And then there were Two

[jmcquown]

Hummingbirds, that is. :)

I guess everyone here has died or gone to Facebook. (sigh)

I definitely spotted another hummingbird fighting for the feeder today.
Around 4:45pm. The little lady who showed up in January had been all
fat & happy. Today she's having aerial battles with another who showed
up and discovered there's a feeder.

I'll try to get some pics but when I spotted them they were moving too
fast, chasing each other way.

I can't believe they are showing up this early in the year. The
temperatures here have dipped down close to freezing. I'm thrilled to
see them! but don't understand it. They don't usually start showing up
until April.

Jill in Southern South Carolina

[Wilson]

Post by jmcquown
Hummingbirds, that is. :)
I guess everyone here has died or gone to Facebook. (sigh)
I definitely spotted another hummingbird fighting for the feeder today.
Around 4:45pm.  The little lady who showed up in January had been all fat &
happy.  Today she's having aerial battles with another who showed up and
discovered there's a feeder.
I'll try to get some pics but when I spotted them they were moving too fast,
chasing each other way.
I can't believe they are showing up this early in the year.  The
temperatures here have dipped down close to freezing.  I'm thrilled to see
them! but don't understand it.  They don't usually start showing up until
April.
Jill in Southern South Carolina

Here in Maine, we won't see any Ruby-throats until about 5/08. But I was
excited to see a couple of flocks of Robins 2 days ago.

[jmcquown]

Post by Wilson

Post by jmcquown
Hummingbirds, that is. :)
I guess everyone here has died or gone to Facebook. (sigh)
I definitely spotted another hummingbird fighting for the feeder
today. Around 4:45pm.  The little lady who showed up in January had
been all fat & happy.  Today she's having aerial battles with another
who showed up and discovered there's a feeder.
I'll try to get some pics but when I spotted them they were moving too
fast, chasing each other way.
I can't believe they are showing up this early in the year.  The
temperatures here have dipped down close to freezing.  I'm thrilled to
see them! but don't understand it.  They don't usually start showing
up until April.
Jill in Southern South Carolina

Here in Maine, we won't see any Ruby-throats until about 5/08. But I was
excited to see a couple of flocks of Robins 2 days ago.

How nice to see someone reply! I hope you're keeping warm up there. :)

I wouldn't expect you to see hummingbirds in Maine this time of year. I
don't usually see them this time of year, either. Now there are two of
them competing for the feeder. :)

There are plenty of other birds at the seed feeder and suet cage.
Chickadees, Carolina wrens, tufted titmice, pine warblers, flickers...
What types of birds do you normally see in the Winter?

Jill

[Wilson]

Post by Wilson

Post by jmcquown
Hummingbirds, that is. :)
I guess everyone here has died or gone to Facebook. (sigh)
I definitely spotted another hummingbird fighting for the feeder today.
Around 4:45pm.  The little lady who showed up in January had been all fat
& happy.  Today she's having aerial battles with another who showed up
and discovered there's a feeder.
I'll try to get some pics but when I spotted them they were moving too
fast, chasing each other way.
I can't believe they are showing up this early in the year.  The
temperatures here have dipped down close to freezing.  I'm thrilled to
see them! but don't understand it.  They don't usually start showing up
until April.
Jill in Southern South Carolina

Here in Maine, we won't see any Ruby-throats until about 5/08. But I was
excited to see a couple of flocks of Robins 2 days ago.

How nice to see someone reply!  I hope you're keeping warm up there. :)
I wouldn't expect you to see hummingbirds in Maine this time of year.  I
don't usually see them this time of year, either.  Now there are two of them
competing for the feeder. :)
There are plenty of other birds at the seed feeder and suet cage.
Chickadees, Carolina wrens, tufted titmice, pine warblers, flickers... What
types of birds do you normally see in the Winter?
Jill

You're welcome. First, I'll tell you that I feed whatever will come to our
old feeder (hopefully I'll get to repair or rebuild it this year. So, my
primary visitors are native Red Squirrels. But, for birds, I get
Black-capped Chicadees, Bluejays, American Goldfinches, Tufted-Titmouse, Red
& White Breasted Nuthatches, Crows and Juncos.
Soon, I expect to see Purple Finches and later in the spring, Red-Wing
Blackbirds, Grackles and Starlings. There will be Warblers, but I will most
likely only hear them as with Winter Wrens. Funny little birds, those. They
have a long, loud and complicated song, but hide so well, that I rarely see
them.

