my rogue squirrels have made me almost give up feeding my birds...mainly because they have destroyed every bird feeder i have hung and are currently pulling apart/breaking my hummingbird feeder to get at the sweet syrup within. so needless to say, i am frustrated and reluctant to put more feeders out for fear of further encouraging them. it should be noted i have tried to distract the furry rodents with specific squirrel snacks, which they also eat. today i saw this wonderful modern bird feeder from designer thomas stanley: thee apple is cool! however, it appears to me the squirrels could get inside and recline while they munched on other's seeds...maybe i will just hang it up and look at it.
today is my admin day: i clear emails, muddle through my in-box, organize myself with lists, clean my studio and get generally organized. because it was warm yet overcast, i did most of my work-on the computer, of course-outside...and spurred on by the world series of birding, i decided to count all of the birds i saw while doing it. the first bird i saw was a pileated woodpecker, who cruised through the trees right in front of me. the last bird i saw was a ruby throated hummingbird-the fist of the season!- which i had (somehow) anticipated, and made a double batch of nectar for earlier in the day. in between, i saw the great blue heron, 8 or so osprey, titmice with chickadees, cardinals, american goldfinch, eastern bluebirds, two red bellied woodpeckers, various crows, harbor gulls and a white breasted nuthatch that cracked kernels of corn from the bird feeder on the loblolly pine. another bird-y thing happened when ot and i went to the beach: i heard the crazy call of a pilleated woodpecker...then a second...and then many many more: i dont know how many, but a lot! from the trees these birds were screaming for about 3 minutes..then silence. wow: it was cool! purple martins should show up any second since the sun is setting soon. the highlight of the day was definately the hummingbird-who is buzzing me right now, coincidentally- because it's arrival signals the beginning of summer, a week before the unofficial start during memorial day weekend. i love summer!
i have been working on my laptop out in the yard all week now: its been hot but pleasant! i can tell summer is winding down because im seeing birds i havent seen in months suddenly super busy. the bald eagles have the nerve to try and get the osprey to drop its fish; the titmice, with chickadees in tow, are back; saw the kingfisher for the first time since may; the hummers are humming, and the summer tanager sits by himself above my bird bath! i saw a black-and-white warbler wrestling a cicada; a yellow-bellied sapsucker sucking sap and an indigo bunting taking a bath. i have never seen one of them before: they look like a blue cardinal! i couldnt snap a photo fast enough, but i think these earrings from one of my etsy shops represents! tweet!
i am sitting outside writing posts for my various blogs and the ruby throatedhummingbirds are buzzing all around me! they seem to alternate guarding my new feeder for themselves: sitting on a branch til another hummer approaches then chasing them off with a chirp. the video above, from tharulla, illustrates perfectly what im seeing and hearing! they share the feeder with much reluctance with the carpenter bees however, giving them as much space and time as they want. my nectar mix is getting low, so i was wondering if i could make it myself. 1-part granulated sugar to 4-parts water boiled and cooled without food coloring seems to be the consensus for maintaining healthy hummers. raw honey or turbinado sugar would have been my guess, but honey promotes the growth of microorganisms that could cause disease in the little birds, and raw sugar has too much iron which can be deadly to a hummingbird. so, into the kitchen to make my tiny woodland friends a delicious energy drink!
i was introduced to the amazing terrariums of paula hayes in last week's blogisphere posting on etsy. she is an amazing environmental sculptor who also makes aquariums, planters, living jewelry, bird stuff and landscapes that evoke envy. her website is really cool too.
i am so excited: a lovely couple of eastern bluebirds have a clutch of four eggs in one of my bluebird houses! cant wait to see little blue baby birds! this photo was taken with my iphone (as usual) and modified with the color splash app.
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