Two Little Hangers-On

We still have two little birds hitting the feeders. How sad we'll be when they head south, too. Hope they are still here when we return from the Chautauqua in Madison, Indiana, this coming weekend.

Hummingbird fact for today: The hummers' migration is triggered by the length of the day. You cannot stop them from migrating by keeping your feeder out. Even you can't fight Mother Nature. The males are the first to leave, opening up the food sources for the females and juveniles. The females leave next. And finally this year's young leave. Hummers fly solo; they do not fly in flocks. Those young-un's head out with no one to show them where they are going. Amazing, isn't it?

Arrivederci. Adiós. Au Revoir. Auf Wiedersehen

Two weekends ago when we left for a show, we took down the tube feeders and replaced them with several bottle feeders. We had so many hummers zipping around, they were emptying all the tubes several times a day, so we wanted to make sure they would find enough food to hang around until we got home. Sure enough, on Monday we had our standard feeding frenzy and swarm of hummers.

This past weekend we did the same thing. But on Monday, we had fewer hummers. And noticeably absent are the red-gorgeted males. It appears that the migration back to the homeland has started. The males leave first. The females will follow over the next few weeks. This year's juveniles will be the last to depart. They fly individually and no one shows them where to go. What an incredible journey!

About two weeks ago we also lost our male orioles. Only females were eating the grape jelly. And now this week, nothing is eating the grape jelly. It appears that they, too, feel the forces of nature.

Woe is me!

Hummingbird fact for today: Feathers lost accidentally within a few weeks, while those damaged but not lost are replaced during the next normal molt.

A Successful Breeding Season Brings More Hummers

After the ruby-throateds returned to our area in the spring, we had about 4 or 5 little birds at the feeders on the front porch. Suddenly about 4 weeks ago the activity picked up - by about a dozen more birds! It has to be that the juveniles came off the nest, and it was certainly a successful breeding season. This video is indicative of the activity, from dawn until dusk, daily. Even the people who walk the neighborhood point as they go by. We're refilling the feeders several times a day. Terrie has lived here longer than I have and she says she has never seen anything like this. It's fantastic! As you can see, they don't care which style of feeder and they even share! We have seen instances of two birds, one hovering over the other, feeding from the same feeding tube simultaneously. Luckily I have a supply of feeders, so I just keep adding more. We'll have to put out bigger ones now that we will be going to weekend art shows again.

Hummingbird fact for today: When nectar is plentiful, a hummingbird's daily urine output may exceed 80 percent of its body weight.

Hunger Surpasses Fear

Feeding Frenzy

There is a feeding frenzy happening on our front porch. Apparently the juveniles are now flying to the feeders. We've seen two adult males and five juveniles and/or females at the same time, so we know we have at least seven hummers close by. Juveniles don't develop the red gorget until the second season, so it's difficult to distinguish them from the females right now. Since we see 3 and sometimes 4 birds sharing the same feeder, we assume they are juveniles and have not yet learned that they are supposed to be territorial and chasing the other hummers away from the food. There are 3 hummers at the tubes in this picture. We have a total of 11 tubes and one vacuum feeder out. We're currently refilling everything every day.

We're often asked if the hummers prefer one type of feeder over another. With this picture you can see that the answer is obviously, "No". These two little guys have no preferance. As long as it is food, they really don't care about the nectar container.

The frenzy seems to be widespread. We heard this week from a customer in the Kansas City area who was absolutely delighted with the activity at his two feeders. "Our feeling is that everyone who walks into your craft display should buy one of your feeders. The entertainment is phenomenal. With the activity tonight I was able to stand right by the window and watch them feed. They were oblivious to my presence." He got a great close up of a hummer feeding. Thanks to Cam Schutte for sharing with us. We've said for years that the entertainment far surpasses anything you can find on television!

The feeding frenzy isn't limited to hummers. We also have orioles sharing the grape jelly and it, too, is going faster. We're refilling the jelly every day as well. Utilizing my bird handbook, I believe this is a male orchard oriole and a female sharing.

Early morning and late evening provide the most activity and entertainment at the feeders.

Hummingbird fact for today: A hummingbird’s daily nectar requirements depends on a variety of factors, including activity level, air temperature, quality of available resources, and time of year.

Seeing More of the Country

We just returned from another road trip. First we went to the Omaha Summer Arts Festival. We had an absolutely fantastic show. This event is extremely well-run and publicized. The people of Omaha and surrounding communities are very supportive. Thank you, Omaha.

From there we drove on up to North Dakota, just because we could, staying off the interstates as much as possible. There is so much America out there, and so many wonderful people. I get disgusted listening to the bags of wind in Washington, DC. None of them have any idea what is outside the Beltway.

We then decided to visit one of our wholesale customers. The Abode Gallery is in Stockholm, Wisconsin. This is a little town of under 100 people on the shore of Lake Pepin that has re-invented itself. Art abounds. Everyone should visit Stockholm. Alan and Steve at Abode were friendly and welcoming. And the pie at the shop next door was melt-in-your-mouth wonderful.

Now we're working on creating artful inventory in preparation for the upcoming shows. The grass is about a foot deep with all the rain that has fallen. As if our schedule isn't grueling enough, Terrie is going back to school for her BA. Her classes start in less than a month. Our items will soon be in a new location. Look for Ozarklake art at Silver Star Gallery in Chelan, Washington.

Hummingbird fact for today: Nothing in commercial feeder mixes justifies the cost, which is five to eight times that of a homemade sugar solution. Mix your own solution using four parts water to one part white table sugar.

Where Are My Hummers?

It's the time of year that we hear this often, "My hummers were here but now they are gone." They are not gone, but there is less activity at the feeders. Mom is now on the nest and she's eating mostly a protein diet. When the eggs hatch, she will feed the babies a protein diet. When the young are ready to leave the nest, they will be in search of nectar. So this time of year, about all you will see at the feeder are the males in the area. And since females generally outnumber males in an area, you might feel that your feeder has been abandoned. Do not dispair. Keep the nectar in your feeder fresh. About 3-4 days in the heat of the summer is the maximum time limit for nectar to be out. It's just sugar water. Dump it out and fill it again. Be patient. You will again see lots of activity at your feeder.

We are also hearing about more and more oriole sightings. I have read that oriole behavior is similar to hummer behavior in that females will not visit the feeders as much while they are on the nest. I know that is true at our house. Other birds, however, are enjoying the grape jelly and oranges that we have out. It seems that the fruit eating birds are the colorful ones. We have some gorgeous red-headed woodpeckers that visit daily.

Hummingbird fact for today: Not all hummingbirds pollinate the flowers from which they feed. Some short-billed species routinely bypass the pollination mechanism by inserting their bills between the bases of the petals or through holes created by insects or other birds.