From My Window

Spring and Summer 2006

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Got several glimpses of our first goldfinch of the coming season this week. CLICK HERE to have a look. Not very clear shots but then the windows were not at their best. We've had enough rain only to make a mess of all the windows. I got one clear photo of the woodpecker but only the silhouette. Not enough to know what it was. But he's been showing up for several weeks now. Getting drinks of water and going up and down the trees checking for bugs. 

The hummingbirds had seemed to disappear for the week but I do think they were busy making a new batch of baby birds. They are back and hungry. I had cleaned and filled all the feeders but the one they visit the least. 

We are in middle of the Dog Days of Summer and part of our daily routine is to turn on the water sprinkler for the enjoyment of the wild birds. I had looked a few minutes ago to see a red and black bird I did not recognize but was not fast enough to get the camera on and ready, he was gone. The hallway thermostat reads 102 and that will probably be the official high. Miserable to say the least. 

CLICK HERE to read what I wrote about a pair of quail I saw from my window. I will try to get a photo the next time they come up for water and seeds. 

CLICK HERE to see the latest hummingbird photos. What a beautiful array of birds. When it is hot and dry, they come up to my window and hover as if to ask why the water sprinkler is not going yet. Despite their tiny size, they sure enjoy swooping through the spray and getting wet and cold. 

I read an item in Old Fashioned tips this past week where a lady gave the recipe for nectar as being 3 and a half cups of water to a cup of sugar. That would make it much too sweet. I've seen that given as the formula when you start the season and want them to find your feeder but it is not good for them. Stick to the 4 cups of water to 1 cups of sugar. I have a 2 quart jug and mix up 1 1/2 cups of sugar to 6 cups of water and it fits just right. That's enough to fill all three of the feeders I put out all the time now. 

I will add the photos of the Mockingbird when I am positive that it is a Mockingbird. That will only take going to an image site and comparing them now that I have some photos of our visitor. Every afternoon he/she shows up for water and today I got lots of good shots. Such a beautiful bird.

As it got really hot this afternoon, I set up the water sprinkler in the yard outside my window. It's not the best direction for taking photos with the truck in the background and a pile of old computers beyond but it makes a fun place to be watching. Yes, it is distracting from my work but that helps the work go by easier. 

For the first hour, the birds fight for space in their favorite spot. There is a shallow pan most popular with the smaller birds for standing in the water and taking one fine bath. Flipping water everywhere and making a mess. With the spray falling, the water in the pan stays full and cold. Then they wet birds move up in the trees to continue their fluffing and flitting. They get soaked but have the dense cover of the oak trees to protect them from any predators. 

Even the hummingbirds gather to catch the spray. You'd think that they are so small that a drop of water would knock them down but it doesn't. They will hover in the water just to get soaked. They hang out around the nectar feeders more when it is not so hot. The feeders are in heavy shade but it's still hot. We'll be to almost 100 F today and that's tough even on the humans. The water is oh so cold.

From the window I can also see the chickens in their yard. I leave the water hose running very slow and they have a little lake and can be seen just standing and soaking their big old feet in the cold water. If I don't cool them during the heat of the day, they are panting still when I close them up for the night. Those are unhappy girls.

There are several of the big black and  yellow butterflies that are around. They favor the zinnia but we don't have any this year, yet. There are a few plants maybe 6 inches tall but the grasshoppers love them and chew them to nothing. The butterflies also like the wet sand and will be most happy to come around and cool down with the birdies. I read where someone asked the nectar for butterflies ratio and it is the same as for hummingbirds. 4 cups water and 1 cup sugar. (Real Sugar Only) It just takes a feeder that they can drink from. I have seen them at the feed store in years past but not lately. A catalog would be a good place to look around. 

TIP: When there is mold inside your hummingbird feeder and the bleach just didn't get it all out, take a few dozen whole grains of rice and put inside the feeder. Enough water to slosh it around and cleaning should only take a minute. Put the thumb over the opening and shake vigorously. Usually just the rice is enough to remove a small amount of mold. I left one feeder sit for about a month and it was awful. The 2 days soaking with bleach made it just right for the rice to do its job. Sparkling clean and the mold didn't come back. There are plenty of birds so I must add the sugar water very often and the container gets cleaned every time.