Just saw a Hummingbird outside

Winky said:
So that's an omen right?
Click to expand...

Actually ,I think its a Ruby throated.:lloyd:
Ruby%20throated%20hummingbird.jpg
 
This was one of her columns in her community paper, A View from the Gallery.

Hey kids, are you bored with summer vacation already? Well, here's an idea that's fun and cheap and maybe you'll even learn something. Here's what you do:

1. Take a fence post, clothes post, tree limb or wooden stake and drive it into the ground in clear view of the window. (Even a porch railing will do. That's what I use.) This post must be sturdy and at least 3 ft. high.

2. Get an old tin pie pan from your Mom. She probably has one pushed way back in among the pots and pans.

3. Get a sturdy nail, one with a large head, a hammer, a stepladder or step stool and someone to hold the ladder for you. Put the pie plate on the top of the post and use the nail to secure it in place. Now you have a bird feeder.

4. Go to the supermarket and in the fresh produce section of the store ask for a bag of WILD BIRD FEED. This should cost you about $3.00.

5. Each day, at about the same time put about a cupful of seed into your feeder and then disappear into the house. It may take several days for the birds to find the food, but when they do, be prepared for a real entertaining time.

The birds will swoop, hover, chirp and battle for the seeds. It's like an aerial circus. Then, maybe a squirrel will try to sample the goodies, and boy, do the birds ever get upset! The birds will flutter, screech, dive bomb and scold, but the squirrel won't leave until he's finished.

If you're a 'smart' kid you'll go to the library and get some books on Bird Watching and Identification. Then, when the birds gather at your feeder you'll be able to identify them. You'll be surprised to find that there are other birds besides sparrows and starlings in your neighborhood. You might sight a Cardinal or a Blue Jay or Nut Hatch.

It's a cheap hobby and you'll learn something. Even if your Mom won't let you have a pet of your own you can have a whole yard full of free pets. Just remember kids, if you do start a bird feeder and the birds become dependent upon it, you must continue it or they will soon disappear.

We have a pie plate feeder on our front deck railing and it's so much fun to watch the birds start gathering about 7AM. They line up in the tree branches and scold each other and try to chase one another away. It is a source of constant entertainment to watch the squirrel and Blue Jays challenge each other for their rights to the sunflower seeds. The little birds get inside the dish, flutter their wings and shower food down for their bird friends who can't bully their way up to the edge of the dish.

That's just another view from my gallery window. A view that can bring a chance for survival to a few birds and can be a lovely color show every time we look outside.
Click to expand...

I think bird food's a little more expensive now then when she wrote this some 30+ years ago, but it still sounds like a really neat idea. :)
 
Might want to put some pinholes in that tin too, because if it rains, it will make a mess if the water can't drain. :)
 
Hummingbird feeders. Oh effin joy. Sure, set up a gathering site for all the local ants and wasps right next to my house, why doncha?
 
I'm trying to remember if my psrents' hummingbird feeder has yellow in it or not. I never saw any ants, bees or wasps around it... but it's also decades old.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top