Changing Seasons

The forecast says it'll be a degree or two below freezing tonight, so I took the hummingbird feeder in. I'm quite confident that the hummers have long since headed south: leaving central Minnesota and the rest of the north.

Next, I should start thinking about what to set out during winter.

I took some photos yesterday afternoon, from 'webcam' window. The folks across the street from us lost a branch that's maybe three or four inches in diameter.


Mid-afternoon on South 9th. October 26, 2010.


A closer look at that downed branch. October 26, 2010.


About 4:20 in the afternoon: brisk weather for a walk. October 26, 2010.

New Season, New Feeding Gadget

Or, winterizing the bird feeder.

Since there's been no activity at the feeder since I last filled it - apart from a few insects and a curious chickadee - I'm assuming that the last of the hummingbirds have headed south. They'll be welcome back, in May.

This afternoon I walked to the hardware store and got a sort of tray/cage arrangement and a cake of birdseed and sugar to put in it. It's a sort of trail mix for finches, apparently.

The cage's hook was too small for my feeder pole, but a minute or two with a needle-nose pliers took care of that.

Now, it's a matter of waiting for birds to find the thing.

This is the first year I've tried this. It should be interesting.

Hummingbirds, Chicadees, and Seasons

I'd been wondering why I haven't seen any hummingbirds at the feeder this week. Particularly since just a couple weeks ago, they'd been taking an unusual amount of nectar.

This may be the answer: "Ruby-throats arrive in May and leave in September." ("Hummingbird Migration," The Hummingbird Website)

No wonder I haven't seen any - looks like they fueled up and headed south.

On the other hand, I saw a chickadee perch on the feeder's pole this morning. It's a rare winter when the chickadees leave Minnesota. But it's been known to happen.