I took this a few minutes ago while I was outside cleaning the feeders.
While I was refilling them, I put the hose in the rhododendron on the "mist" setting so the hummers would play in it instead of landing on me. They get a little ticked off when I take the feeders down to refill them, and can't wait for me to get them back up so they can start fighting again.
...strange little birds!

This one was waiting on the feeder hanger, preening after it's shower...



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Buckle up! It makes it harder for the aliens to suck you out of your car!

Here's a few pics of my hummingbird invasion...
I've lowered the file size down so they will load easy....so the picture quality won't be as good.

Here's the main trouble-maker...

He has been guarding that feeder for almost a week. When I took it down yesterday to clean and refill it, he got MAD! He tried to follow me into the house, so I cleaned it out in the yard, with him trying to land on it the whole time. It was so funny! When I got it filled and was heading back to the hanger, he landed on it and would NOT get off! I had to hang it with him sitting on it.

Here he is taunting my cat through the window...


Poor kitty sits four inches away from the feeder with GLASS between them! Sometimes she loses control and jumps up on the glass, like she forgets it's there!




Cindy

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Buckle up! It makes it harder for the aliens to suck you out of your car!

Love the pics Cindy.....your poor cat is being tormented--LOL!!!! Hummingbirds are so tiny that you just can't believe it sometimes....We have a male bully at ours too--he chases every single other hummer off like he owns the feeder...

I made a feeder in hopes of attracting hummers. It is nothing fancy but here are the pics of it. Hopefully bird pics will follow.





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We are all under the same stars... therefore we are never far apart.

The "red" was a good idea to attract them.
I always put out red ribbons in the spring to get their attention to the feeders...
(...like I need more hummingbirds!)

I hadn't taken the red ribbons off the feeder pole and the other day there were so many out here, some of them were trying to get a drink out of the ribbons! So, I went out and cut the ribbons off.

I hope you get some soon!

Cindy

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Buckle up! It makes it harder for the aliens to suck you out of your car!

Great pics, kudos to everyone . I still need to figure out how to post pics in an album of my own. Any help would be appreciated. Please send a PM if you can help .

My real question is I bought an additional feeder because of the appetite and amount of hummers around, but they don't use it .
Its a little different cup, but is about 15 feet away and they fly right past it and drain the old one .
Any ideas why?

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BFVISION

http://www.imagestation.com/album/?id=2122269418&mode=guest

cool picture thornius

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http://www.picturetrail.com/bestofour

I am jealous of your photos of the hummers! what lens and kind of camera do you have. Also how do I upload a photo to the message?

How nice to see so many people in one place who appreciate our little hummers. I put up my first ever hummingbird feeder this year and now have about four or five showing up (as far as I can tell.) What a treat! Here's a picture I took the other day. It was in a shady spot, later in the day, so the it came out a little more artsy than detailed. Just thought I'd share.



I'm fairly new to posting here and want to say how much I enjoy reading the stories here. What a nice peaceful place this is. Hope you don't mind a newcomer popping in from time to time.

~Suzy~

I really like that pic a lot Suzy...thanks for sharing it with us!!!! I just love hummers....

And you guys, don't forget to post pics of any other birdies that you want to share! Love seeing them all!

Suzy,

Awesome pics! Thanks for sharing!

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We are all under the same stars... therefore we are never far apart.

WOW!!!!!!

GREAT PICS!!!!

G-Mom

Love those Cindy. I am so looking forward to getting some. Someone here told me we are just getting into hummer season. I don't know how true that is, but we shall see.

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We are all under the same stars... therefore we are never far apart.

It's funny how if you watch them long enough, you can see personality traits. At first I had one female, then two, then three. They were there all the time for awhile, but I guess one of them told a male and now that little bugger sits in the tree and waits for the girls to show up. Then he chases them off. lol. I think they're working together now though. One of the girls lures him away while the other two sneak in.

I don't know their breed, but the girls all have green backs and the male does too, but he has a brilliant red throat. It almost looks like he has a bright red satin ribbon there. I do enjoy them and their shananigans.

I also have a lot of sparrows around. I know they're not people's favourite bird but I don't mind them. When I took that picture of the chickadee, I was holding the camera up and staying very still and suddenly a sparrow flew over and just perched on my arm! I guess they're pretty comfortable here too.

Unfortunately for one the next day, he flew into my window and knocked himself silly. I saw him sitting dazed on my deck so I picked him up and sat him on my counter by an open door. I was worried about a cat coming along while he was loopy and also wanted to make sure nothing was broken and he wasn't suffering. He ended up staying for about 1/2 an hour and then when the headache subsided a bit, he flew out. But not until I took a picture.



~Suzy~

Aww Suzy....I'm glad you helped the little sparrow...you know I really don't mind them at all even though some people think they are nuisances.....I like watching them.

Cool pics Cindy. I bought another feeder, so now I have 3 hanging up in the yard too...My neighbor probably thinks I'm nuts, but I love watching them feeding at all of them and fighting over them.....

Thanks Thornius! Ruby Throated Hummingbird. Who'd o' thunk it? lol

Triss, from what you said regarding migration, this must be one of the places they migrate to. I don't know why they'd want to come this far north, but sure am glad they do! I'll let you know when they leave so you can put your porch light on for them.

I finally got some really clear pictures this morning! YAY! This is the male showing off his fancy red sash. It shows the brightest when you see them head on.



