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jmcquown[_2_] jmcquown[_2_] is offline
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Default Correction : Hummingbirds (WAS: OT: Covid-19 VaccinationButton (pic) and dinner plans)

On 5/2/2021 3:15 PM, cshenk wrote:
> Ophelia wrote:
>
>> On 01/05/2021 16:42, jmcquown wrote:
>>> On 5/1/2021 11:37 AM, jmcquown wrote:
>>>> On 5/1/2021 11:00 AM, Lucretia Borgia wrote:
>>>>> On Sat, 1 May 2021 09:55:14 -0400, jmcquown
>>>>> > wrote:
>>>>>
>>>>>> On 5/1/2021 5:12 AM, Cindy Hamilton wrote:
>>>>>>> On Friday, April 30, 2021 at 5:12:02 PM UTC-4,
>>>>>>> wrote:
>>>>>>>> On 4/30/2021 10:27 AM, Ophelia wrote:
>>>>>>>>> On 30/04/2021 13:56, Gary wrote:
>>>>>>>>>> On 4/29/2021 7:29 PM, jmcquown wrote:
>>>>>>>>>>> FYI, so far I'm not feeling any ill effects from
>>>>>>>>>>> the 2nd vaccine. The nurse told me to help
>>>>>>>>>>> alleviate the sore arm, exercise the arm. I've
>>>>>>>>>>> been flapping it occasionally like I'm doing a one
>>>>>>>>>>> sided chicken dance (LOL) since I got home.
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>> You also could flap your arm faster like a
>>>>>>>>>> hummingbird.
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> ===
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> Ahh but can she hummmmm ? ))
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> Humminbirds don't actually hum, they chirp (rather
>>>>>>>> quietly). It's their wings that make a sort of humming
>>>>>>>> sound.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> In my experience they chirp disproportionately loudly for
>>>>>>> their size, especially during the migration when they're
>>>>>>> defending the feeder. They not much quieter than a
>>>>>>> woodpecker's chirp.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> Cindy Hamilton
>>>>>>>
>>>>>> I suppose in proportion to their size their chirps are rather
>>>>>> loud.Â* I only hear them when I have the windows open in the
>>>>>> den, kicked back with a book.Â* It's already too humid by
>>>>>> Noon to have the windows open.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Jill
>>>>>
>>>> I spoke a little too soon about humid.Â* I went outside to refill
>>>> the bird feeder
>>> [CORRECTION: bird BATH]
>>>> and discovered, unlike yesterday when it was already 80°F and
>>>> humid outside, today it is a cool, breezy 60-something!
>>>>
>>>> I've opened the windows so when I go into the den I might
>>>> actually hear the chirps of the hummingbirds and the quick beat
>>>> of their wings. (They sound to me like the sound effect used for
>>>> the light sabers in 'Star Wars'.)
>>>>
>>>>> They are pretty tough little birds. Before I moved here I had a
>>>>> feeder on the deck and they would fly to it, flying between
>>>>> David and I eating our dinner, not in the least concerned!
>>>>>
>>>> Indeed, they are tough little birds.Â* They don't seem to mind
>>>> buzzing around people.Â* I was sitting on the patio a few years
>>>> ago and happened to be wearing a red shirt.Â* A hummingbird
>>>> hovered right in front of my face. Â* They do seem to like red
>>>> (but NO, don't dye the nectar in the feeder).
>>>>
>>>>> One year a grackle decided to nest in our pine tree, not
>>>>> logical, totally out of place by the sea for a grackle.Â* The
>>>>> two grackles saw off all our usual birds that year but not the
>>>>> hummingbirds!Â* They didn't even try to mess and terrorise them!
>>>>>
>>>> Ugh, Grackles.Â* Yes, Hummingbirds are notoriously territorial.
>>>> They don't take guff from any bird except perhaps, hawks. LOL
>>>>
>>>> When it was still "wintery" (heh) down here I filled the suet
>>>> cage.Â* I started seeing lots of brown-headed cowbirds.Â* They're
>>>> about like grackles in terms of running off all the songbirds
>>>> and invading territory.Â* I quickly brought the suet cage
>>>> inside.Â* They moved on.
>>>>
>>>>> When I moved here I put out a feeder over the grassy area I see
>>>>> from my diningroom.Â* A lady who lived in a house below our
>>>>> fence called over to me and told me that humming birds don't
>>>>> come here.Â* She was totally correct.Â* Someone else put out a
>>>>> hummer feeder last year without success.Â* Apparently they come
>>>>> as far as a few streets over, but never nearer.
>>>>>
>>>> They pick out their spots.Â* A lot of it has to do with where they
>>>> can build their nests and get to them before the sun sets.
>>>> Hummingbirds are very weird.Â* They go into a state of torper
>>>> just after dusk.Â* I've seen documentaries where researchers have
>>>> found their nests and if you touch a hummingbird in torpor it
>>>> doesn't move, it doesn't wake up. Their bodies cool down, their
>>>> whole metabolism and heart rate slows and they're out like a
>>>> light.Â* Until the sun starts to rise... then the process
>>>> reverses itself.Â* I find it fascinating.
>>>>
>>>> Gary likes to make fun of my enjoyment of bird watching.Â* What's
>>>> not to like?Â* They're pretty and most of them sing.Â* Aside from
>>>> keeping the hummingbird feeder cleaned and filled from March -
>>>> October or so, in the warmer months I don't feed the other
>>>> birds.Â* I do keep fresh water in a small bird bath year round.
>>>> Birds always need a source of fresh water. That's enough to
>>>> attract a number of very pretty visitors.
>>>>
>>>> Jill

>>
>> ====
>>
>> We have 2 birdfeeders and a bird table so I understand what you are
>> saying)))
>>
>> Oh yes, a bird bath too

>
> Saw a red cardinal 2 days ago! They were at my bird feeder.
>

I see cardinals all the time. There's a mated pair who always show up
for a few sips of water and a splash in the bath. The bluebirds (males
with electric blue wings and orange-red breasts) are stunning to see, too.

Jill