LOTS of Hummers Here!

We were thrilled last week to have Veronica Mecko from the Missouri River Bird Observatory spend a couple of hours on our porch banding hummingbirds. She banded 7 in just a couple of hours, with the largest weighing in at 4 grams! We set one of her two mesh traps on an Ozarklake feeder and one on one of those ugly imported feeders. We're happy to report that all 7 of the birds were caught on the Ozarklake feeder!

Getting ready to head to Sedona for the Hummingbird Festival and then Southwest Wings Summer Birding Festival in Sierra Vista. So we're switching from our feeders (Ozarklake feeders) to the imported kind for the convenience of our birdsitter on a rainy day. They don't seem to be having any trouble adapting. And there's a couple more feeders on the back deck just as active as these. We're leaving 50 lbs. of sugar for and hope it is enough to last until we get home (2 weeks).

Hummingbird fact for today: The ruby-throated hummingbird has only approximately 940 feathers on its entire body.

Rain or Increased Population?

We're not sure if it is the cooler, rainy weather or if baby hummers have now fledged, but the activity has been like this for hours. And there are 4 more feeders that are not in the BirdCam's field of view. This is so much fun! And nearly a full-time job keeping up with making nectar and filling feeders.

We've been busy with wholesale orders. New shipments have gone out to the South Padre Island Birding and Nature Center in Texas, the Owl House in Michigan, and Beech Branch Gallery in Tennessee. If you're in the area, stop in and say howdy!

Getting ready for the Hummingbird Festival in Sedona, AZ, and Southwest Wings in Sierra Vista, AZ. We always see a lot of old friends in Sedona, and we're looking forward to our first visit in Sierra Vista. Not to mention that we're more than ready for a road trip!

Hummingbird fact for today: Basically, it is illegal in the United States to hold a hummingbird, a hummingbird nest, a hummingbird baby, or any part of a hummingbird, nest, or egg, in any type of captivity in any way, shape, or form. This means that unless you have a valid permit, it is illegal to trap, band, hold, harass, or control any hummingbird or any part of the hummingbird, nest, or egg.