Outdoor Ontario
Birding Reports => Backyard Birding => Topic started by: Howieh on May 10, 2014, 01:01:29 PM
-
He arrived yesterday at suppertime, was back at 6am this morning and has been around ever since and about an hour ago he chased away another male so I guess things are back to normal!
-
We got one. Showed up Saturday afternoon. He was here Sunday morning. A House Sparrow went after him and we've not seen him since the chase. Boooooooooo to the Sparrow!
-
We got one. Showed up Saturday afternoon. He was here Sunday morning. A House Sparrow went after him and we've not seen him since the chase. Boooooooooo to the Sparrow!
Wow, that's strange - the only birds that go after hummers in my yard are other hummers! Where's that hawk when you really need him??
-
I'm starting to worry about him. After his last feed he flew into the bushes and did his courting dance and it turned out to be a female goldfinch who just wasn't interested (he actually chased her away!). I hope the girls arrive soon! :)
-
Your Hummer is weird :shock:
1 male showed up this morning and is still feeding regularily...whenever he can get the Orioles off his feeder.
almost 2 weeks earlier than last year.
Meghan
-
Yep
Last night I was standing out front watching two Mallard Drakes in flight chasing a female around the nearby houses, :?:
when a Hummer buzzed me. So they are definitely back.
Napper
-
He's not weird, he's just h...y! (he's been watching the house sparrows too much). This morning the female goldfinch was sitting on top of the shepherds hook that holds the regular feeder and when the hummer finished feeding he circled her a few times before leaving! Unfortunately my camera was not handy because it would have made for a great video! :)
-
Wow, what a day! Shortly before 6pm I thought I saw two males near the feeder so I went out to see if I could get a video of the two birds, and guess what? the next hummer to show up was my first female of the year followed shortly by one of the males who promptly chased her away. I went out again after supper (mine) and there were THREE males fighting over the feeder! I started taking a video; one left but the other two chased each other all over the place for more than three minutes before they each had a chance to feed. I still had a lone male feeding at 9pm, in almost total darkness!
-
3 females showed up today!
The male just sat on one of the feeders and watched the girls try to chase each other out of my back.
-
i still have nothing.
:(
think i got them late last year. so who knows.
-
1 male hummer for the last 3 days, and today a female as well.
My House Finches have discovered the oranges I put out hoping for Orioles!
Life is good
-
We had a female Hummer stay for several days but we haven't seen her for about a week.
Today a male Hummer showed up!
-
So, we saw the male Hummer again Sunday and Tuesday.
And today the female showed up!
-
We haven't seen anything for over a week and then the female Hummer shows up at the feeder late this afternoon!
We're wondering if there is a nest nearby since the migration is supposedly over.
-
I think I have a RTH (not red tailed hawk) nesting in crab apple tree...a few years ago I had one nesting in apple tree.
I have an old red Liberal cap from a campaign for Colleen Beaumier. On several occasions, when I've worn it, I've found RTH's attracted to it to the point that the peck at my head.
-
I think I have a RTH (not red tailed hawk) nesting in crab apple tree...a few years ago I had one nesting in apple tree.
I have an old red Liberal cap from a campaign for Colleen Beaumier. On several occasions, when I've worn it, I've found RTH's attracted to it to the point that the peck at my head.
Jo-Anne is probably envious because the RTHs surely are much gentler than blackbirds when headpecking! :) Anyway, yesterday I was filling the regular feeder when I noticed quite a commotion in the hummingbird feeder chamber; it looked like the Olympic swimming trials because at least a dozen ants had gotten into the chamber and were dog (ok, ant) paddling while trying to figure a way out! It's been pretty quiet and, even though hummers eat small insects, I thought the chemicals produced by the ants (black ants, some pretty large) would deter them, but as I write this at least three different birds have visited the feeder and don't seem to mind the ants (I guess ants are just a minor annoyance when you're used to dodging hornets!). Unfortunately I can't use the water bottle moat in the present feeder location and the sticky tape loses it's effectiveness pretty fast so I may take down the regular feeder and move the hummingbird feeder to the shepherds hook. How is everyone else doing with their hummers?
-
Jo-Anne is probably envious because the RTHs surely are much gentler than blackbirds when headpecking! :)
Howie ... I've been walking with an umbrella this month to protect my head! :lol: Everyone at the lake is getting head pecked! Someone suggested perhaps they want to use my hair for their nest, but a bald man is also being attacked!
-
Jo-Anne is probably envious because the RTHs surely are much gentler than blackbirds when headpecking! :)
Howie ... I've been walking with an umbrella this month to protect my head! :lol: Everyone at the lake is getting head pecked! Someone suggested perhaps they want to use my hair for their nest, but a bald man is also being attacked!
