We Love Lucy

No sooner did we see our second hummingbird than we witnessed conflict between the two.  They twirled around each other like tiny helicopters and one of them fell to the deck.  Lucy was lying in her bed and watched the recovery.

Lucy reflected in the glass

 She attentively watches the little bird

 She stands and her tail wags each time the bird moves

It's hard to believe the first quarter of 2014 has passed already.  This winter and spring have brought very unusual weather to us here in the mountains and to many areas around the globe.

We have so much to be thankful for as we note how many people on our planet are suffering and dying.  Natural disasters have taken a toll and humankind perhaps a larger toll.  Our thoughts turn to those in pain around the world.

Today's quote comes from Maya Angelou.  They are words we should all heed.

"During bad circumstances, which is the human inheritance, you must decide not to be reduced.  You have your humanity, and you must not allow anything to reduce that.  We are obliged to know we are global citizens.  Disasters remind us we are world citizens whether we like it or not."

So think of your fellow citizens of the world.  Help those in need, here and abroad.

HAVE A SAFE AND WONDERFUL WEEKEND, EVERYONE!!!

They are on the Move

The Ruby-throated Hummingbird migration has begun.  These little jewels have been sighted in eastern Texas, southern Louisiana, Mississippi, and have crossed the Florida border into southern Alabama and Georgia.

The 2012 map for sighting and reporting is up.  Go here to see the map.  You can track the hummingbird migration so you will know when to put out your feeders.  You might even be lucky enough to sight and report the first one in your area.

I must admit the map always concerns me as the hummingbirds approach our area.  Perhaps because we are so near the Southern Blue Ridge Escarpment, the hummingbirds are seen to our west, east, and north before we finally get them.  So I often have to change the nectar a couple of times before we get any hummingbirds.  But one little bird makes us forget all about that.  Hurrah for spring!

Fridays are Golden

A hummingbird struck the side of our house and fell to the deck.  It sat there upright but a little stunned.

Lucy immediately ran to the window to see the bird.  She sat there watching it until it flew away.  Every time the bird moved, Lucy would wag her tail as if she were cheering it on.

Ellie joined Lucy for a look-see.  Then she walked away, apparently less concerned about the outcome.

Pardon the lousy photograph.  I took it through the door since I didn't want to disturb the hummingbird and make it try to fly before it was ready.

I cannot understand why the hummingbirds remain so territorial, guarding the feeders passionately and challenging any other hummingbird that comes around.  They have such a long and strenuous path to travel.  One would think it in their best interest to conserve the energy they expend fighting.  I often wonder if any of them gets much nectar.  This particular bird was in a duel with another when it struck the side of the house.  The bird recovered very quickly so perhaps he will live to fight another day.

Autumn is upon us at last.  Our Jewish friends are observing the high holy days of Rosh Hashanah.  We are putting away the summer things and preparing for the cooler days ahead.  Only ninety-two days remain in the year 2011, so you might need to review and/or revise the list of things you set out to accomplish this year.

When your life feels too complicated and busy, think on this:

The most important things in life are not things.

HAVE A WONDERFUL WEEKEND, EVERY ONE!

Hang'em Up and Start Watching

The are already on the move and will soon be in an area near you.  The Ruby-throated Hummingbirds are migrating!!!  I love the anticipation and follow the map report regularly.  Perhaps because we are so near an escarpment, the hummingbirds are reported to our north, to our east, and to our west before we see them here.  I mix the nectar and put out the feeders weeks before I actually see a hummingbird, but I don't want to miss that first one.

So they are coming.  Follow the map and get your feeders out as they approach your area.  The map is a self-reporting one, so if you are the first in your area to see a Ruby-throated Hummingbird, you can click on the map and report the sighting.  Now that's something to brag to the neighbors about!

You can find the map here

And before too long, this is what you will see as your reward.  I can't wait!

Oh, don't you just love spring?

Fridays are Golden

I saw it fall. Straight down from the sky. It didn't hit any part of the house until it landed on the deck. Our hummingbirds have been unbelievably agressive this year. Every now and then they actually crash into one another and temporarily lose their lift and begin a free fall. Most often they are able to regain their flight and go at it again.

This time, one of them didn't have enough space to recover from the crash and it fell down on to the deck. It sat there stunned and seemed to wonder where it was and how it got there.

Lucy was lying near the door and immediately got up to look at the bird.

Lucy stared at the little hummingbird and it stared right back at Lucy.

As the bird moved on the deck, Lucy moved to different positions.

She wagged her tail every time the bird moved a little.

Within a short while the little bird recovered and flew to the feeder. Lucy, satisfied that her watchful eye had made for the recovery, went back to bed.

