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Six.
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Six Baltimore Orioles stopping by for a brief time on their way to northern breeding grounds.
Put out oranges and grape jelly the first time you see one… then sit back and enjoy the bright orange show.
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In all the years we’ve fed hummingbirds… 17 years in North Carolina and 21 years here…. we have never had more than two on a feeder at a time.
Ever.
They’re territorial little buggers and don’t usually tolerate companions when feeding. So when I snapped a picture of three hummers on the nectar together last week, I was thrilled and thought I’d seen something special.
And then yesterday I saw this…
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I have no idea why… but we are currently in the middle of a hummingbird population explosion.
Every day there’s a literal flock of the little darlings buzzing around our deck.
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I didn’t manage to capture a photo of the six, but I did get a few of these 5… which for me was an absolute delight.
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I don’t know what we’re doing right.. but I’m going to try and keep doing it.
👍
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We have two hummingbird nectar feeders on our back deck. (Sugar and water only please. Don’t buy that packet with the awful red dye. Use red glass feeders instead.)
2023 has been a banner year for hummers and I don’t think we’ve ever seen this many at one time. But with high numbers come battles, because while they’re beautiful … they’re also quite territorial.
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The minute one sits down to feed, another arrives to chase it off.
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Please appreciate the fact I had to take 20 photos to get these two of the little jewels in flight. Those little suckers are quick.
Here’s a short video of a male and a female. They drank together for a short while.
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And if that wasn’t amazing enough?
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Three hummers. Happily feeding together…
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That’s never happened before.
❤️
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Just a few glimpses into our backyard.
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Baby chucks are nibbling at an extremely rapid rate. But I’ve discovered they like broccoli stalks so I’m hoping I can keep their teeth busy for a while.
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We had a cool and wet June so the Baltimore Orioles who usually take off for colder, more northern parts when it starts to heat up are still here.
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And they’re devouring the oranges and grape jelly faster than I can replace them.
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The young males fight and squabble over the best position… but they sure are pretty.
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Cow!
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I love that I can say this every time I step outside instead of having to wait for a road trip.
My husband informs me that my nomenclature is incorrect as this is technically a young bull. But squealing bull! doesn’t have the same resonance… so I am compromising with Mister Cow!
This earns an eye roll and a head shake which somehow makes it even more perfect.
😈
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Here’s a giant field of lupine situated in an odd place.
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Next to the local dump. Trash never looked so good…
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Yes, I’m still bird nerding out that a female pileated woodpecker has found our backyard .
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Two sightings in twenty years and now twice in one week.
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Woot!
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Needless to say I’m making sure that particular feeder is always full in case she drops by.
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A bag fills the cylinder once with 1/4 left over, and I have to fill it every other day.
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Pricey, but worth it.
(Photo includes another of my coffee table metal sculptures since you seemed to like the hermit crab.)
🙂
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If you care nothing for the feeding and rare sightings of our fine feathered friends please feel free to skip this post because I’m about to gush like a horny ornithologist.
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Yesterday evening at 7:41pm I walked by one of the windows that looks out over our backyard and saw this.
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We’ve lived in this home for over 20 years and I’ve only spied this elusive creature twice.
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They’re big, usually 20 inches long.
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They like deeply wooded areas and though we hear their jackhammer like drilling occasionally it’s rare to see them out in the open no less hanging on our suet nugget feeder having a nosh .
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To say I was thrilled is an understatement.
There was a female pileated woodpecker in our backyard!!!!
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The sexes can be distinguished by the amount of red feathers on their heads. Red halfway down the face to the eyes? Female. Red all the way down to the beak? Male.
River the bird nerd at your service.
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Not exactly a riveting video, I know.
But I had to share.
❤️
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We’ve had a beautiful bird of prey hunting around our property lately and I’m damned if I can identify him.
He’s a good size, pale feathered with black wing tips, and has been hard as hell to photograph because he flies very quickly.
I thought it might be an Osprey but there’s not enough brown.
I thought it was a juvenile red tail hawk, but it’s still too light in color.
These are the best shots I’ve managed so far, taken across the road on our neighbors farm.
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He skims the ground quite low.
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I’m sure it’s good mousing over there.
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Anyone have an idea who he is?
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My town’s Facebook page was critter-centric with this week starting with this awesome visitor.
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We had one on our roof a while back but I wasn’t quick enough to get a photo. They’re such glorious fellows.
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I hear that on the zucchini. Everyone is trying to foist them on us lately.
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Outhouse shed combo. When you’re working on something and just don’t want to waste the energy it takes to walk back to the house.
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Our neighbors have lost a few birds to foxes. But I think we need to examine how #20 survived. Could have been an inside job.
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Alright, so it’s not a dog waiting at the door with your slippers. You still have to admit it’s sweet…
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When your human puts an air conditioner in your favorite bird watching window….
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You have to jump up there and perch to make your displeasure known.
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You howl, you mewl, you bat at the offending object… but when your pesky human doesn’t remove the noisy vibrating box?
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You give up and settle in to watch the birds.
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And while up wasn’t a problem, down proves to be a bit more troublesome. Your human is no help whatsoever, laughing at your maneuvers for at least 5 minutes before she thought to film you….
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And for this infraction…. I’m sure there will be appropriate and commensurate revenge.
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Lord Dudley Mountcatten takes his bird watching seriously.
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Especially when our fine feathered friends land on the porch railing and taunt his Royal highness.
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He twitches, he cackles, he swishes his tail.
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He patiently observes…
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And hopes that someday one of those pesky birds will come inside and play.
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River's world..... 