At least they don't discriminate! Why don't you try wearing an electric hairnet to give the little buggers (am I allowed to say that??) a jolt?...must be something in the waters of Lake Acquitaine! :)
-
A rare treat, both the male and female Hummers showed up today!
-
For starters, I'm bald.
Re: ants -- yes the ants do affect the taste of the nectar. All ants have the same venom as bees and wasps and are classified as hymenopterous insects. While drowning in the nectar they are likely secreting venom and pheromones. The venom would add a very acidic bitter taste to the nectar. As for the black ants, they are likely Campanotus sp. or carpenter ants. Believe it or not, you can get a whole degree in ants...and I got one ! lol
To stop the ants, I put my feeder on a shepherds hook and plaster vaseline all over it. Every couple of weeks I top it up.
-
We just returned from a short holiday near the Thousand Islands and as I expected the hummer feeder chamber WAS full of ants. I've already cleaned it up and replaced the nectar and after installing a moat made from the bottom of a 500ml water bottle (for me easier than vaseline and almost never needs refilling because summer showers usually top it up!) I moved it to the shepherds hook. My two regular hummers (a male and a female) had no trouble relocating their food source and the chickadees and gold finches found the regular feeder immediately but the stupid cardinals and their baby cowbird :) seem a bit confused. The parents keep landing on the shepherds hook and I still haven't seen them at the other feeder! Btw, the ants stormed the regular feeder right after I moved it but it didn't take them long to realize the sweets were gone and they quickly disappeared.
Ok Howie, you spoke too soon....I just watched a young hummer perched on the regular feeder; after some coaxing by me it finally went to the hummingbird feeder, guess all's well that ends well!
-
If you're not into making one, you can buy an ant moat for about 5 bucks.
(http://www.gardenexperiments.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/hbird-moat.jpg)
-
Vaseline not work for you ? I find it's good too even for the squirrels (reds), chipmunks and raccoons while they're still around (keep in mind, we have the dumb cousin to the smart urban raccoon...rural raccoon.
-
I've used vaseline on the shepherds hook but it seems to lose it's slippery properties after a few days (maybe I'll try K-Y jelly next!). Anyway, the feeder switch has worked really well - the ant moat is 100% effective and the hummers are using my designated perch before going to the feeder so I'm getting lots of pictures from a sitting position, which is good because I'm having trouble walking (or standing). Of course the squirrels and a chipmonk have finally gotten to the regular feeder but I'll leave it up anyway because I enjoy watching the food fights between the goldfinches and the cardinals.
-
I've used vaseline on the shepherds hook but it seems to lose it's slippery properties after a few days (maybe I'll try K-Y jelly next!). Anyway, the feeder switch has worked really well - the ant moat is 100% effective and the hummers are using my designated perch before going to the feeder so I'm getting lots of pictures from a sitting position, which is good because I'm having trouble walking (or standing). Of course the squirrels and a chipmonk have finally gotten to the regular feeder but I'll leave it up anyway because I enjoy watching the food fights between the goldfinches and the cardinals.
KY Jelly is water soluble, so i wouldn't suggest it. it will dry out or wash off with rain.
use oils, like mineral oil, which are non-toxic.
and i'm hummerless this year. sad. means that my guy from last year didn't make it back :(
-
We had a couple random Hummingbird sightings since May but the last week or so we've got 2 Hummingbirds, a pair perhaps, coming at dawn and dusk. No sign of them through the day hours but almost like clock work, come 8:30pm and they are out there.
I planted Bee Balm a few years ago and they are taking to the flowers now, something I'd never seen before. I also planted some kind of "butterfly weed" and they are on those buds too.
-
I was outside early yesterday morning to take pictures of the moon and Venus at sunrise, went to the back yard in time to see two hummers drinking from opposite sides of the feeder. They took off but one of my regular males came by and posed for me on a branch I'd set up last week so things are definitely picking up. I was standing beside the feeder last week when both males showed up at the same time. A dogfight ensued with both birds flying around my feet a few inches above the ground. Boy, are they noisy when they're fighting! :)
-
Nice pic !!
I have a feeder up on our deck hanging on a shepherds hook and it's filled with readymade nectar but NOTHING is attracted to my feeder...not RTH's or bees, wasps or ants....the RTH's are visiting the flowers we have in deck planters...anyone else find RTH's ignoring feeders for real flowers ?
-
Nice pic !!