Tomorrow is Yom Kippur during which our Jewish friends will observe a day of atonement. This holy time is set aside to reflect on the past year, to change one's behavior and amend one's ways. The day requires that the people seek forgiveness for the wrongs they may have done to others. What a wonderful thing to do. Perhaps all of us should follow this example. So this weekend think about the past year. Try to reach out and mend fences. And vow to be more understanding and tolerant of your fellow human beings in the year ahead.

Oh! Look! Is that what I think it is?

Let the fall migration begin!!!

Have a safe and wonderful weekend, everyone!

Not Sharing at All

Several people wondered why Lucy was looking so morose in Friday's post. Simple. I was out in the yard and she was left inside. She stood at the window watching me the entire time I was photographing our aggressive little hummingbirds.

Here are a few of the shots. You might need to click to enlarge.

Hummer number one is sitting cautiously at the feeder.


Hummer number two flies in.

Chasing number one backward.

Number two sits at the feeder just as cautiously.

In an instant they are at it again.

Hummer number three joins in the fracas.

Number two hovers over the feeder, sitting but not sipping and ready for more battle.

Which comes soon enough.

The birds chase each other continuously. Often they bump into each other and temporarily drop toward the ground. They whirl straight up, they dive down, and they chase each other all over the yard. Number two clings to the feeder like a chickadee, trying to defend the space.

The same scenario is playing out at the backyard feeder as well. At a given moment, I can stand in the kitchen watching the fight out front and turn to watch another one on the deck in back. I can assure you the birds are getting some nectar. I've had to fill all three feeders every day. Why can't they share the table like Jayne's birds do?

All Over the Place

Isn't it nice to see the Ruby-throated Hummingbirds come back every spring? They now extend over most of their range and are always such a welcome sight.

Every year I closely monitor the migration map. Perhaps because of the nearby escarpment, we see them reported north of us, east of us, and west of us several weeks before they arrive here.


We seem to have a lot of them this year. We have three feeders and a guardian hummingbird at each one. We saw one of them challenge a goldfinch that dared to perch on the branch with the hummingbird. The goldfinch left.

This particular bird often sits on the hook above the feeder as if daring anyone to approach.




Finally, there must be lots of job opportunities for proof-readers.

Freeze-frame from the Internet

Fridays are Golden

This may be our favorite time of year. The summer tourists are gone and the leaf lookers (or peepers) haven't yet filled the mountains. We often take mid-week day trips to re-visit some of our favorite sites. We have a wonderful dog walker whom the dogs just love. He is retired and loves dogs so he makes extra pocket money walking them. He leaves us a written report as extensive as any babysitter we've ever had. So we have no concerns leaving them for a day.

When we get home we spend a bit more time with them outside.


Here Lucy trots along the walk.

Rats! Ellie saw me with the camera. If she notices the camera she automatically sits and poses. Nothing natural about this.

A bird flies past and catches Lucy's attention. She loves to watch the birds.

Exhausted after some active play, the girls relax. Ellie selected the bed first and there is absolutely no room for Lucy. That never stops her even though there is another identical bed only a few feet away. She pushes and makes a place for herself.

Lucy simply loves to snuggle next to Ellie even if it means contorting her body or (more likely) using Ellie for a pillow.

While we were outside, a little hummingbird decided to have a snack. I can't resist taking photographs of them during the waning days of their presence. Oh, I will miss them.

This week is National Banned Book Week. If you missed most of it, you still have the weekend to go to your local library and check out a banned book. Find a list of "controversial" authors and books and pick up a few. You don't have to read them this weekend...just check them out.

Our thoughts are with the people suffering throughout this planet we share, most especially those in the Pacific Islands affected by recent tsunamis. Looking at the devastation should make you grateful for what you have and what kind of life you enjoy. So this weekend, get out there and enjoy it.

HAVE A WONDERFUL WEEKEND. OCTOBER TRULY BRINGS AUTUMN TO US AND THE PROMISE OF WONDERFUL DAYS AHEAD.

Hummer in the Rain

It's hard to believe, but we had another two-and-a-half inches of rain over the weekend! The rivers are really high but there was no significant flooding. Hardly anyone can recall this much rain not associated with the remnants of a hurricane.

As I look out at the pouring rain, I always admire the tenacity of the birds. They come to our feeders and take shelter in our trees. I know that they are equipped to deal with the rain, but still I feel sorry for them.

During a break in the rain, I captured this little wet hummingbird. I treasure the days we have left with them and will miss them this winter.

The sun is shining brightly this morning. It is much cooler than normal and feels as if fall has truly arrived. We are happy the trees will go into the winter with plenty of moisture. They have suffered a harsh three-year drought. And we are happy for the farmers who may yet get some yield from their late crops as the fields dry out. And we are really happy for ourselves and we smile as we watch the wonderful sunshine. I think the birds are happier this morning too.

