The Uncaged Bird -Hummingbird feeder is up!

Klinker said:
I had never opened this thread before today.  What beautiful pictures!  Thank you for sharing them.

 Thank you, keep an eye on the sub titles. I'll be posting in a couple of months the dates to hang your hummingbird feeder!

The Great Backyard Bird Count Feb. 15-18

http://gbbc.birdcount.org/

Morganna said:
Sudden visit by a flock of robins,  (not to be confused with a Flock of Seagulls.)
This happened once in the late fall a couple of years ago. They fly in to feast on the Holly berries, sometimes about 50, stay for a couple of days and then leave.

 Found this article on robins seen in the winter.

https://www.allaboutbirds.org/is-it-unusual-to-see-american-robins-in-the-middle-of-winter/

OK, Hummingbird Migration has begun!

https://www.hummingbird-guide.com/hummingbird-migration-spring-2019.html#spring-migration-map-2019

I'd never heard of these beautiful, and talented, birds before. Now it seems we might be losing them - the boys are finding it hard to locate girls, and the girls' eggs don't always hatch or chicks survive. 

Read more about the only bird that makes tools into drumsticks to beat a unique drumbeat for his love: 

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-03-08/rare-queensland-cockatoo-facing-extinction-due-to-habitat-loss/10878972 

I can not believe how beautiful those birds are! I love cockatoos of any kind. Crazy about them and  I would love to adopt an older bird.

Scanned the articled quickly and will reread.

By the way, look who is snacking at the bird feeder.

beautiful but cheeky!

Spring has arrived and I have hung the little wren bird house!

https://nestwatch.org/learn/all-about-birdhouses/

Swan/cygnet update:

The cygnets’ feathers are changing colour! I guess this means the down is being replaced by more adult, dark feathers. In body size, they’re about 2/3 of the mother swan or a tiny bit more. And just this morning, we noticed there’s a bit red coming into their beaks! (From their ‘nose’ end, first)

This pic was taken a few days ago, sorry they’re so much in the distance among the waterlilies. 

Lovely @joanne. Last night as I tried to find anything other than news to try to fall asleep to I wished there was a station with no narration, filled with nature videos. Just sunsets, birds chirping, water falls, cicadas, tree frogs and cats purring.

We have a Sunday show which ends with a few minutes of film shot in one of our many beautiful national parks. Nothing but the sounds of the wild. On the shows anniversary, despite years of incredible coverage of famous people, interesting happenings and works of art, it was announced that the favorite is always the final minutes of nature.

I believe there is a Scandinavian station that carries such a format.

Seems like when I search the stations, even movies have musical crescendos, or blasts from battles. Just give me the sounds of those swans floating down the lake.

oh lord no! You don't want that! You couldn't possibly use that as sleep music! They boom like foghorns, then raucously screech at each other!! Even when they use somewhat softer 'inside' voices, it's still harsh, two-toned fluting like sharp-toned brass jazz chords. 

I've found a YouTube channel that's helpful for sleeping, several hours of quiet music some of which has waves or gentle rain. Jason Stephenson works best for me; just turn it on, set it low, close my eyes and a little while later it's time to get up.

LOL OK, I didn't realize that they were so loud.

Cardinals and woodpecers enjoying brunch.

Dust off those feeders and mix that sugar. They were last spotted in Blackwood, NJ April 4.

https://www.hummingbird-guide.com/hummingbird-migration-spring-2019.html#spring-migration-map-2019

Still no sightings in W. Orange, but the feeders have been up for a week. (Keep changing the sugar water weekly, even in cooler weather with no sightings. More often when temps rise. 4:1 sugar:water and NO DYES NEEDED.)

If you want to see them frequently through the season, the key is to catch the eye of the earliest hummers, while they're selecting good nesting sites.

I’ve just read this moving article about Nelson the Bulgarian vulture. 

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-47974725

I do hope he’ll be alright.

Just had first hummer sighting this season in SO- near Underhill Field.

pdg said:
Still no sightings in W. Orange, but the feeders have been up for a week. (Keep changing the sugar water weekly, even in cooler weather with no sightings. More often when temps rise. 4:1 sugar:water and NO DYES NEEDED.)
If you want to see them frequently through the season, the key is to catch the eye of the earliest hummers, while they're selecting good nesting sites.

 I usually have hanging petunias up as soon as I put the feeder up but I haven't bought one yet. No sightings here either.

lynnl199 said:
Just had first hummer sighting this season in SO- near Underhill Field.

 That's encouraging!

They're here in Toms River -- for the third year in a row on April 25th.  The first one was rather big, so I'm assuming it's a male setting up its household.  YAY!

mumstheword said:
They're here in Toms River -- for the third year in a row on April 25th.  The first one was rather big, so I'm assuming it's a male setting up its household.  YAY!

 Great. I'm around this weekend so I'll be watching carefully. Last year I purchased nesting material to hang near the feeder but I didn't see them using it. I can't wait to see my first visitor!

Morganna said:
 Great. I'm around this weekend so I'll be watching carefully. Last year I purchased nesting material to hang near the feeder but I didn't see them using it. I can't wait to see my first visitor!

