Common ground : spring bird migration
Yesterday we went on a hike and had Northern Parula, Worm-eating, Black-throated Green, Yellow-rumped, Hooded, and Cerulean Warblers. The Cerulean put on quite a show, giving us good looks. Other FOS migrants include Brown Thrasher and Red-Eyed Vireo.
Saw a few Red-necked Grebes, Horned Grebes, Canvasback Ducks and a few Great Egrets today at a local park. Got there a little too late for the Warblers.
A black-and-White Warbler visited my backyard twice, and a Rose-Breasted Grosbeak once. I also saw a female Ruby-Throated Hummingbird this Sunday.
We found a Wood Thrush nesting in the bush right behind our house this morning! Must have built the nest while we were away for the weekend.
I took a video a few years ago of some wood thrushes…lemme see if I can find it :)
Saw a few Palm warblers at Tommy Thompson Park (Toronto) this past Sunday. The Yellow rumps were still around.
So excited to move back home to Michigan next month! I used to be a hardcore avid birder, and when I left to Arizona, I kind of lost interest. Moving to White Pine, 25 minutes from the Porcupine Mountains. STOKED! :D
This weekend was a busy weekend. Saw a variety of warblers including Yellow, Palm, Black throat Green, nashville, magnolia, chestnut sided, bay breasted and common yellow throat warblers. Also saw a few rose breasted grosbeaks and warbling vireos.
Sighted a white-crowned sparrow, two yellow-rumped warblers, an indigo bunting, and a first-year orchard oriole this weekend.
The mommy mourning dove took a break from roosting, allowing me to see two white eggs. About a week to go!
We’re about to go on a trip to a spring migration mecca… northwest Ohio! Crane Creek, Magee Marsh… it’s going to be overwhelming but totally awesome! I’ll try to remember to post reports of what we see here. :)
May 14th is always the day I hang the hummingbirds nectar feeders. I’m hoping to see the first one of the season this week, this tradition never gets old!
This reminded me to get a feeder for them. Do you make your own “nectar”? I want to try it myself.
KiwiDelight, I’ve been making my own for more than 10 years! It’s much better for them as there is no artificial color. It’s so simple, 1 mason jar, 1 part regular granulated sugar, 4 parts hot water to desolve. I let it cool down at room temperature and put the rest in the fridge. When I need to fill the feeder, I just take the mason jar out the previous night so it goes back to room temp. Otherwise, it would be too dangerous for them, they are so fragile.
With that simple recipe, I get tons, and I’m not kidding, tons of hummingbirds.
Thank you!! I can’t wait to use this recipe. I love seeing these little guys (and girls) zip around. No red coloring necessary?
Nope, never used any color at all. The feeders are usually made in ways that represent flowers, that seems to be sufficient at least for my own little hummies :-)
Hummingbirds are usually attracted to the colour red (and are pollinators for most flowers that are red in colour and tube-shaped), so that’s why hummingbird nectar is often coloured red. It doesn’t actually do anything for them, and they’re attracted to the smell of the sweet solution most of all. If your feeder has some sort of red-ish decoration on it, that, combined with the sweet solution, would be more than enough to attract them.
The “solution” you buy in stores often also has some kind of preservative in it that makes it last longer and to prevent ants from getting into your feeder. I figure: ants gotta eat, too! If they want to drown in my hummingbird feeder, power to them.
You actually want to attract the ants, believe it or not. Ants and other small insects make up a large part of the hummingbird diet :)
I generally use raw turbinado sugar, as it gives them extra nutrients that white sugar does not, and insects seem to be in love with it. If you set it in a spot close to your house where ants thrive, it will feed the birds AND keep the ants out of your house :)
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