The Uncaged Bird -Hummingbird feeder is up!
Wrens have fledged and the house sits empty. Haven't had the heart to take it down, an admission that days will be shorter, nights longer and soon there will be a chill in the air. I am happy to see the hummingbirds still chasing each other and sipping from the feeder and the honeysuckle.
I'm looking at houses in the parts of NJ that are dotted with farms and quiet woods. I found one that I love but I'm wondering if I have what it takes to live surrounded by woods with no neighbor in sight unless I drive down to the country road. As a city kid I thought this move to South Orange was bold, now I'm wondering if an adventurer is still ready to embrace such a change.
Urban wild birds have to learn many new skills to cope with changes in their habitat and loss of old sources of food. While this might fill Calli with horror (I vividly remember her tales of that nighbour’s pet bird), these clever cockatoo have learnt new tricks and taught them to others:
Morganna said:
I'm busy with the hummingbirds coming and going. Hmm. Let's leave a hummingbird up there on the post for a bit.
Is this a recent picture of your hummers? I am noticing this year, none of mine have the red ring around their throats and have much more green on their backs and wings and heads than in previous years. Could this be another variety of hummers?
I've just learnt a horrible fact about our family of swans: our neighbour mentioned that friends up at the end of the complex (closer to where the lake meets the wetlands) said the dad killed all the younger swans from the clutch of eggs. They'd found the bodies, all bloodied, one after the other...
Usually, rescue teams are called in from Fisheries & Wildlufe or from Currumbin Sanctuary but everyone's had vicious cuts in funding and we're in a forgotten pocket. No-one thought to call them before it got to this stage... The adolescent swans are meant to be pushed away from the nesting area and join with others to hunt and to find breeding mates. But these were too content here, and didn't want to leave.
The nearby lake, in the wetland, has turned foul and water level is very low. There's some concern about illegal contamination. No doubt this is part of the reason water fowl aren't behaving quite as in previous, lush seasons. We're all just devastated at the news about the youngsters.
mumstheword said:
Morganna said:
I'm busy with the hummingbirds coming and going. Hmm. Let's leave a hummingbird up there on the post for a bit.
Is this a recent picture of your hummers? I am noticing this year, none of mine have the red ring around their throats and have much more green on their backs and wings and heads than in previous years. Could this be another variety of hummers?
It sounds like you are seeing females. Only the males have the red throat. It is very rare to see any species other than ruby-throated here. I believe that very occasionally, there are sightings of rufous hummingbirds, but they are more reddish-brown (as suggested by their name.) There are many more hummingbird species in the western part of the US and in Mexico and Central and South America.
Here you go!
Lazy jabiru, sunning themselves in smoky afternoon sunlight.... There are couple of fairly major fires the hinterland, and we'll have smoke, haze and massive fire danger for most of the next two weeks. This flock isn't as big as on Sunday, there were more than 19 birds then
mumstheword said:
Is this a recent picture of your hummers? I am noticing this year, none of mine have the red ring around their throats and have much more green on their backs and wings and heads than in previous years. Could this be another variety of hummers?
Agree with sac that we only see ruby throats and you are probably seeing juveniles and females. Only adult males have the signature ruby throat. As adult males arrive first and leave first we will soon see only the Canadian males passing through on their migration south.
This is another recent shot. A female. You will see them all gaining weight as they prepare for the long flight south.
joanne said:
I've just learnt a horrible fact about our family of swans: our neighbour mentioned that friends up at the end of the complex (closer to where the lake meets the wetlands) said the dad killed all the younger swans from the clutch of eggs. They'd found the bodies, all bloodied, one after the other...
Usually, rescue teams are called in from Fisheries & Wildlufe or from Currumbin Sanctuary but everyone's had vicious cuts in funding and we're in a forgotten pocket. No-one thought to call them before it got to this stage... The adolescent swans are meant to be pushed away from the nesting area and join with others to hunt and to find breeding mates. But these were too content here, and didn't want to leave.
The nearby lake, in the wetland, has turned foul and water level is very low. There's some concern about illegal contamination. No doubt this is part of the reason water fowl aren't behaving quite as in previous, lush seasons. We're all just devastated at the news about the youngsters.
That has to be criminal, right?
Morganna said:
Agree with sac that we only see ruby throats and you are probably seeing juveniles and females. Only adult males have the signature ruby throat. As adult males arrive first and leave first we will soon see only the Canadian males passing through on their migration south.
But I haven't seen ANY hummers with ruby throats this year at all. There has to be at least one male around here, unless the females have learned to reproduce themselves.... 
@mumstheword I looked through my pictures and only found one male from 2018. Hard to see but it is a male. As they are territorial, we probably get one male and one female and then the babies who do not have the ruby throat.
As for my photos, perhaps the males have been too quick for me to catch.
Oh, Morganna! It’s breathtaking! Almost 5:45am here, and dawning on a smoky/overcast day. About 25-30 stark white jabiru wading knee-deep in the lake directly across from from, strung out across both houses opposite, bobbing their majestic necks and long beaks for tasty bits and scratching their legs as they gently dance in time with the quiet ripples...
Almost no birdsong due to the smoke, just scattered calls and very distant traffic.
