Family life's been complicated in this part of the Old Pueblo recently and I haven't yet been able to pursue any of my 2007 goals, one of which is to study digital photography in a systematic, disciplined way. But I don't want to lose touch with my friends in the blogosphere, so I thought I'd try to take some photos of the birds at our feeders and post them on my blog. It's not an easy task.
Robin Andrea,
endment and others seem to walk freely among the birds in their environment, talking with them and making friends. Most of those who frequent our patio fly off the moment I step outside the kitchen door. The only feeders that are near enough for me to capture any real detail of their visitors are the hummingbird feeders outside the dining room window.
Yesterday, this little female broadtail was happily flying back and forth - sipping from the feeder and then off to a high branch in a nearby privet hedge to digest the sweet nectar. I was captivated by her golden back as it reflected the low western sun.
The Gila woodpeckers come frequently to the patio these days. There's plenty for them to feed from - a seed block, a suet block, a peanut butter holder, oranges and clementines, but still they seem to think there's something special for them at the hummingbird feeder. Here's one clinging to the feeder:
and here he is after his drink. Do you think he's looking a little guilty or maybe just a wee bit defiant?
The Gila woodpeckers come frequently to the patio these days. There's plenty for them to feed from - a seed block, a suet block, a peanut butter holder, oranges and clementines, but still they seem to think there's something special for them at the hummingbird feeder. Here's one clinging to the feeder:
and here he is after his drink. Do you think he's looking a little guilty or maybe just a wee bit defiant?
10 comments:
I am happy you are sharing the hummingbird photos....come the winter here in Atl Ga I so miss them! Arizona with its many humminbirds is a marvelous place to be.
Capital B - beautiful! What a delight it must have been to take those.
kat - Happy to have you visit. We get mostly broad-tailed hummingbirds at this time of year. In summer, we get Anna's, broad-billed, and the occasional Costa's, too.
pc mary - Our hummingbirds are delightful. There are two that buzz me impatiently when I take the feeders down to clean them. The woodpeckers are great acrobatic clowns and fun to watch.
Perhaps the Gila is just a little confused? Raised by the hummers perhaps? I think he's saying, "I am so a hummingbird! I am! I am!"
Thanks for those GORGEOUS pictures!
you are welcome. ty for the return visit :-)
if you go to my label for Hummingbirds you will see some cool photos I took of a Hummer flying at a snake....the Rat Snake on the line attached to my porch was in no position to strike as he had to use all his length just to maintain his perch :-) still, the Hummer would fly so close....
Wonderful to see your hummingbirds, pam. We won't see ours until late March or early April. The birds at our feeder only tolerate me because the feeder is far from the door, and I use the telephoto to zoom in on them. The chickadees have started to let me get close, and the pine siskins, too-- but everything else flees at my first step.
liza lee - Thanks very much for visiting. Sometimes we see as many as three woodpeckers on the h'bird feeders, which are an easy source of sweetness.
kat - The rat snake/h'bird photos are amazing! I also appreciated your other posts on hummingbirds - really useful info. on attracting them and also protecting them. Thanks so much for pointing me there.
ra - I remember you said that you talked to the chickadees when you approached them. And I remember a post by endment where a chickadee sat on her hand. What an amazing experience that would be. My only close encounters were a hummingbird at the San Diego Zoo who plucked mohair off my cardigan the entire time I was in the enclosure and the red-winged blackbird in BC this summer who plucked the hair from my head as she dive-bombed me.
These photos are wonderful! How lucky you are to still have hummingbirds. I'm looking forward to their return in May. We have about 8 months without them! Your woodpecker is looking guilty I think :) I love to watch ours. They are such clowns.
I enjoyed reading about the 'close encounters' in the comments here too :)
A very Happy New Year to you. May 2007 be filled with much happiness, good health and great photo opportunities!
Great shots.
I just put up my first ever suet feeder to see if I can attract some woodpeckers. No hummingbirds in Chicago in January.
kerri - Thank you for your New Year's wishes. I wish you the same. Today I saw the brilliant full red head of an Anna's hummingbird - quite a sight. And three woodpeckers on the feeder, even though I'd just fed them oranges. They don't give up.
sarala - Our woodpeckers love the suet feeders. Unfortunately, so do the house finches, so the suet goes quickly. I hope your woodpeckers flock to your feeder. What kind of woodpeckers do you have?
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