First Humming bird..

My wife said she saw a humming bird the other day so I put the feeder up yesterday and humming birds visited almost immediately. This fellow is from the internet. I hope to get some new photos soon. Often the early humming birds come too soon and a hard frost will kill many.

Last Hummingbird photo of the season?

I took this photo a few days ago. The female looks to have a rosy breast a reflection from the plastic flower I assume. This is the last hummingbird I have seen. Perhaps they have all gone south already even though there has been no frost as yet. Maybe they think there should be frost. Harvest is just getting underway at present so it is rather late this year.

UPDATE: Sept. 10. I saw at least one more hummingbird visit the feeder several times today so I guess a few are still around.

Another male hummingbird

I was right close to the window when this male ruby throat landed and he posed while I took a quick photo. There are quite a few around these days but I imagine come late August and early September there will be more before they all leave.

Male and Female Hummingbirds

The top photo is of a female that seems to be bloated with eggs. I am a bit surprised as I thought that the young would already be hatched. There are plenty of young sparrows about and even some Brewer blackbird kids. The male is a bit fuzzy but may he is the dad!

More Hummingbirds visit..

Here are two photos of ruby throated hummingbirds feeding at our new feeder. The new feeder works well. I must store it somewhere I can find it in the spring! I always seem to misplace feeders so that I need to buy a new one or combine parts from older feeders I find lying around.

For a month or so there were few hummingbirds about but they seem to be returning now. In the fall there are always quite a few before they leave for the south.

Missing hummingbird

This is a good photo of my new hummingbird feeder even though the humming bird who was visiting is already gone. I am not as fast taking photos as the humming bird was feeding and then taking off. There is always a next time!

One or two humming birds re-appear

For several weeks now there seem to be few if any humming birds at the feeder but the last two days I have seen one male in the morning feeding. They often seem to disappear during much of the summer and reappear in larger numbers in the fall. Perhaps it is because there are lots of flowers available but few around our place.

There are more house sparrows about than I have seen in some time with several youngsters clamouring to be fed among them. The house sparrow young remind me of some humans even though the young are able to peck and get the sunflower seeds themselves they would rather be fed by their elders! At least they have left the nest!

Hummingbird in flight..

There are not many hummingbirds at the feeder. Perhaps most of them were killed by the cold weather or perhaps I need to change the mixture, or perhaps there are flowers out already. Here is a photo of one ready to land on the artificial flower perch on the feeder.

First Humming bird this year

I saw the first humming bird early last evening. I was astonished. The temperature was to go down to minus two C. I hastily cleaned the feeder and prepared a solution and then set it out before dark. This morning there was a male feeding about 7 AM when the temperature was minus one. It seemed to be functioning OK but often the frost kills them. The humming birds must have a wrong interpretation of global warning. It doesn't mean there will be no late frosts in late May and early June! Most years some birds that come early freeze to death. People find them lying underneath their feeders.

Last Hummingbird of the Season

I took down the hummingbird feeder yesterday as the nights are getting too cold for them to stay. I have heard that it is not a good idea to leave the feeders up too late because it encourages the birds to stay too late and may result in some being killed by the cold nights. This is my last 2008 photo taken three days ago. We have noticed several hummingbirds looking for the feeder in the last day or so.

I have replaced my old broken feeder with a smaller feeder for now but I intend to set up a different feeder on a pole before the ground freezes.

More chickadees

There are more chickadees visiting the feeder now. Perhaps this is a sign of the coming of fall. They have not been too common over the summer. During the winter time they are sometimes one of the commonest visitors.

There are still hordes of house sparrows from time to time, and also pine siskins are still plentiful. There are also a few starlings. One starling often visits along with the sparrows. Unlike the hummingbirds, the siskins, sparrows, and starlings seem to be able to co-exist while feeding.

Hummingbirds are quite plentiful. Once we start to have some frost at night they will leave. It is apparently a good idea to take the feeder down before it gets very cold since if nectar is available the hummingbirds will stay too late.

Strange fuzzy bird!

This is a blurry photo of a squirrel on the feeder. It also shows the duct tape that is now holding the feeder together. Perhaps I will invest in a new feeder before winter.

