We got a second dose of snow yesterday. Kept up most of the day into the afternoon. Looked fairly nice also when the sun came out late afternoon. In the morning I opened up the backdoor and let the camera run while I went back in closer to the fire. By the time I finally left to go fix a computer the sock was almost empty. What you see here pretty much went on all day.
Look close and you can see the curious humming bird checking out the video camera.
I'm not exactly sure what type of bird this is...small wren variety I believe. This peticular one has over the last few weeks developed a taste for hummingbird food and the hummingbirds gladly share. Since the windows have screens over them, clarity is not present, but I think you will concur this is not a hummingbird.
This little guy lands on the roof and checks things out. Then flys under the eave to the hummingbird feeder and chows down.
The finches really are going to town. Since they are really skidish, they are hard to catch admist thier feeding frenzy.Here's a picture of the front feeder with 4 finches.
It's kind of hard to see but the volume of seed in the sock is about 1/4 of what was in the other sock in the backyard. The front is a really quiet spot for them. Most of our in-and-out traffic is through the back door. I tried photographing the humming birds yesterday through the window but since it was so dark in the room the flash ruined the pictures. I might try learning how to turn the autoflash off and try again.
Yesterday we had no less than 30 humming birds at the feeders. And at the same time probably 10 or 12+ finches at the back feeder. Man talk about noisy. The little guys in the front though were being awfully quiet.
Went to Petco yesterday on the way to get pellets. Actually it is farther than my pellet stop. Anyway, I picked up a huge bag of thistle seed and 2 "supersocks" which hold about twice as much feed as the socks in the pictures. Hopefully we are set for the winter.
I just checked and they are back at it again this morning. Not as many yet but you can hear them buzzin and singin already at daybreak.
When we bought this place there wasn't a bird to be heard. Now it sounds like a giant mosquito ranch in the backyard. Near as we can figure the people before us let the feeder go empty too long and the birds just gave up. Of course the cat isn't even interested in them anymore which also helps.
The male birds seem to be very aggressive/possessive and would prevent the other smaller birds from feeding. One bird seemed to be ruling the roost. With about 3 others he was constantly chasing off, I decided we should add another feeder. My thought here was that it's difficult for him to cover both spots at once.
Before that though I noticed a couple of them would fly in to get chased off. Then another two would come in and eat while the first two were keeping the big guy busy. A great tactical move I must admit.
Not sure exactly why but we have 8 or 9 regulars now that go through at least a feeder-full of stuff a day. Must not be enough nectar producing flowers yet to support thier voracious appetites. Either that or thier sources have dried up.
Not many people know this, but if you stand still enough and put your finger in front of one of the feeding holes, a humming bird will land on your finger to eat.