Subject: [Tweeters] hummingbird carousel
Date: Feb 16 07:47:02 2006
From: Pterodroma at aol.com - Pterodroma at aol.com


I never cease to be amazed at how confiding my menagerie of Anna's
Hummingbirds can be around here. The hummers are always the first birds to arrive at
the first hint of daylight but this morning there was a new twist, literally.
With the subfreezing night time temperatures of late, I always bring all
six feeders in at night so at least they will be thawed, fluid, and warm to
greet the first light breakfast horde. This morning as I was just screwing the
feeder into it's cap which hangs from a wisteria vine outside the kitchen
window, one especially eager female Anna's immediately flew in under my arm and
hands, landed on the perch, and began sipping away all the while as I was
rotating the feeder securely in place. Around and round it went and all pretty
amazing as well as quite hilarious.

With more intense cold and hard freeze forecast for the next few days, it
will be a bit more of a challenge to keep the feeders unfrozen and online
during the day which means rotating feeders in and out of the house at least every
hour or two and it's always a relief once the freeze finally moderates back
to above freezing normal.

During the big pre-Super Bowl windstorm, the Anna's Hummingbird activity was
quite interesting and quite intense. I have never had so many hummingbirds
seek refuge here at one time than during that event with up to twenty at a
time, adult males, females, and everything in between, all camped out around
the feeders best shielded from the gusty winds all day long often perching on
the vines and rhodies and only a few inches apart when not taking turns
dipping in and out at the feeders. They all got on fine without the usual bouts of
sparring for dominance whether that be genuinely territorial, practice, or
just for fun. Once the winds died down and weather moderated, then they
resumed their wider neighborhood wanderings and got back to playing their normal
hummingbird games around the feeders.

BTW, my 'special' Valentine's Day Barred Owl was back last night for an
encore, same tree, but later around and after 10:30.

Richard Rowlett
Bellevue (Eastgate), WA