So Close and Yet So Far

It seems as though it has been forever since the hummers headed south. We're both getting really anxious! And it seems that the northward migration may have begun at long last. The migration map that we like to follow is showing some late February sightings along the gulf coast. Check it out at http://www.hummingbirds.net/map.html.

We'll be heading off for Mississippi and Louisiana in a few weeks. We're both ready! We're going stir-crazy here in Missouri. And the polar vortex is headed our way --- again. Spring can't come soon enough!

Terrie has had a project for me to do in her head for a long, long time. And it seems that the procrastination has come to an end. She's gotten all the parts for it and now I'll actually have to build it. Pictures will be posted in the near future (assuming that I actually get to work on it).

Hummingbird fact for today: Unlike most other vertebrates, hummingbirds can see ultraviolet light which may help them find flowers with ultraviolet patterns.

A New Toy for Christmas

A big Thank You to my son Sean and his family for the amazing Christmas present. He sent us a BirdCam since I guess it is rather obvious that we're "into" birds. With no hummers or orioles around this time of year, I put it out to get pictures of my woodpeckers and cardinals. It takes amazing pictures (when it is not pointed into the sun)!!! By the time the hummers get back I intend to have a wifi SD card so we can download pictures and videos without moving the camera. Sooooo excited!

We're ready to escape the winter weather of Missouri and head off to Florida for next week's Spacecoast Birding and Wildlife Festival. This will be a new venue for us. We've been pretty well accepted at the other birding festivals we have done and hope this new adventure turns out as well as the others. At least it's Florida in January - MUCH better than Missouri in January :-)

We'll be at several new venues this year. We plan to try more birding and nature festivals as well as a few garden expos along with some art shows. Watch the "accepted" list; we'll add the venues as we are approved by them. If you are in the Lake of the Ozarks area, plan to attend our March 4 presentation on Hummingbirds at Lake Career and Technical Center in Camdenton, MO.

Hummingbird fact for today: Male hummingbirds are the tiniest warm-blooded animals on the planet. Females need to be a tiny bit bigger to be able to produce eggs, to afford to share their body heat with the eggs while incubating, and to be able to share their food when feeding nestlings.

Waiting for the 2014 Hummingbird Season

It's Been a Busy Fall

We've heard about it for years and we finally were able to attend the HummerBird Festival in Rockport, TX, this year. Rockport is on the flyway for hummingbirds heading back home. Parks in town have feeders and hummers are everywhere. This little guy was right by the gazebo in the park.

And of course, doing what we do (finding the strange), we hopped over to Corpus Christi and toured the Dr. Pepper Museum in Waco on the way home.

In October we were fortunate to be invited to participate in the Best of Missouri Market at the Botanical Gardens in St. Louis. Then on to the Pink Palace Crafts Fair in Memphis, TN.

This month we've seen even MORE of Texas. We attended the Texas Butterfly Festival in Mission and then the Rio Grande Valley Birding Festival in Harlingen. In between we popped over into Mexico for a little sight-seeing.

We are pleased to report that Ozarklake feeders can now be purchased at the gift shop in the Harlingen Arts and Heritage Museum!

All that's left for this year is Fall Into Art in Columbia, MO, and then the Holiday Showcase in Little Rock, AR. We WILL find warmer weather, however, when we attend the Spacecoast Birding Festival in January in Florida :-)

Hummmingbird fact for today: A hummingbird's wings are articulated only at the shoulder and are anatomically closer to those of an insect than to those of any other bird.

Photo Book of Birds Using Our Feeders

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So Sad

It seems that our summer visitors have begun to leave us. There are fewer males, both hummers and orioles. Those still here are feeding like crazy though. The hummers try to double their body weight before they head south - that's a l-o-n-g journey for such tiny little birds!

The hummers seem to have a heightened need to guard their food source. This little bully guards from the front, from the rear, and seemed to win this particular battle!

Art in Bayfront Park in Duluth, MN, was a very nice show. The "breeze" coming off Lake Superior was a bit much at times, but the setting is beautiful. On our never-ending quest to find the odd and unique on our travels, we stopped at the Spam Museum in Austin, MN, and Deke Slayton and Bicycle Museum in Sparta, WI.

Our next show will be at Cedarhurst Center for the Arts in Mount Vernon, IL. We haven't been to this show in several years and hope to see old friends while making new ones. Then we'll head off to the HummerBird Celebration in Rockport, TX. Rockport is on the flyway for the ruby-throated hummingbirds as they head south, so it should be quite fun. We'll miss our fellow artists at Silver Dollar City this fall, but we have new places to see!

Hummingbird fact for today: Leaving your feeder up does not prevent the migration of the hummingbirds. They migrate according to the change in light.

Hummers, Bees, and Essential Oil of Marigold

What a fantastic country we live in! After exhibiting at the High Desert Arts Festival in Eagle Nest, NM, we headed to the Hummingbird Festival in Sedona, AZ, by way of Colorado and Utah! We visited the Great Sand Dunes National Park, Monument Valley, Canyon de Chelly, and all points in between! Fabulous scenery! Fabulous people!

Thanks to helpful neighbors, we returned home to find our hummers and orioles fat and sassy. Feeder activity really picks up this time of year as the Ruby-throated hummers begin to fatten up in preparation for the long migration south. Unfortunately, bees are also finding the feeders. We tried numerous remedies to try to keep the bees away, and at long last have found one that works. Soak a cotton pad (similar to a cotton ball only flat, available in the beauty needs section of your favorite store) with Essential Oil of Marigold and place close to the nectar opening.

With our bottle feeders, I punch a hole in the pad and slip it over the feeding tube, positioning it just behind the red tip. With the tube feeders, I place it between the tube and the copper coil that the tube sets in. Be sure to NOT put the oil anyplace that the hummers might get it on their wings or their feet. Hummers have no sense of smell, but the overwhelming concentrated marigold scent tells the bees to stay away. You can order Essential Oil of Marigold from http://www.scentit.com/. The scent fades away, so keep it fresh to keep sending the message to those pesky bees. Bee traps also help keep down the population. I use the traps that you bait with juice, sugar, and raw meat. Bees go in and can't get out. This is a video I took today at the back of the studio.

People ask us if the birds use our feeders. Well, DUH!!! The near window has one bottle feeder, the glass door has 7 of our Onesie's, and the far window has one bottle feeder and two Onesie's. Watch the fighting over positioning and listen to the chatter as they fuss at one another. What fun!

Next weekend we will be at Art in Bayfront Park in Duluth, MN. This will be our first time in that part of the country and we're excited about going!

Hummingbird fact for today: The hummingbird is more than just beautiful. Its physical capabilities put the toughest human being to shame.