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Post by rockyraccoon on Aug 20, 2006 13:01:03 GMT -5
warren if you can ever get them coming to your house they will stop there every year on their way south. my mom's backyard is almost dangerous when they come through as she has so many now.
kim
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Post by Tweetiepy on Aug 20, 2006 13:04:49 GMT -5
Those are the nicest birds - just put some sort of self sticking sticker on the outside of your windows or they will crash into them
Oh and if you can, make a little place for them to sit while they drink at the feeder or nearby and you can look at them a little longer
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Post by akansan on Aug 20, 2006 14:32:26 GMT -5
Down here they get used to you after a bit. Loud noises still scare them off, but there's nothing quite as strange as sitting on the front porch at my parents and having a hummingbird come check out your hair!
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Post by docone31 on Aug 20, 2006 21:28:20 GMT -5
Those are some great shots! Little birds they are. Kinda look like insects. We have a bunch around our Coral Tree under the front window. They flit around, it is kinda neat. You can barely see their wings when they fly.
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Post by puppie96 on Aug 21, 2006 1:36:30 GMT -5
We have them coming on strong right now. This is the time of year when they come in big time & will give us a show until nearly the end of September. It's constant air wars. They are very territorial and one bird with defend the food source(s). Having multiple feeders is a good idea because it is hard for one bird to guard them all. They are trying to fatten up before they head out on migration across the Gulf of Mexico. They are very bold because they have no predators. Also very curious about people, especially if you are the one that handles the feeders. I get buzzed on a regular basis every time I go outside. Sometimes I stand still holding the feeder and they come up and feed on it a foot from my nose. While doing this they have taken little side trips and hovered right in front of my eyes. They like it if you wear red. Twice today I saw them right outside the kitchen window or patio door, evidently checking out my red shirt. They like to sit on the fence when the lawn sprinkler is running and get a little shower.
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Post by Tweetiepy on Aug 21, 2006 7:48:34 GMT -5
my mom put a tree branch near her feeder so they perch and check for intruders, - their mating ritual is awesome. My dad hat to tape up his garage door handle as it was red and the little critters would get stuck in the garage unable to find their way out. One knocked itself out on their dinning room window and my dad held it in his hands as it was recovering - giving it sips of the sugar water - you should have seen his eyes (my dad's) when he talks about that
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Post by Cher on Aug 21, 2006 19:22:11 GMT -5
Awww, aren't they the neatest little things. This is the time of year they'll be starting to migrate so it's a good thing to mix the sugar water a little thicker. Normal recipe is 1 part sugar, 4 parts water but in the spring and fall ... and if a cold spell is coming I mix it stronger to give them an extra boost.
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Post by puppie96 on Aug 23, 2006 2:49:48 GMT -5
Cher, you would not believe the activity right now. It has never before been so frenzied this early and it happened overnight. I've even managed to increase it even more, by finding a place to hang one of the feeders a little bit away from the others and screened from the usual vantage points so that the alpha bird can't defend all of the feeders. Now the others are actually able to sit down and feed in peace for a while. It's like watching a tennis match; you get into watching the air war to your right and then hear the buzz and barely manage to see the 3 that just went whizzing by on your left. They also do this thing like the "back to the future" ride where the thing accelerates and then changes direction on a dime without braking? These guys do this; I watched them zooming straight at Joe's head and at the last minute they went up and over without a hitch. I saw them do this with the fence, too. One of them was upset and making that chippchipp noise and looking up at the empty hook where the feeder was supposed to be, just when I was about to rehang it. She noticed this and came right down and bellied up to the bar, didn't wait for me to hang it. They are really interesting birds. After watching them for several years, I'm sure that they are very aware of us and curious about us. I catch them watching through the patio door a lot and they always zoom me. They aren't crazy about the dogs but seem to be adapting to them very quickly this year. I think they are too quick for the dogs -- I'm not sure they notice at all!
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