I've been fooling around with Windows Movie Maker and spliced together some videos I took of hummingbirds. It was a rainy day, I was filming something else and the hummers were particularly active. They were buzzing all around me as I was standing between the 2 feeders. So this is a little bit of them fighting and some close-ups of them just sitting around. It's an old wives tale that they must continuously be in flight and that they will die if they stop moving. There's one little lady (I understand it's the females that are the aggressors) that sits on that green rock for long periods....guarding the feeder. This probably won't be the last time I post about these fascinating little birds. Especially now that I'm having fun with Movie Maker. I hope I don't bore you to death.
I'm a country kid (and Navy brat) who grew up near Victoria, BC, Canada. I moved to Vancouver for just a few months and ended up staying for 30 years. Have always dreamt of the "electronic cottage", so in 2005 we took early retirement, bought a ranch in Central BC and left that big city behind.
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2007
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May
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- just checkin' in
- finding time
- Hummingbirds
- return of the cows
- Moose
- quite the line-up
- the new garden
- Jo's new excercise plan
- eye poppin'
- ATV cutie
- crochet progress
- first bear of 2007
- Sandhill Cranes
- A lot of hard work
- Mom's Day
- Happy Mother's Day
- we'll be drawin' straws
- training intensifies
- Yoww-chh !
- crochet project
- tumblers
- dang it anyways
- I'm switching
- All about Xena
- hair!
- what kinda tree?
- windstorm destruction
- that was some windstorm
- toque #2 - check (almost)
- seems like there's just no spare time
- Hummingbird
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May
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8 comments:
Nice work! Good close up of the busy birds!!
That is really cool...there are so many of them now.
Super wonderful. I thought we did good in Arizona getting 2 at a time!
Beautiful shot of the one on the rock - I thought the males got the flashy throats though, don't you think?
I'm surprised by how many have gathered at your place. I've only seen them one at a time before, but never in bunches like that. I love the close ups you got of the red throated bird. You are a real wildlife filmmaker, Jo-Ann!
I can't believe how many you have at one time. I guess there aren't many of the right kind of flowers in bloom right now in your area, or that your neighbours are farther away? Out of curiousity, what are you feeding them? Are you mixing your own food or do you buy it? I make a 3 in one ratio mix..... So cool that you have so many and that you could share the film with us!
Peggy's right. The ones with bright coloured throats are male (I still have so much to learn). There are pretty much NO flowers in bloom around here yet, but even when there is I will still have up to 30 hummingbirds at a time (most active at dawn and dusk). I counted 16 the other day (all at once), but the season is still very early. Last year I had nearly 30. It honestly sounded like a bee's nest out there and I could hear them THROUGH the windows. Our nearest neighbour is 3 or 4 kilometres away, so not much competition. I feed them a 3 to 1 solution of water to table sugar. I have 7 feeders around the house and yard because they fight so bad and I have to fill each of them once a day (sometimes more). I go through a LOT of sugar!
I just found my feeder! I heard they remember and return to past feeders - so they may have been looking for me! I feed a 3 to 1 mix too. I can't imagine 30! We get one or two at a time. They stop at my feeder on the way to the neighbours two feeders.
The only downside - I hate supplying the ants and wasps at the same time. Did you see the current issue of Birds and Blooms? It's a hummingbird issue, more to learn....
Good luck and happy hummingbird season!
I haven't seen Birds & Blooms. Don't get to the magazine racks very often. Will keep my eye out next time. My "flock" seems reduced right now. I'm told it's because they are nesting. Wouldn't they still be hungry, though?
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