 I think there's still only one, and he's only using the feeder by the bedroom and the one I hung on a pole on the front lawn (same side of the house, in place of the former weeping cherry tree).  The kitchen one has not been visited!  Last year I threw away the feeders they didn't use and bought more of the one they did use.  So hopefully they will find the kitchen feeder.  The cleaning ladies were disappointed not to see them today!

UPDATE 5/3:  I just saw 2 birds calmly drinking at the kitchen feeder.  They did not have ruby throats, so I have to look it up to see what type of hummer they are.

SECOND UPDATE 5/3:  so they ARE ruby throated hummers, just immature ones.  Here's a picture of how they look now.

I think I heard a wren this morning. Didn't see him but I'll be watching the wren house. This early it would have to be a male courting. As I've posted before, the male picks out a few spots and does a bit of nest building, then sings his heart out while I worry that he will find his true love.

When he does she will, with great ceremony, toss out his efforts, sigh, roll up her feathers and begin to build a "proper" nest. He will help fetch about 500 twigs to complete the nest. (yes I was crazy enough to count at the end of the season.)

Reading your post, Morganna, reminded me of a lovely interview I heard on the radio this morning. If you have a free hour you search for ‘Richard Vidler Conversations, frog app’ and you should be able to get the link to ABC Brisbane or Gold Coast to download it (or maybe marksierra will supply a link. I’m going to bed)

A very clever Canberra lady, researching our diminishing native species, discovered a vampire tree frog (yes, really!) - it protects its babies by laying eggs where they’ll safely hatch unnoticed, but that means there’s no food nearby. So when they’re nearly hatched Mother-frog comes back and lays unfertilised eggs for the tadpoles to eat! Even better, these frogs have fangs with which to eat those eggs!

https://www.google.com.au/search?q=vampire+tree+frog+tadpole&tbm=isch&hl=en-GB&ved=2ahUKEwjl7sLQsfrhAhXKW30KHbaMAgwQrNwCegUIARC9AQ&biw=1024&bih=661#imgrc=CEq0AhnXi64vMM

Anyway, she’s also developed an app that you use to record any frog sound (at least 20 secs) then can see if it is a known species or a new/unidentified species - each species of frog has a totally uniques call. Isn’t that wonderful?

joanne said:
Reading your post, Morganna, reminded me of a lovely interview I heard on the radio this morning. If you have a free hour you search for ‘Richard Vidler Conversations, frog app’ and you should be able to get the link to ABC Brisbane or Gold Coast to download it (or maybe marksierra will supply a link. I’m going to bed)


A very clever Canberra lady, researching our diminishing native species, discovered a vampire tree frog (yes, really!) - it protects its babies by laying eggs where they’ll safely hatch unnoticed, but that means there’s no food nearby. So when they’re nearly hatched Mother-frog comes back and lays unfertilised eggs for the tadpoles to eat! Even better, these frogs have fangs with which to eat those eggs!
https://www.google.com.au/search?q=vampire+tree+frog+tadpole&tbm=isch&hl=en-GB&ved=2ahUKEwjl7sLQsfrhAhXKW30KHbaMAgwQrNwCegUIARC9AQ&biw=1024&bih=661#imgrc=CEq0AhnXi64vMM

Anyway, she’s also developed an app that you use to record any frog sound (at least 20 secs) then can see if it is a known species or a new/unidentified species - each species of frog has a totally uniques call. Isn’t that wonderful?

 OK, stop right there. Vampire frogs with fangs? Is it too early to resurrect my All Things Halloween thread?

Can't wait to look them up!

Its a boy! My first Hummingbird of the season has arrived at 3:15 this PM! So glad I just changed the feeder. Because of the cold I haven't put up the petunia basket to attract them but this is right on schedule for me. Checking for last year's arrival date.

ETA Last year's first arrival at my feeder was May 3rd , 10 days earlier, and also raining. It was warmer last year I believe.

Spotted him today at 2:45 and he is a small guy. I should pick up a basket of hanging petunias to liven up brunch. The honeysuckle will not bloom this early and the cold had me resistant to gardening. Many of the columbines are in bloom but not much else. I do see my rhododendrons are starting to open.

You're inspiring me to plant some petunias in my garden, they're such a happy flower. Of course, I won't attract hummingbirds here!

We have a new-old invasive avian pest: peacocks. I knew they're nasty, I hadn't realised how widespread they've become. Sigh. (Game of Thrones in the bird world??)

joanne said:
You're inspiring me to plant some petunias in my garden, they're such a happy flower. Of course, I won't attract hummingbirds here!
We have a new-old invasive avian pest: peacocks. I knew they're nasty, I hadn't realised how widespread they've become. Sigh. (Game of Thrones in the bird world??)

 Never thought of peacocks as pests and also never associated them with Australia. They seem to be placed in showy gardens, and never seem local to anywhere. Maybe India.

Petunias only survive in my garden in hanging baskets. On the ground they are one more tasty snack for our deer or woodchucks.

If peacocks are a bit nippy, I'm sympathetic, as our wild turkeys can be down right aggressive. Here they are chasing the mail truck.