Hummingbirds

The hummingbirds are always such a joy to watch but always hard to photograph because they rarely sit still long enough.
 

Most experts believe a hummingbird lives "3-4 years" in natural conditions. But with artificial feeding, a hummingbird may live as long as 10 years.

I don't know how old these ones are because I have never figured out a way to tell them apart let alone how old they are.  I do know that the males have a red band on the neck and the females do not.   I remember a tale from many years ago that if you sprinkle salt on a birds tail you can catch it.  I have had many birds in my hand but never had to put salt on it's tail to do so.  

Some days my photographic skills have much to be desired.  This pileated woodpecker is one of a pair that were in my old oak tree.  That tree is over 400 years old and slowly falling apart but the woodpeckers are right at home.  These woodpeckers (also known as cock of the north) are rarely seen but often heard off in the distance. 

Cool Facts

• The Pileated Woodpecker digs characteristically rectangular holes in trees to find ants. These excavations can be so broad and deep that they can cause small trees to break in half.
• A Pileated Woodpecker pair stays together on its territory all year round. It will defend the territory in all seasons, but will tolerate floaters during the winter.
• The feeding excavations of a Pileated Woodpecker are so extensive that they often attract other birds. Other woodpeckers, as well as House Wrens, may come and feed there.
• The Pileated Woodpecker prefers large trees for nesting. In young forests, it will use any large trees remaining from before the forest was cut. Because these trees are larger than the rest of the forest, they present a lightning hazard to the nesting birds.

Birds hit the window!

Occasionally we have birds hit the windows but thankfully I also have sheer curtains on the inside that I keep closed so I rarely find a dead bird after they hit.  I did have one that unfortunately broke it's neck when it hit but usually after a short sit the stunned birds get up and fly away.  This little one managed to land in a pail of water that I was using to water the houseplants I have on the deck.  After a quick dry off it was very alert but stayed to visit for a bit before it flew off. 

Baby Robin

Although very hard to see there is a small robin in the nest in this spruce tree.  This is the second batch of babies for this year.  There were 3 of them however, to my amazement, a hawk flew in and grabbed one of the babies that were left untended while the mother was getting food for them.  As soon as the mother robin saw the hawk she chased it away but by then the baby was gone.  Perhaps the second baby suffered the same fate.  The mother robin sat and called for many hours after the attack to no avail.  A sad tale for the mother robin and the chick but the hawk had a great dinner.

Elderberries

There are several of these elderberry bushes in my yard and the robins especially love the berries.  I have been watching the robins chase other birds away from them and as soon as the berries are ripe the robins have them picked off.  Once in a while another bird will sneak in for a few but not often. 

Dragonfly - Broad-bodied Chaser?

I have not had much luck trying to find the common name for this dragonfly.  I am now wondering if the markings on the wings are unique to each insect.  I have found lots of pictures of dragonflies that are the same shape and size but the markings are different.  The closest I could come to it was the Broad-bodied Chaser.  If there are any dragonfly experts out there perhaps you could shed some light on this. 

This is only one of many different shapes and sizes of dragonflies that are here every year.

I do know that all dragonflies eat mosquitoes and blackflies so they are more than welcome in my yard whenever they like. 

From Birds to Flowers

I have been posting the birds but forget that I have more than birds in my yard. The peonies are huge this year.  They are so big and heavy that I am going to have to stake them because the stems are starting to break.  I am taking a bit of time to do more with the gardens this summer.  With a family reunion this fall I want to be sure they are all weedless.