Enjoy your winter, too!

[Lane]

Post by jmcquown
I guess everyone here has died or gone to Facebook. (sigh)

I'm still here. I hate Farcebook, and have no intention of abandoning
Usenet until the last light has been shut off here. Maybe not even
then ;-)

It's been a boring winter here (central NJ), from a birding
perspective. It was so warm I didn't even put feeders out until the
end of December. Getting the usual, mostly LBBs (Little Brown Birds),
with some woodpeckers (Downy and Red-Bellied), and lots of Chickadees.
A few Carolina Wrens, probably the same ones who kept me company all
summer on the deck. I love the way they bob up and down when they
sing. Worried about 'em when the temps went below zero, though.

Lots of Bluebirds, although they don't come to the feeder. I have
stuff they like, but the feeders are on the porch; Bluebirds just
aren't that comfortable so close to houses, I think. Hanging feeders
anywhere else just leads to trouble with raccoons and deer (sigh.), so
I gave up on that.

A few Sapsuckers around, just passing through, I think. Lots of
Robins, the ones that didn't migrate and spend the winter silently in
the trees. Most people don't even know they're there, and get excited
when they see a bunch during a February warm spell. Alas, they are not
signs of Spring, they've been there all along!

[jmcquown]

Post by Lane

Post by jmcquown
I guess everyone here has died or gone to Facebook. (sigh)

I'm still here. I hate Farcebook, and have no intention of abandoning
Usenet until the last light has been shut off here. Maybe not even
then ;-)

Nice to see you too, Lane!

Post by Lane
It's been a boring winter here (central NJ), from a birding
perspective. It was so warm I didn't even put feeders out until the
end of December. Getting the usual, mostly LBBs (Little Brown Birds),

LBB's are possibly common sparrows? They're cute. I've been seeing
those, too. Also house finches and purple finches (which are both kind
of reddish). Oh and a yellow bird with black wings which is not a
goldfinch but I can't quite put my finger on the name of it. Some sort
of nuthatch, maybe. It hangs upside down like a woodpecker. And
yes,the downey's and the Red Bellied. They love suet but also this
feeder they have figured out.

Post by Lane
with some woodpeckers (Downy and Red-Bellied), and lots of Chickadees.
A few Carolina Wrens, probably the same ones who kept me company all
summer on the deck. I love the way they bob up and down when they
sing. Worried about 'em when the temps went below zero, though.

Carolina wrens are hardy little birds. I love to hear them sing. :)

Post by Lane
Lots of Bluebirds, although they don't come to the feeder. I have
stuff they like, but the feeders are on the porch; Bluebirds just
aren't that comfortable so close to houses, I think.

Bluebirds come to my seed feeder which is very close to the house.
Ditto the suet cage. I have that hanging off the same shephards hook
with the seed feeder. The also come for the water in the small bird
bath on the patio. Any time of year, a fresh source of water is important.

Post by Lane
Hanging feeders
anywhere else just leads to trouble with raccoons and deer (sigh.), so
I gave up on that.

Yeah, raccoons. I had a problem with them when I first moved here.
They tore down at least three of my successive types of feeders. I took
to scattering seed on the patio rather than hanging a feeder. Then I
got a Brome Squirrel Buster feeder. It's a little too difficult for the
raccoons to get into and it defeats heavy birds. The spring action
causes it to close if anything heavier than say, a cardinal, lands on
the perches. The woodpecker types figure out how to eat from it upside
down. :)

Post by Lane
A few Sapsuckers around, just passing through, I think. Lots of
Robins, the ones that didn't migrate and spend the winter silently in
the trees. Most people don't even know they're there, and get excited
when they see a bunch during a February warm spell. Alas, they are not
signs of Spring, they've been there all along!