Ladybirds

I have always been particularly fond of female birds. They really have a difficult life what with most of the nest building, egg laying, rearing the young. And many of them have several broods every summer and then migrate a long distance for the winter. They often look quite exhausted at the end of the summer.

Here are a few of my favorite lady birds:

The female Red Crossbill isn't red at all. Her mate is a vibrant red while she is a muted grayish green.

The female Eastern Towhee is a bright bird, but her hood is a warm reddish brown while her mate's hood is deep black.

The female Downy Woodpecker is very similar to the male except that she has no red on the top of her head.

The female Ruby-throated Hummingbird doesn't have a ruby red throat at all.

The female Pileated Woodpecker is very similar to the male. Whereas the male has a red line off the base of his bill, she has a black line.

Many female birds are quite plain in contrast to their brilliant mates. But there is beauty in all of them.

Tracking the Hummingbirds

It won't be long now.

One of my favorite arrivals is that of the Ruby-throated Hummingbird. Even non-birders talk excitedly about the first hummingbird sighting. In case you didn't know, there is a really great hummingbird migration map. You can use the map to report a sighting or to follow the migration. Once they approach your area, get out those feeders and make your nectar.

Here is the link for the map: http://www.hummingbirds.net/map.html

-----------My computer seems to have made a Lazarus-like recovery and survived the hard drive crash and other problems. It's back home and working just fine. With a new hard drive and reinstallation of the operating system, it should be good for a while. This is one service contract that more than paid for itself.

FRIENDLY NOTE: Get a portable hard drive and back up any data you wouldn't want to lose for good. While in my case the service crew was able to clone the hard drive, that is not always the case. I felt much better knowing that I had almost everything I needed backed up on a relatively inexpensive portable external hard drive. There is also Internet-based storage available. Oh, if you don't actually use the process to back up data it doesn't do you any good!

Photo Tag

I was "tagged" by Cedar (http://adirondackview.blogspot.com/) to look into my fifth photo folder and pull out the fifth picture for this post. The fifth folder turned out to be "Hummingfight," containing lots of photographs of a couple of dueling hummingbirds I witnessed last fall. The fifth photo in the folder is "fghthum 005." In this photograph, the birds are not engaged, but you can almost see from the expression of the bird on the left that things are not going to go well. This picture was not used in the post, but you can see the ones that were used by going to the September post about the fight. (http://ncmountainwoman.blogspot.com/2008/09/dueling-hummingbirds.html)




It seems a long time since we have seen hummingbirds, doesn't it? This morning we have a little bit of snow and our colder-than-normal weather continues.

Thank goodness we have our photographs to remind us of lovely fall days and migrating birds.

I never tag others, so if you have a yen, pull up your folders and look at the fifth one. At the very least, it might bring up some good memories. At best, you might post it for us.

And the Bird Is...

Kudos to everyone who took a guess, and a few bananas to the chimp on the unicycle. Here is the same bird as he moved further up the pole. A Rose-breasted Grosbeak. Had you seen this picture first, the identification would have been easy.

When I was a child, I used to get frustrated because the birds I saw didn't always look like the birds in my bird guide. I expected the birds to get in line and pose exactly they way they were in my book. Only larger reference guides can show a lot of different poses, and hardly anyone shows the birds from the back. I learned quickly that I would have to really study some birds from different angles in order to identify them.

--------Typically, when the grosbeaks migrate through our area, all the hummingbirds are gone. This year however, we have three of them lingering. It was 38 degrees when I snapped this little hummer, all puffed up and looking rather cold. While I'm always glad to see them, I wonder if I am encouraging them to stay. Should I simply remove the feeders so they will move on? I would welcome any advice.

We are delighted to have so many beautiful grosbeaks here for a while. Soon the females will join them and all too quickly they will be gone. We will miss them. But they will return in the spring, more colorful and brighter than ever.

Dueling Hummingbirds

We seem to have more hummingbirds around lately, and they are not getting along well at all. These two birds were in constant conflict at our front feeder. I watched from the window for several minutes. They jockeyed for position and flew against each other, going straight up like a pair of tiny helicopters. I decided to step out on the porch to see if I could catch a picture or two.

Here is one of the birds in a rare moment at the feeder alone:




Here is the other bird, also at a rare moment alone at the feeder:

I love the hostile look on the hummer's face. Clearly does not want to share.

In fact, I think I can take you on:

Yeah, you and who else?

The two of them go at it, swirling and rising and falling.

A shaky peace is reached for a while, but each bird briefly challenges the other periodically.

Suddenly, a third hummingbird enters the scene. I don't think this is going to work. The bird on the left is not going to stand for this.

So now we have three birds involved. I wonder how such activity can be in the hummingbird's best interest? They have a very long migration ahead of them and hardly anyone gets any nectar this way. No one seemed willing to give up the conflict and come back later.

It was quite a sight to see, probably the longest hummingbird duel I've witnessed.