Well, the hummingbirds got here about 10 days ago. We immediately filled the sugar water dispensers. Now, they are hitting us hard. They fly to South America for winter. We even saw several monarch butterflies last weekend. They go someplace down in South America too. To be so small, and travel so far is very impressive.
Spring is springing.birds are having weddings. Starting families. Building nests. Singing again. Leaves are sprouting out.
Its just beautiful.
Nate
Ugh.?ÿ Leaves again. Grumblegrumblegrumblegrumble.
Ugh.?ÿ Leaves again. Grumblegrumblegrumblegrumble.
It does not bother me. ???
N
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Around here it is owls.?ÿ There seems to be a breeding pair and I will hear one hooting late afternoon almost every day.?ÿ ?ÿI have also heard them calling back in forth to each other.?ÿ I have tried interjecting my own hoot owl interpretation into their conversation, but I think they consider me to be a bit strange, based on the way they look at me.
Truth be told, I think other brands are "catching up". Javad is behind with cogo. I don't do alot in the field anyway, and it is improving. But it's got a ways to go. Especially acreage and predetermined area.
I get more done in 1 or 2 days of field work per week, than I can properly research, and properly draw the plat on.
I feel that perhaps my comments about javad have overall HURT the overall profession. That other brands are trying to do what javad does, and this is generating some bloody poor field work. So, I've quieted down.
I had an ATV salesman actually do this. He was selling "Arctic Cats" brand atv's. I told him that I liked the Polaris automatic. No gear shifting. He said his brand could too. Just stick it in a tall gear, (5th gear) and pretend it's a full automatic. He said "it's been made for that". For real. Never let salespeople influence your objective knowledge of what you are doing, or what your needs are. And, that INCLUDES me. And, I'm not a salesman. Arctic Cats were installing Suzuki engines in their atv's at that time. Use good sense, not brand loyalty. That's my policy.
Happy Surveying.
N
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Well, the hummingbirds got here about 10 days ago. We immediately filled the sugar water dispensers. Now, they are hitting us hard. They fly to South America for winter. We even saw several monarch butterflies last weekend. They go someplace down in South America too. To be so small, and travel so far is very impressive.
Spring is springing.birds are having weddings. Starting families. Building nests. Singing again. Leaves are sprouting out.
Its just beautiful.
Nate
Not sure where your at Nate but my flock of hummers arrive July 4, +- a day or two and stay till September before they begin there journey south. I live in north central texas
Here's a few pics from my friend in Illinois. ?????ÿ
I've been told our feeders are going up today.?ÿ A friend who lives near a nearby lake keeps 40 feeders going.?ÿ It's like trying to fit 800 people into a restaurant that feeds 200.
It's really interesting. Hummingbirds come to feeder. Dragging up like they have been on a 2000 mile journey. Land. Sit there. Take a short sip. Take a long sip. Then, suddenly, take a few more short sips. Now, they are all sugared up. They rev their motors, grab a few sips, while flying aggressively, and zoom off like they are top of their game.
The transformation appears real.
Nate
Believe it or not they travel as far north as Alaska and are very common in SE but tend to stick to the coastal rainforest around here.
Do you feed them?
Do Alaskan hummingbird feeders have heaters?
I've thought of making a cartoon of a short-beaked hummingbird, with a caption, "Kevin can't stay out of the beak-rot!".?ÿ
These Arkansas hummers seem to get a "buzz" from sugar water!
N
@nate-the-surveyor No heaters. They show up for the summer and go south in winter, to ?ÿCentral America I think. Given their tiny size quite impressive.
Very impressive. It's a long trip. No cargo rack. If my wife were a Mrs hummingbird, we'd never get off the ground. She'd have everything strapped on my back!
N
We put up our feeders last week after seeing a couple looking for them. Hummingbirds were my mother's favorite bird... probably favorite critter. Seeing the first few each spring always brings back pleasant memories of her. The whippoorwills are serenading prospective mates every night now to the point of being a nuisance. I saw Tom Turkey a couple weeks ago... strutting for two lady friends. Spring is well under way.
Believe it or not they travel as far north as Alaska and are very common in SE but tend to stick to the coastal rainforest around here.
A few years ago we went on the inner passage cruise to Alaska.?ÿ One morning I was sitting on our balcony having my coffee and a hummingbird "cruised" by.?ÿ I said something about it later and was told that they sometimes "hitch" a ride on geese.?ÿ I have no idea if that is true, but it sure would take a load off the little fellows.
Andy
@andy-bruner I??ve seen dozens around feeders down in SE and they are very, very aggressive with each other doing aerial combat over who rules the feeder. I??ve been told a hummingbird will take on a bald eagle and drive him away. Another oddity here in summer are little brown bats. Nobody seems to know where they go in winter.?ÿ
Be sure to fill your feeders. In the heat, they really do benefit from the sugar water.
Lately, it seems they drag up to the feeder, hydrate, and sugar up, and zoom off like little hot rods.
I think we have gone through around half a gallon at one feeder so far.
N
NZ has pretty amazing birdlife. We even share our Godwits with Alaska. But sadly we dont get Hummingbirds or Fireflies, both of which I would like to see sometime
@jimcox?ÿ
I can recall a time when I had yet to go to school and my much older cousins were visiting us from their home in Colorado.?ÿ We had millions of fireflies.?ÿ They had none.?ÿ They ran themselves ragged catching fireflies and then trying to add them to a Mason jar without losing any already in the jar.
My home turf is near one of the major flyways for Monarch butterflies.
