Still In Love with Hummingbirds

I haven't blogged in a while. Why? Because the scientist got a job. A real job. A really good real job. Because of the job, we've moved, so I have been busy with that instead of blogging.

And then before the scientist got his really good real job, he was searching for a job. And that was a long process, and it was discouraging for a while. So I got kinda depressed and didn't feel like blogging. Didn't feel like gardening. Let my plants all die.

But now I'm back. And I've got some new plants on our new porch. I actually even have some old plants on my new porch because that alyssum that I enjoyed planting last year was pretty hardy and even though it died, it dropped seeds that later started to grow when we had a little rain.

But this post is about hummingbirds. As soon as we moved into our new city I noticed hummingbirds flying everywhere. Something familiar! We got a new hummingbird feeder and hung it on the porch. With the feeder so high under the roof, it is fairly shaded, so at first I had trouble getting much of that feather iridescence in my pictures. You can see a little green in this picture.

Here are a couple where you can just barely see some color on their throats. You have to have the lighting just right to achieve this, and I've seldom been able to do it.

After a few days I noticed that one particular bird was standing watch over the feeder and chasing off all the other birds. He perches in a tree about 40 feet away and literally stands guard. It was pretty ridiculous for a couple of days as it seemed like the "owner" of the feeder wasn't even getting a chance to use it himself, and he must have been expending a lot of energy chasing off all the other birds. I couldn't even take pictures, except for a few chance shots like this.

 

In this picture it even looks like the "owner" bumped into the hanging alyssum planter as he chased off his competition. I really don't get it, there is more than enough nectar in there for them all to share.

I previously read that if you have a nasty bird who won't share, the solution is to simply put out another feeder. He won't be able to guard both, so he'll give up and share. We've had our second feeder out for 2 days, and today the birds started to notice it. I think it helped that the hanging feeder was getting dry, but I will refill it tomorrow. I've place the new feeder lower down and more in the sun, and I was able to get these pictures, where you can see the green in the feathers.

Miller and I have tried to sit out there to get really close views of the birds, but with inconsistent success. Most of the pictures above were taken through a window. But I'm hoping to get my stealth on and get some even better pictures soon.

I've been scrapbooking, too, and I've ordered some more little photo books, so I'll be back soon with more things to share. Thanks for stopping by!