Could be idyllic. (If not for the smoke and ash: sorry, the bushfires are frightening for all, and have barely let up since Thurs last week)
joanne said:
Oh, Morganna! It’s breathtaking! Almost 5:45am here, and dawning on a smoky/overcast day. About 25-30 stark white jabiru wading knee-deep in the lake directly across from from, strung out across both houses opposite, bobbing their majestic necks and long beaks for tasty bits and scratching their legs as they gently dance in time with the quiet ripples...
Almost no birdsong due to the smoke, just scattered calls and very distant traffic.
Could be idyllic. (If not for the smoke and ash: sorry, the bushfires are frightening for all, and have barely let up since Thurs last week)
So sorry about the bushfires.
It sounds idyllic though. It makes me feel like I should consider moving to the place in the woods.
I'm watching the housing market sink in our community due to the high property taxes and the loss of State and Local Tax Deductions, passed under this administration. So as much as I'm experiencing the call of the wild, I'm not certain that the house would sell at a fair price.
Here the hummingbirds have been out as late as dusk but they are beginning to migrate south. Leaves will change, pumpkins will appear and our mystical autumn sunsets will lead us gently into winter.
The genetics must be astounding! Just gorgeous 
Saw this picture posted on FB of an unusual owl. How cute is this guy. He's a spot bellied eagle owl.
All the way from down under. An albino kookaburra. Not sure if the link will work, I found it on FB on Australian Geographic.
I had a hummingbird just the other day. (After not seeing any all summer, although the syrup had been going down in the feeder when I wasn't looking.)
How much longer will they be here?
sac said:
I had a hummingbird just the other day. (After not seeing any all summer, although the syrup had been going down in the feeder when I wasn't looking.)
How much longer will they be here?
They are migrating now so we may be seeing our birds or the ones coming down from Canada. These are the last couple of weeks. I saw one today. The rule of thumb is to leave your feeder up 2 weeks after the last sighting. The weather is warm and the honeysuckle is in bloom as is the red annual salvia. Not a great picture but this is from this week.
I've often said that the best bird watching investment for the backyard birder is a bird bath. Over the years I've added to my collection so I now have 3 and a large fountain which I often keep half filled and turned off for the bigger birds to splash about. Birds which might dominate a feeder have no problem enjoying a swim with an assortment of species. The lifeguards may have deserted the beaches but the pool is open here long after Labor Day. Yesterday's frivolities.
Morganna said:
I've often said that the best bird watching investment for the backyard birder is a bird bath. Over the years I've added to my collection so I now have 3 and a large fountain which I often keep half filled and turned off for the bigger birds to splash about. Birds which might dominate a feeder have no problem enjoying a swim with an assortment of species. The lifeguards may have deserted the beaches but the pool is open here long after Labor Day. Yesterday's frivolities.
Do you have a problem with them attracting mosquitoes? I had one in Maplewood and even though I had the mosquito pellets in it, the pesky bugs thrived.
BTW, my hummers are gone. I was just seeing one at only one feeder, only in the afternoons, and now nothing at all for 2 days. Boy, this season flew past (no pun intended). Next year folks!
Morganna said:
OK, I tried a new bird cake for my Woodpeckers. It was a hit. Here's the Red Bellied.
What is it please?
durandhedden said:
What is it please?
I'm searching for the date that it was posted. I remember using a large cake of corn and seeds. If you remember the date you saw that post I might have a picture. But scrolling back a few pages you can see the hairy and the downy woodpecker feasting on suet cakes. Easy to find in the pet section at Shoprite in West Orange. And if you are a fan of Woodpeckers check out this beautiful Female Yellow Shafted Flicker stopping by for a dip. Males of course have the black mustache.
I think we may have new baby cygnets!!!
Mama Swan was calling out a lot a couple of hours ago (late lunch time), and then a little while later, in a quiet hollow bass underscoring her trills, I could hear Papa Swan... now it’s a different kind of quiet, with plover families and wagtail families chirping. I think Mama Swan might be imprint-talking either to Papa, or to the hatchlings...
Soooooo exciting. She’s been sitting on that nest for so many weeks, including in a thunder storm over the weekend, and during the scary bushfires.
Any hummingbird sightings recently? I'm thinking I should put away the feeder now (?)
sac said:
Any hummingbird sightings recently? I'm thinking I should put away the feeder now (?)
My last sighting was 9/22 I usually wait 2 weeks so in the next few days. I have many red salvia blooming for them. My honeysuckle is slowing down but I think we are just about done.
YES! Three teeny almost-white downy fluff-balls swimming as fast as their little feet can go between Mama and Papa!
I'll grab a photo or two later!
The cormorants are back!
Just spotted two, seem to be young, and they've moved up to the corner house on our right (remember, they used to sun themselves opposite our balcony?). Perhaps the lake is a little deeper there, one is happily diving and floating, diving...
There's also a gorgeous flock of about 6 startlingly white jabiru (native stork) that have settled in on that house's lawn since last week. It's so peaceful to wake and see them gathered, pecking around for insects and seeds, wading as a group. Some of the ducks have taken to snoozing in the sun around lunchtime close to the jabiru, around the two letterboxes between the two houses.
And more exciting news: the swans are sitting on eggs again! A bit early, but yay!