That's a fun thing! Oddly enough, I rarely see Robins this far south.
Around March or April I generally see a flock of them out back. They're
just passing through perhaps on their way back to your neck of the
woods. :) It rains a lot here in the Spring and I see them pecking
around out back for worms and grubs and such before they move on.

Jill in Southern South Carolina

[Lane]

Post by jmcquown

Post by Lane
Getting the usual, mostly LBBs (Little Brown Birds),

LBB's are possibly common sparrows? They're cute. I've been seeing
those, too. Also house finches and purple finches (which are both kind
of reddish).

Yeah, they are cute. They sure do eat a lot though. For me, LBBs are
mostly Song Sparrows, White-Throated Sparrows, Chipping Sparrows and
House Finches. Used to get White-Crowned Sparrows, but I never see
those any more.

Post by jmcquown
Oh and a yellow bird with black wings which is not a
goldfinch but I can't quite put my finger on the name of it. Some sort
of nuthatch, maybe. It hangs upside down like a woodpecker.

I can't think what that would be. Probably something I never see
around here.

Post by jmcquown
Carolina wrens are hardy little birds. I love to hear them sing. :)

Me too. And they have a bunch of different songs, which it took me a
while to figure out. Well, at least three, anyway.

Post by jmcquown
Bluebirds come to my seed feeder which is very close to the house.
Ditto the suet cage.

They'll come to the bird bath, which is (was) only about ten yards
from the house. They won't come on to the front porch to feed though,
which doesn't surprise me. I need to get a new bird bath. The raccoons
broke the old one. I guess ceramic baths are a bad idea for me. I need
something that won't break, but not plastic (I've tried those too).
What is yours made of?

Post by jmcquown
That's a fun thing! Oddly enough, I rarely see Robins this far south.
Around March or April I generally see a flock of them out back. They're
just passing through perhaps on their way back to your neck of the
woods. :)

That's interesting. They sure seem to like it around here. One Spring
I tried to see how many Robins were in the back yard at one time. I
gave up at about a hundred. It's tough to count 'em when they keep
moving around. I asked them to stand still, but ... well, you know
birds ;-)

[jmcquown]

Post by Lane

Post by jmcquown

Post by Lane
Getting the usual, mostly LBBs (Little Brown Birds),

LBB's are possibly common sparrows? They're cute. I've been seeing
those, too. Also house finches and purple finches (which are both kind
of reddish).

Yeah, they are cute. They sure do eat a lot though. For me, LBBs are
mostly Song Sparrows, White-Throated Sparrows, Chipping Sparrows and
House Finches. Used to get White-Crowned Sparrows, but I never see
those any more.

Post by jmcquown
Oh and a yellow bird with black wings which is not a
goldfinch but I can't quite put my finger on the name of it. Some sort
of nuthatch, maybe. It hangs upside down like a woodpecker.

I can't think what that would be. Probably something I never see
around here.

Post by jmcquown
Carolina wrens are hardy little birds. I love to hear them sing. :)

Me too. And they have a bunch of different songs, which it took me a
while to figure out. Well, at least three, anyway.

Post by jmcquown
Bluebirds come to my seed feeder which is very close to the house.
Ditto the suet cage.

They'll come to the bird bath, which is (was) only about ten yards
from the house. They won't come on to the front porch to feed though,
which doesn't surprise me. I need to get a new bird bath. The raccoons
broke the old one. I guess ceramic baths are a bad idea for me. I need
something that won't break, but not plastic (I've tried those too).
What is yours made of?

Cast iron. But then again, the bird bath is very small. It's roughly
the size of a dinner plate and it's not tall. (I have a very small
yard.) It sits on the cement patio behind my house. The raccoons can
knock it over but they can't break it.

Post by Lane

Post by jmcquown
That's a fun thing! Oddly enough, I rarely see Robins this far south.
Around March or April I generally see a flock of them out back. They're
just passing through perhaps on their way back to your neck of the
woods. :)

That's interesting. They sure seem to like it around here. One Spring
I tried to see how many Robins were in the back yard at one time. I
gave up at about a hundred. It's tough to count 'em when they keep
moving around. I asked them to stand still, but ... well, you know
birds ;-)

They definitely don't sit still long enough to be counted. ;)

Jill in Southern South Carolina