I have a feeder up on our deck hanging on a shepherds hook and it's filled with readymade nectar but NOTHING is attracted to my feeder...not RTH's or bees, wasps or ants....the RTH's are visiting the flowers we have in deck planters...anyone else find RTH's ignoring feeders for real flowers ?
Thanks. Until last year I had purple phlox that had 'migrated' from a neighbors yard and the hummers loved it but they still went to the feeder. I'm surprised your feeder has no traffic but, unless your nectar mixture is very weak, you should have wasps by mid August! What kind of flowers are attracting the hummers?
-
Non-stop action today!
We've had over twenty visits to the feeder this afternoon, at least 4 different Hummers! At one point we saw three (either female or juvies) at the same time, two were doing a little aerial battle over the feeder while a third was sitting in the tree. The 4th was a male.
-
Non-stop action today!
We've had over twenty visits to the feeder this afternoon, at least 4 different Hummers! At one point we saw three (either female or juvies) at the same time, two were doing a little aerial battle over the feeder while a third was sitting in the tree. The 4th was a male.
Same here! in fact, shortly after lunch I was actually watching storms developing to the north and at least 3 young hummers were buzzing me (happens when I stand too close to the feeder!) and perching in the shrubs so I was able to get pretty good shots that allow me to distinguish the birds from each other. I had another flurry after supper (~7:45pm) which also included at least two males. Unfortunately the wasps have started showing up and they have been chasing the hummers away from the feeder so I think it's time to replace the regular feeder with a wasp trap. The squirrels won't be happy but you can't please everyone! :)
-
Does anyone still have regular males at their feeders? I have several young hummers around constantly but I've only seen one male in the past week - probably a migrant heading south that stopped for a 'bite' before flying thru the night? He competed with a couple of the others for feeder time but he didn't do his courtship dance so I guess he had other things on his mind! :)
Btw, I spent an hour at Rosetta MG yesterday afternoon. The salvia is coming along but no hummers (and very few butterflies, mostly monarchs) were around.
-
Our regular male is still around. We haven't seen him today but we did see him the last three days.
-
No males for several days but I had them into September last year so I expect to see migrants for 1 or 2 visits at a time. I wonder if the same birds that stopped on their way north will show up while heading south? Anyway, I got tired of shooting the hummers on their favorite perch (cluttered background, etc.) so I clipped off the twig in hopes that they would move to the branch that Mad Max used when he was here. Boy, are birds ever creatures of habit! I watched for about half an hour while bird after bird came in and hovered in the spot where the twig used to be before giving up and heading up into the trees or going to the feeder! :) I finally went out and stripped another twig (about a foot from the old one) and things seem back to normal - the hummers are perching once again and I am heading out to do some shooting. The wasps are still around but their numbers haven't increased so I am holding off putting up the trap, for now anyway...
-
I still have my regular male. He comes in at 6:30am and again at 8:30pm. Never see him during the day. The little bugger knows I want some shots of him and I think he purposely only shows up when he know I can't photograph him.
Very few wasps around so I don't have a wasp catcher up this year. The odd one that is around don't bother my 3 resident females..they zip around the wasps and if the wasps become a bit of a bother the girls just go lick flowers for a few minutes till the wasps go away.
All in all a good summer for them. You can tell things are starting to wind down a bit as the hummers are a constant sight at the feeders and are are really (noticeably)starting to fatten up for their long migration.
Soon they'll be gone :cry:
-
It's been almost two weeks since I saw my last male but I still have at least one mature female and several young birds around. It's interesting to note that while they don't socialize(?) like other birds they almost always appear in pairs or groups of three so the young birds must hang around together for a while before they head south for the first time. The other thing I've noticed is that they are not deterred at all by winds and rain - a few weeks ago, during a hail storm that shredded my milkweed patch, a male visited the feeder at least 3 times in rain that was so heavy I could barely see him from fifteen feet away! Cool birds!
-
It's no use Meghan, I simply must plant some flowers that will keep the hummers around when they're not at the feeder! My yard is quite small but it's on the north side of the house and the hummers are starting to hover around some wildflowers that border the north side of the yard, but they are like tiny asters and the birds quickly lose interest and leave or head up into the bushes to rest for their next turn at the feeder. I haven't seen a mature male since late July but my young males are finally showing some red spots on their gorgets and one even did a courtship dance this afternoon after chasing another young bird into the trees. Some guys just can't wait... :)
-
I've had a male around since yesterday and when I went out early this morning to 'shoot' him there were at least three other hummers chasing each other around the yard! At one point they were all perched in the bushes chirping away - I didn't get any good shots but it was still great fun! :)