We drove down to Napinka in the southwest corner of the province yesterday. There were several very large flocks of red-wing blackbirds along the way. They may be gathering already to go south. It was cold last night but I do not think there was frost yet. There are plenty of hummingbirds still around. They are so active that I had to replace the nectar after just a few days.

My regular supplies of sunflower seeds still has none so I had to buy at a hardware store where they are more expensive. The house sparrows are the worst for simply emptying the feeder contents onto the ground.

Hummingbirds becoming more common..

There are more hummingbirds now, enough that there are fights fairly often. The most common birds at the feeder these days though are the house sparrows. There still seem to be some young ones begging for food. Pine siskins are also plentiful. But there are also a few chickadees now and also some red breasted nuthatches.

We drove to Winnipeg and back yesterday. I did not see any new birds unless some of the ducks on the sloughs were ones I have not seen before. I was not close enough to identify any of them. We did see a mourning dove. Of course there are plenty of red-winged blackbirds but I did not see a single yellow headed blackbird.

Hummingbirds are back...

The liquid in my humming bird feeder had become so old that I changed it. Now this morning and yesterday I was rewarded in that several hummingbirds have visited. They are usually plentiful in late spring and late summer before leaving. This morning there were several even two at a time. They are very territorial birds and will not usually feed peacefully together. When one finishes feeding it often sits in a nearby branch ready to chase away any competitor who might want to feed!

More flickers

This morning when I woke up I discovered two northern flickers on the lawn probing for grubs and worms. It seems that these woodpeckers were meant to be like robins foraging for worms but somehow the designs must have gotten mixed up...They are colorful birds usually seen around here this time of year but in no great numbers.

At the bird feeder the main species is the house sparrow but there are American goldfinches and quite a few pine siskins. From time to time I see the odd starling and even crows eat the sunflower seeds. Yesterday I saw a chickadee. They are not too plentiful at the feeder these days. There has been no further sign of humming birds. I will have to change the nectar again as it looks cloudy and ready to ferment!

Chipping sparrow

This morning there was a lone chipping sparrow foraging for sunflower seeds beneath the feeder. There have been quite a few from time to time this year. They often are at the feeder along with house sparrows and pine siskins but not in great numbers, usually just one or two.

I saw another hummingbird yesterday so I guess they are beginning to re-appear. I probably should change the solution in my hummingbird feeder. It has been long enough in the feeder that perhaps it will ferment and make the poor hummingbirds drunk.

Yellow warbler

For the first time this year I saw a yellow warbler in the yard. The warbler was not visiting the feeder but landed in one of the spruce trees briefly. There seem to be very few warblers about any more.
My wife saw one hummingbird yesterday, the first we have seen in weeks. There are plenty of house sparrows at the feeder and also many pine siskins. A few starlings are visiting as well. They eat seeds that are fallen on the ground. Even the odd crow picks up the seeds from the ground.

Where have all the hummingbirds gone?

Here is a photo of a hummingbird at my feeder late in May. However, since early June there has not been a single hummingbird that I have seen at the feeder. It seems that during the mating season they birds tend to disappear. Perhaps there are plenty of flowers so that no artificial feeders are needed or perhaps they are busy raising young. Anyway they will probably re-appear later in the season. We enjoy watching them. They are very territorial and quite unwilling to share the feeder with other hummingbirds.

American goldfinches

There are quite a few American goldfinches about this year. Here are two with another coming in for a landing. There is also a pine siskins. The siskins are also quite plentiful. They probably enjoy the spruce trees around the yard even though they are pine siskins!

There are also a few chipping sparrows. The slate-coloured juncos are long gone. However, I still here Canada geese going north the last few days. Humming birds seem to visit infrequently these days. Perhaps they are busing nesting or keeping warm. We have had no warm weather the last while.

Humming Birds and Global Warming

The humming birds don't seem to understand that global warming does not mean that every year there will be warmer springs. There have been two nights of freezing temperatures and apparently it is taking a toll. Our neighbour found two dead birds under her feeder. There are none at mine fortunately. Many must have survived since the feeder is still busy. This is a photo I took a few days back when I first put the feeder out.