But when they turn slightly, it seems to fade.



The downside of these photos is it shows how badly in need of paint my windows are! lol

~Suzy~

I wonder if anybody knows what kind of bird this fella is. It's definitely some kind Woodpecker or Sapsucker, but I haven't been able to find a picture on the net with the real name. I thought at first it was one of my little chickadees because the colouring is similar, but then realized he was larger (and not quite as cute. lol). The rat-a-tat-tat on this dead treetrunk also gave him away.

Unfortunately I think these little buggers are responsible for the death of five of my birch trees over the last seven years, so I'm not feeling really close to them right now.

And by the way, SuzyQ, they are NOT responsible for the death of your trees. Some other factor is responsible. They are NOT Woodpeckers or Sapsuckers , but like them are VERY beneficial for keeping your trees FREE of pests. A very nice and adorable bird to have around your house.

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A bird in the hand......can sometimes be a mess.

OH Thanks, Thornius! Okay, I like them now. lol. I smiled when I read the description where it said they're "usually seen creeping on tree trunks, head downward." Because that's how my picture was taken but I rotated it. lol. And it said "they often join mixed flocks of chickadees, woodpeckers..." Just before I snapped that one, a chickadee came over and the Nuthatch chased him off. AND not only that! There WERE two of them. You do know your stuff, Thorny! Thanks again.

You also solved another mystery for us. The sound they make. I have about an acre of bush and I hear that sound all the time in there, especially in the morning. I've always wondered who was making it.

There is something pecking at my trees though. They leave a real organized pattern in the trunks and I think the trees bleed out. They also wake me up pecking on my house outside the bedroom window every now and then too. It's cedar siding. Sounds like a noisy little construction crew. lol

Maybe I'll get a picture of one of those some day. I'm still trying to get close enough to my bright yellow American Finches before they leave but haven't had any success. Not yet anyway. They are really beautiful.

I found it! It's a Ladder-Backed Woodpecker. Still couldn't get close enough with my camera, but I found one online and I know this is it.



It's been raining here for almost two weeks and has finally stopped, so there must be quite a smorgasbord out there for all my feathered friends. While sipping my coffee this morning on the deck, these Woodpeckers were all over my backyard trees, along with the Nuthatches and Chickadees. And big old Red Breasted Robins scooping up the worms on the ground.

What a cool world this is. I wish I'd appreciated them all sooner. Unfortunately for now, I think my little hummers have skipped town. Haven't seen them for a few days. Oh well, something to look forward to next year.

I've never considered their migration habits before, so now I realize I'm lucky so many come here to nest.

Here's the very first bird picture I ever took. (Early this summer.) I thought they were Barn Swallows but when I looked them up, I see they're actually Cliff Swallows. They come every year and build their little mud condos under the eaves of my house just above my deck. It's a bit dark, but to get close I was hanging out an upstairs window shooting up into the air. lol. These were the first guys to tweak my interest.



Haven't seen them around for awhile either lately. Now I'm already looking forward to next summer.

~Suzy~

You are right, that is a Cliff Swallow, Good Job! Your Woodpecker may be a Downy Woodpecker, or a Hairy Woodpecker. They are identical in appearance, except, the Hairy Woodpecker is about 50% larger than the Downy Woodpecker and the bill on the Hairy Woodpecker is almost the length of the head, whereas the bill on the Downy Woodpecker is only about 1/3 to 1/2 the length of the head. Otherwise they are IDENTICAL in both appearance and behavior. They do NOT interbreed.

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A bird in the hand......can sometimes be a mess.

Oh Geez! Looks like more homework for me. lol. Now I'll really have to try to get a shot of one and find out if it's Hairy, Downy or Ladder-Backed. Good, clean fun though, isn't it.

Hope you get a bunch of Hummers Triss. Your kids will just love them!

here are some bird forums I am a member of:

http://forums.about.com/n/pfx/forum.aspx?nav=start&webtag=ab-birding

http://www.birdersworld.com/brd/community/forum/

The first forum is GREAT, much like this forum. the second one is slightly more academic but he people there are very kind and REALLY like to help beginners! They have GREAT bird photographers on the second site.

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A bird in the hand......can sometimes be a mess.

I think you're right, Thorny. I think it's a 'Downy Woodpecker' I have. They were back this morning and I tried to memorize as much detail as I could but they didn't stay long when I opened the door. I noticed the bill was shorter and the bird was a bit larger than the Nuthatches. Now that I've seen this picture, I don't think it's a ladder-back anymore. I just didn't realize there were a bunch of similarly marked woodpeckers.

This morning I had these big old cranky Blue Jays hanging around too. They're pretty constant here, but what a racket they make!! lol. They come to steal the peanuts I leave for Merle the Squirrel. The other birds usually take off when the Blue Jays show up too. I guess they're just not quite in with the 'in-crowd' around here.

And while I'm on birds, I think a neighbour nearby got a Rooster! Luckily they're not right next door. lol

Earlier this month afgreyparrot posted 3 pictures of hummingbirds. The one in the middle looks like one that I have seen on my Butterfly bush this week. The one here has an upside down yellow triangle on it's throat. There is another one that seems to be dark green all over with no markings. My bird book has pages of hummers but I don't see them in it. It says Ruby throats are the only common one in my area but these don't have ruby throats. Any ideas?

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Bev