Thursday, July 14, 2011

Am I Creating Addicts?

I so enjoyed watching hummingbirds feeding at my sister's house that I up and got a hummingbird feeder as soon as I got back from Oregon.  It didn't take the little dudes and dudesses long to find the thing, and I get a huge kick out of hearing them zoom up and watching them do the sippy, tilty thing.  Here's some pix.

The feeder's on the steps just outside the kitchen window.  Doesn't seem to bother the hummingbirdies and I get to sit at the counter and watch.


Now, I am not an experienced birder, so to me, this looks like the same bird.  (Every picture is a different feeding event - about 5-15 minutes after the last one.) If it's really one bird, this feller (or lady) is going to get too fat to fly one of these days.  Not to mention being dependent on me to feed her/him.  I'm concerned that maybe I shouldn't be feeding her/him.  Opinions?

Five minutes of google searching leads me to thinking that this is a female.  Apparently it has to be a ruby-throated hummingbird because those are the only ones found east of the Rockies.  Pretty cool!



I need to do something about the greenery around the house (that you can see in the first picture).  This is the year that I'm observing and not destroying, but it's becoming apparent that trimming is in order, if not outright removal of a thing or two.

3 comments:

  1. Looks to me like you're providing some much needed sustenance to your little hummer(s). I worry about the diabetic chickadee we have that visits our hummingbird feeder!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Yes - that is a female. The males usually have a ruby red jewel like color on the inside of their necks. I have a lot of hummies this year. At any time there will be 5 or 6 zooming all around. They are fun to watch! Don't worry about feeding them - I feed mine from the time the first one shows up in March until it gets too cold for them sometime in October or November. They burn a lot of calories keeping those wings beating so fast!

    ReplyDelete
  3. My mom has been feeding the hummers for years...the word gets out and their friends come too!! Go ahead and feed them all through hot weather. Another feeder or a pretty hanging plant will sometimes bring more. We can sit on her porch and they will fly in and out only a foot from us...maybe closer. My son's city girlfriend is freaked out that they are that close and won't sit very close!

    ReplyDelete