Hummers in the Snow

 

As I wrote to my wonderful Brother-In-Law Paul, who lives in France, I had a little adventure yesterday morning when I brought the hummingbird feeders out. The Annas often stay around all winter long, so I put food out for them.

The trouble was, the feeders were freezing. There were actual frosty crystals, quite beautiful, inside the feeder within a half hour. So under the watchful eye of my tiny hummer friends, I rigged two garage lights to keep the nectar from turning to ice.

 The hummers are so cute. They are quite interested in all I do. They'll hover just a foot or so away, zooming in every so often to get a closer look. Sometimes they will land on the trees in the nearby hedge and talk to me.

Dad could imitate the birds so closely many of his feathered friends thought he was one of them. I have a little bit of his gifting--so I'm able to "talk" to the birds as well.

Yesterday I saw nut hatches, a flock of tiny hazel backed finches, along with our Oregon Finches. I saw an entire flock of fat red-breasted robins. I haven't seen Robins around here in a long time. What fun to see so many of them. There was a flock of juncos too--they are tiny feisty birds and are quite fun to watch. We also have three or four squirrels who regularly peruse the yard for seeds, nuts and the like. They are grey squirrels.

It began to snow around 3 a.m. How can anyone sleep when the snow is falling? The kid in me hopes there is just enough to make a snowman in the front yard.

I put the hummingbird feeder out just before dawn. The hummers were already out. My favorite little buddy was sitting on the back of the garden bench. As soon as I had the feeder and light set up, they were eating. I believe we have four little hummers wintering over. Two eat at the feeder, while the other two are swashbuckling in the air. They like to stay in our evergreen English Elderberry tree.

It is still snowing. But just an inch or so, as the flakes are very small. The temperature is around 25.

Have a lovely day!

Birdman

Daddy loved birds.  I like to think my ability to whistle came from Dad.  He had such an affinity for the feathered folk, when he would whistle, they'd come running.  There were times I thought they might be brave enough to land on his shoulders.

Daddy was the Birdman.  What a lovely memory.

Fight Flight

We have bundles of hummingbirds buzzing through the air in our backyard.  They often tussle in mid-flight--here I caught one little lady as she flicked her tail and chittered over an interloper at the feeders.  It is a bit blurred, but something about this photo filled my eyes. 

Backyard Hummer

There are scads of these tiny birds zipping in and about in our backyard.  They are a never-ending source of amazement and amusement.  I was barely able to capture this one little lady hummer as she ate from the feeder.  What a darling little bird.  Here she is bobbing up to watch us in between eating. 

Hummer

About 15 minutes ago, I ran outside with my camera to catch some wonderfully shaped clouds floating across the skies.

Then I heard quite a racket. My tiny hummer friend was chatting up a storm--he flew within a few feet of me--then out over the fenceline into the sunlight. What lovely flashes of green! I chattered and chirped back at him, whereapon he flew to the feeder and actually sat to eat with his wings folded.

After slurping his fill, he buzzed in front of my nose, then took his seat on a nearby branch, where I was able to click this picture of him. As you can see, he's quite the chatterbox. What a dear little fellow he is!

Anna's Hummingbird

Yesterday I was out taking pictures of some amazing cloud formations streaming across the skies, when I heard a loud chittering. I answered back as I often do--and from there began quite a conversation.

Finally curiosity got the better of me and I stepped closer to the pond and overhanging branches to see who was making all the fuss. There was a tiny grey hummingbird. The little fellow tipped his bright eye at me and chittered to me. I answered back--both in hummingbird and human speak--and he flew a little closer. Then he sat on the branch and told me all about whatever it was that was bothering him. Whatever it was seemed quite important.

So I cleaned and filled the feeder for him. This morning I saw him flit past the living room window.

Apparently there is new research out about hummingbirds. It was once thought they did not winter over in cold areas--but flew south for the winter. Contrary to that idea, it appears these little birds are quite hardy, often braving temperatures way past freezing.

They sleep in dense evergreen foliage near houses and fences.

If you do have a wintering hummingbird, they advise that once you put a feeder out, you must keep the feeder going all winter--changing the elixer every six days. This is because the little fellows would have to forage further for food and might starve without the feeders in place.

Now I shall have to name my noisy little visitor. They can become quite tame and have been known come within a few feet of the people who care for them. When the feeders are empty, they will even ask for them to be filled!

I'm looking forward to getting to know this teeny little fellow. I can already see he has quite a huge personality.

Note: Abe Lincoln of http://mybirdsblog.blogspot.com who clicks the most amazing photos of birds in his back yard, believes this may be a female ruby throated Hummingbird.