame!
<a href="http://s6.photobucket.com/user/Ninapearl/media/nina4.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y203/Ninapearl/nina4.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo nina4.jpg"/></a>

You weren't kidding about your bluebird defences, they look like fort knox! That is a really cool hummer shot.

PS I never did photograph a red head during my 3+ years here in the upper midwest. It was a bucket list bird and I just missed it. That and a scarlet tanager

That is indeed awesome about the red heads, never seen one nor a scarlet tanager for that matter.

i put 10 feeders out and fill them twice a day for most of the summer. i buy sugar (and grape jelly) throughout the year so i have a stash. LOL

I do the table sugar thing too, 4:1. Works better than anything else I've tried. At our old place I used two feeders, and found that two was much better than one... 10 would really keep them around... amazing for how small they are, how feisty they can be in defending a feeder! Any ratios you've noticed in terms of females to males? We only seem to attract females that stick around for a few weeks at a time, mostly in spring and fall, before moving on, and we see the odd male, but they don't seem to stay for periods like the females do.

Hey Jordan. I would love to get some clean shots of these guys, but an outdoor blind in -15 isnt terribly appealing. LOL :eek2:

No, true enough! At least the blind helps cut the wind. If out in those kind of temps, good clothing including gloves, and thermos of coffee preferably with Baileys is mandatory

ah ok. as much as i love 'em, i am glad to see them start their migration. it's almost a full time job keeping feeders cleaned and filled. in all the years i've had swarms of hummies, i have yet to find a nest. since they are the size of a walnut, i don't hold out much hope!

I see now they sell those hummingbird "nest material" hangers, which basically looks like a suet cake holder except it has fine floss like fibers in it... I'm going to try and hang those this spring, maybe that will entice them to nest somewhere very close buy.

Fantastic hummer shots Jaybird! The colours on those Annas is incredible

 

[Nina51]

You weren't kidding about your bluebird defences, they look like fort knox! That is a really cool hummer shot.

I do the table sugar thing too, 4:1. Works better than anything else I've tried. At our old place I used two feeders, and found that two was much better than one... 10 would really keep them around... amazing for how small they are, how feisty they can be in defending a feeder! Any ratios you've noticed in terms of females to males? We only seem to attract females that stick around for a few weeks at a time, mostly in spring and fall, before moving on, and we see the odd male, but they don't seem to stay for periods like the females do.

I see now they sell those hummingbird "nest material" hangers, which basically looks like a suet cake holder except it has fine floss like fibers in it... I'm going to try and hang those this spring, maybe that will entice them to nest somewhere very close buy.

LOL yeah, the baffle wards off anything that can climb or slither. the mylar strips are added after the first egg is laid. nothing short of death will keep a bluebird momma away from the nest but the strips keep the sparrows out. it's actually called a sparrow spooker.

yup, i've been mixing my own nectar for many years. in the spring and fall, i mix it 3:1 to give them an extra boost. the rest of the summer, 4:1. feisty for sure! i have seen a hummingbird try to get nectar out of the red dot on a downy woodpecker's head. hilarious! i have tied a red ribbon around a dog's neck and watched hummingbirds almost land on her head. i do have more females than males but still, plenty of males since i have the swarms. the males arrive first and leave first.

i used to hang a feeder just outside my back door but i had to move that one because several times i had hummingbirds follow me into the house when i opened the door. LOL

the nesting material sounds interested. i will check that out!

 

[jroovers]

LOL yeah, the baffle wards off anything that can climb or slither. the mylar strips are added after the first egg is laid. nothing short of death will keep a bluebird momma away from the nest but the strips keep the sparrows out. it's actually called a sparrow spooker.

yup, i've been mixing my own nectar for many years. in the spring and fall, i mix it 3:1 to give them an extra boost. the rest of the summer, 4:1. feisty for sure! i have seen a hummingbird try to get nectar out of the red dot on a downy woodpecker's head. hilarious! i have tied a red ribbon around a dog's neck and watched hummingbirds almost land on her head. i do have more females than males but still, plenty of males since i have the swarms. the males arrive first and leave first.

i used to hang a feeder just outside my back door but i had to move that one because several times i had hummingbirds follow me into the house when i opened the door. LOL

the nesting material sounds interested. i will check that out!

You sound like the hummingbird whisperer

Here's a site I've seen the nesting material hangers:

http://shop.wbu.com/p/hummer-helper-nesting-material?pp=12

"Composed of all natural fiber that has not been treated with chemicals, Hummer Helper Nesting Material takes the place of spider webs and lichen in lining the nests of everyone's favorite tiny marvels: hummingbirds. This isn't just a great opportunity for hummingbirds; goldfinches, titmice and other birds also use it."

 

[Nina51]

sometimes i feel like a hummingbird whisperer! LOL

thanks for the link. there's a wild birds unlimited store in springfield, i'll take a look next time i'm up there.

 

[JaYbIrD1969]

A few from thismorning. These were shot with the 105mm macro

 

[Mina_40]

Those are beautiful Jaybird

 

[Nina51]

inquisitive cardinal is inquisitive.

 

[JaYbIrD1969]

Lol. Yeah he was concerned about something overhead. I didnt see anything.

 

[jroovers]

Nice, I like this one

Lol. Yeah he was concerned about something overhead. I didnt see anything.

Maybe a cooper's hawk. On Sunday one was lurking around my place. It was in my back tree and flew across the ravine to the other side while I watched. I was going about my business and looked out the window 15 minutes later, it was basically perched in the same spot it had been previously, but with a female cardinal in its talons. My camera was out and I ran over and grabbed it, and by the time I got back to the window it was gone (Murphy's law).

 

[Nina51]

i have lots of hawks around here. red tail, coopers, sharp-shinned. i can always tell, even without seeing one, that it's around because the birds will scatter and i won't see a single one for several minutes. i once watched a red tail circling the back yard. there was a downy woodpecker on a suet cage. he stayed as still as a statue, i'm not even sure he was breathing, till the danger passed.

 

[JaYbIrD1969]

there was a downy woodpecker on a suet cage. he stayed as still as a statue, i'm not even sure he was breathing, till the danger passed.

Ive seen this behavior quite a bit. Ill be watching birds come back and forth from the nearby tree to my feeder. A hawk will make a pass and they will all just freeze. Like parts of the tree. The birds on the feeder will bolt, but the ones in the tree just go stiff. LOL Its amazing how long they stay like that too. Eventually they relax and start preening. But it could take a half hour before they re-emerge to feed.

 

[Nina51]

the only time i've ever seen a hawk take anything was when one swooped down and grabbed a mourning dove. gray feathers flew everywhere! wouldn't mind terribly if it happened more often. i'm covered up in doves!

 

[jroovers]

I refer to the many doves around our place as "hawk bait". They are so slow, especially after they have been feeding. I don't see many takes, but usually only witness the aftermath (pile o' feathers, or spot a hawk feeding on the ground with its kill). Last weekend I also had a red tail hawk buzz by my back deck with a squirrel in its talons.

 

[JaYbIrD1969]

This was a very long distance shot I took while I was photographing western meadowlarks. A male Kestrel took a sparrow. Suddenly another male came in and took it!

 

[toothybugs]

This stuff is utterly insane. Even though I don't "need" it, I'm starting to really long for that telephoto now

 

[Nina51]

wow, jay, talk about being in the right place at the right time!!!