What Bird Did You See Today?

Wow.
So after a slow but steady start with the hummies, they are in full force right now.
DFABAD56-D70A-4A52-8654-4EADA4E05192.jpeg
Craptastic photo

I have 3-4 having constant dogfights at the front feeder, where they went through a pint of nectar in 4 days.

With the other 2 feeders, I’m guessing we have about 6 resident total.
 
So no pics, but had a few cool close encounters.

Sitting on the screen porch, I look up, and I’m getting buzzed by an eagle with a long ass fish in his mouth (pickerel?).
Like feet above the roofline-
WTF?!?

Next thing I know, he loops back, again so low that passing cars stop to let him by.
At this point, I see why he’s doing what he’s doing: he’s being chased by a sparrow. lol.
Very cool, the bird was just huge.
Reminds of when my chihuahua chases BiL’s 80lb dobie around the yard. Lol.


Also saw one of these on our new butterfly bush.
F351F9F6-57C0-4B29-B25C-E3F2624906B5.jpeg
Not my photo-
Hummingbird moth.
Fucker looks like a flying lobster.
Makes you feel like you’re watching Yellow Submarine.
 
jmanic said:
So no pics, but had a few cool close encounters.

Sitting on the screen porch, I look up, and I’m getting buzzed by an eagle with a long ass fish in his mouth (pickerel?).
Like feet above the roofline-
WTF?!?

Next thing I know, he loops back, again so low that passing cars stop to let him by.
At this point, I see why he’s doing what he’s doing: he’s being chased by a sparrow. lol.
Very cool, the bird was just huge.
Reminds of when my chihuahua chases BiL’s 80lb dobie around the yard. Lol.


Also saw one of these on our new butterfly bush.
View attachment 135264
Not my photo-
Hummingbird moth.
Fucker looks like a flying lobster.
Makes you feel like you’re watching Yellow Submarine.
Click to expand...
I've watched the hummingbird moths on our butterfly bush. Flying lobster is an excellent description. Question is, what did you use for your Google search?
 
JDurk said:
I've watched the hummingbird moths on our butterfly bush. Flying lobster is an excellent description. Question is, what did you use for your Google search?
Click to expand...
Ha- my wife had just told me about them, so I had a head start.
 
JDurk said:
I've watched the hummingbird moths on our butterfly bush. Flying lobster is an excellent description. Question is, what did you use for your Google search?
Click to expand...
For the longest time I thought those were actually hummingbirds on my butterfly bush. I also thought the cave cricket in my first house was a grasshopper. I’ve since learned more about nature.
 
So I dropped one of the cheapo plastic hummie feeders the other day, so I had to replace it.
I went with this one from Amazon
4AB7A86F-74D4-40E1-B5D1-84C506A26A50.jpeg

03502071-92EA-48E1-AAA2-6B897C1454E7.jpeg


I’ve tried a number of feeders and I have to say this checks all the boxes.

Glass with a wide mouth- easy to clean and fill, doesn’t get cloudy like plastic, so you can see if the nectar is still clear.

Bottom pieces (2) are held together by screwing to the jar part- when you take it apart to fill, you have easy access to all of it for cleaning.

Volume is about perfect (10oz) enough with even lots of activity- not too much that it will get cloudy/moldy in between fills.

Any moat which is key for post mount.

Local dudes transitioned right to it, and dig the foot rests so they can chill and chug.

$15

@jmanic approved-
Just got a second one to replace the other plastic one.
 
jmanic said:
So I dropped one of the cheapo plastic hummie feeders the other day, so I had to replace it.
I went with this one from Amazon
View attachment 136424

View attachment 136425


I’ve tried a number of feeders and I have to say this checks all the boxes.

Glass with a wide mouth- easy to clean and fill, doesn’t get cloudy like plastic, so you can see if the nectar is still clear.

Bottom pieces (2) are held together by screwing to the jar part- when you take it apart to fill, you have easy access to all of it for cleaning.

Volume is about perfect (10oz) enough with even lots of activity- not too much that it will get cloudy/moldy in between fills.

Any moat which is key for post mount.

Local dudes transitioned right to it, and dig the foot rests so they can chill and chug.

$15

@jmanic approved-
Just got a second one to replace the other plastic one.
Click to expand...

I just got this guy from the wild bird store yesterday:
IMG_20200807_163843.jpg

It's a plastic one, but seems well thought out. Comes apart super easy and is dishwasher safe, has the ant moat, and has a hook on the bottom to attach another feeder if you get a lot of visitors.

How long do you keep the nectar in there? They told me not to leave the nectar for more than 3 days in the hot weather or it'll ferment and mess up the birds.

I've only ever seen a hummingbird once in my yard, hoping they'll come visit me. I might need to put some colorful flowers around to help entice them.
 
Mahnken said:
I just got this guy from the wild bird store yesterday:
View attachment 136433

It's a plastic one, but seems well thought out. Comes apart super easy and is dishwasher safe, has the ant moat, and has a hook on the bottom to attach another feeder if you get a lot of visitors.

How long do you keep the nectar in there? They told me not to leave the nectar for more than 3 days in the hot weather or it'll ferment and mess up the birds.

I've only ever seen a hummingbird once in my yard, hoping they'll come visit me. I might need to put some colorful flowers around to help entice them.
Click to expand...
That looks great!
Like that it doesn’t have flower nozzles that can gunk up.

As for how long, I keep an eye on it- if it gets cloudy, it’s out.
Usually around 5 days in the heat, maybe up to 7 days in the early season.
I gauge by the state of the feeder when I take it apart- if there’s mold or funk, it’s been too long.

Looking at yours, it’s pretty shallow so you start seeing activity, they’ll probably drain it before it goes bad.
I always make fresh before a fill, but you can keep it for say a week or so in the fridge if you find yourself filling often.

Next year plan on getting feeders out around May to catch them when they are coming back.
And only red/yellow feeders.
Tried other colors that had a good design, but were not as popular.
And yeah, if you can offer flowers up, they dig that for sure.

Post up how you make out!
 
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I've been in Barnegat Light this week enjoying the Island. While kayaking I've seen an abundance of Oyster Catchers and Brown Pelicans, amongst a lot of other coastal birds. Always cool to see.
Stock pics.
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