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.

Another Month, Another Round for the Hummingbirds

I see it's been about three weeks since the last 'fill' of the hummingbird feeder. This time I gave it a more-than-usually-thorough cleaning before setting it out.

We'll see how long this pint lasts.

Hummingbird Feeder: Cleaned and Refilled

The amount of nectar, that 1-to-4 mix of sugar and water, dropped out of sight today. This pint lasted almost a month.

I get the impression that the level doesn't drop evenly: although I'd have to keep a record to be sure.

Anyway, I'm looking forward to seeing the hummers flit by.

Related posts:

• "Hummingbird Feeder: Another Pint"
  (July 14, 2012)
• "More Hummingbirds"
  (June 4, 2012)
• "Hummingbird: Yep, That's Definitely a Hummingbird"
  (May 20, 2012)
• "Hummingbird Feeder: Filled and In Place"
  (May 17, 2012)
• "1st Hummingbird"
  (June 15, 2011)

Hummingbird Feeder: Another Pint

It's been a bit over two weeks since I refilled the hummingbird feeder. (June 25, 2012)

I saw another 'customer' stop by a few minutes ago.

A Slight Adjustment, and the New Feeder's Ready to Go

I noticed that the new feeder's chain is a bit too long - or the webcam's pointed a bit to high - and I wasn't going to change the webcam's angle. Most of the time, the view of south Ash Street is the main attraction here.

So, a few minutes ago, I went out and hooked the chain back on itself, making a loop.

I could have left the hook as-is - oh, well.

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.

Filling the Feeder: Back to One Cup at a Time

I re-filled the hummingbird feeder a few minutes ago.

After almost two weeks, the two cups I'd put in weren't used up. That's too long to let sugar-water sit without changing and cleaning, so I'm going back to one cup at a time, and more frequent re-fills.

Whatever happened to empty the feeder so fast, last month, hasn't happened again.

Oh, well: I'm still seeing hummingbirds out there.

Related post:

• "Hummingbird Feeder's Filled, Webcam's Still Offline"
  (September 2, 2009)

Hummingbirds: Conflict at the Feeder

When I came back to the keyboard a few minutes ago, about 3:30, I noticed a hummingbird at the feeder. I've been spotting them more often. As I watched, another streaked in and (apparently) chased the first one off.

That's an assumption, actually. They generally move too fast for me to notice in detail what they're doing. My guess, though, is that one bird regarded the other as an interloper.

Or, maybe something else was going on.

Ah. Another on is back: a bigger one.

Hummingbird Feeder: I May Have More Hummers Coming

I re-filled the hummingbird feeder this evening. I've either gotten better at looking at the right time, or there are more of the hummers around now.

Oriole!

Not long ago, I noticed a bird on the webcam monitor: more than twice the size of the hummingbirds I've seen here in central Minnesota. Taking a careful look out the window, I saw a dark-backed bird with orangish stripes on its wings. I'm no expert, but I think it's an oriole. Baltimore oriole, most likely.

That's the first one I've seen at the feeder.

Swapped Feeders: Now Comes the Waiting

I finally got the new hummingbird feeder washed, rinsed, filled, and hung out.

Why did it take over a week? Good question. I've been a little frazzled lately: more about that at "Through One Dad's Eye."

So far, no hummingbirds, but it's early days: two weeks into May, and the first couple were cold, off and on.

Today, the thermometer registered nearly 80. If this keeps up, we may see hummers yet.