davidd’s A DOLL A DAY 2021

[davidd]

Triv would be the one who would believe in a wishing stone.

Trivia is a very sweet girl who likes to believe in all things magical and kind.

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6 September - A Doll A Day 2021:

6 Smartember - Janie gets dive-bombed while changing the bird feeders


Hurry up! Hurry up! Hurry up!

(I had my camera set incorrectly (on "macro zoom" instead of regular telephoto), hence the grain in these photos! Sorry about that! Amateur mistake!)

[Alliecat]

These are so coooool.
They don't share here -- it would be very rare to have a couple of them sitting on the feeder together. Probably mother & offspring. Before long they're chasing each other.
So many times I've thought about setting a doll in a red outfit out on the porch & hoping for a shot, and I've never got round to doing it. I fear it may be getting too late in the season. They're still here right now, but it's wet out. Then, one day... they just aren't here anymore. It makes me so sad to see them go.
I bought that same feeder this summer as a backup for my plastic one but I haven't had to use it yet. Hoping it won't leak as some reviewers said they did.
Anyway, these are such neat photos!!
...and wow, your view...!!! ...!!!

[dargosmydaddy]

Wow, awesome "action" shot! And yes, that view-- spectacular!

[Elfy]

That is amazing. We don’t have them at all here. We do however get rainbow lorikeets, which I have seen referred to as the Paris Hilton of the bird world.

[Lejays17]

This is amazing, how long did you have to wait to get the shots.

And the horizon goes on forever in the background, so beautiful.

[davidd]

They're still here right now, but it's wet out.  Then, one day... they just aren't here anymore.  It makes me so sad to see them go.
I bought that same feeder this summer as a backup for my plastic one but I haven't had to use it yet.  Hoping it won't leak as some reviewers said they did.

The number of hummingbirds here is diminishing quickly. At the peak of the season there can easily be twenty or more surrounding the feeders, particularly at mornings and evenings. Tonight there seem to be... two or three. I believe they are migrants passing through. The "regulars" have already departed for the season. What is somewhat troubling is that they are leaving earlier than usual. Some seasons a few stragglers hang around until mid-October. I wonder what they know that I don't know?

(EDIT: as I am typing this - around 730pm - another dozen or more birds just showed up! They're all out there at dusk jostling for position and chattering away)

I really like this feeder. In fact, I have three of them set up. They can drip a little bit, particularly when the wind blows and they start to sway around, but in my ex-perience, all hummingbird feeders drip.

This feeder is very easy to fill. I use a mixture of 1/4 sugar and 3/4 water. I've marked the feeder with tape to indicate where to fill it with sugar. Then I add one drop of food color - it doesn't seem to matter what color; yellow and blue are easily as popular as the traditional red - and fill it a bit more than halfway with water, then shake it vigorously. Then I top it up with water, screw on the base, flip it over (outside) and hang it up. I do not mess around with boiling the mixture or purchasing "store bought" hummingbird nectar.

When I first started putting up the feeders a few years ago, I did some reading online. Some sources say not to use any color at all "because the health effects of artificial colors have not been studied on hummingbirds." Other sources say to use purchased pre-mix that contains vitamins and minerals. Some sources have elaborate recipes for creating hummingbird nectar.

I finally ran across a site that seemed to have a well-informed and practical author. It said to just use a simple sugar and water mix, 3/1 in cooler weather and 4/1 most of the time. The site said that hummingbirds get most of their actual nutrition from feeding on small insects and natural flower nectars, and what they need from a hummingbird feeder is the straight glucose to fuel their bodies in the morning after fasting all night, and to "tank up" on sugar before they go dormant at night. That made sense to me, based on the behavior I've seen, with the birds being most active early in the morning or toward dusk.

I've tried putting out feeders with no color in them, side by side with feeders with color, and the birds will drain the colored water while ignoring the plain one. So I put color in the water. Some times of the year I try to match the colors of the naturally blooming wildflowers, but I don't think it makes any difference. What they do seem to find "exciting" is a change in colors. I'll usually use one color for two or three days, then I will change it up, and the chattering from the little monsters as they "discuss" the change is quite entertaining. They will slurp down the new color in record time, too.

Anyway, that boring block of text pretty much summarizes the extent of my hummingbird knowledge.

Some of the guests at the vacation rental are amazed by the numbers of hummers. If you want to attract more next season, perhaps try putting up two or more feeders, relatively near each other, and filling them with different colors of mixtures.

Wow, awesome "action" shot! 

Combination of patience and luck and a lot of birds. If you snap enough pics, one or two are bound to turn out... right?

We don’t have them at all here. We do however get rainbow lorikeets....

I think it would be spectacular to have such colorful (and noisy) birds visiting the garden!

This is amazing, how long did you have to wait to get the shots.

About a minute. Maybe less! These little birds are pretty fearless. Or assertive.

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7 September - A Doll A Day 2021:

7 Smartember - Addie Drew Dump Duty

[Elfy]

The lorikeets can certainly be noisy. One of my neighbours had a coral tree which attracted them. Once a bunch got on it and started chattering they drowned out all other noise. It actually became hard to hear the TV inside at times. Cockies cand make a racket, too, and for all their bad press the magpies warbling is rather melodious.

[Lejays17]

The lorikeets thoroughly swore at me when I went for my walk today - how dare I walk across their garden!

Thanks for all the info on hummingbirds, they are fascinating to read about.

Dump Duty - who did Addie annoy to get that task?

[davidd]

...and for all their bad press the magpies warbling is rather melodious.

Go, 'Pies! 

The magpies here are crow-sized (Go, Cows!   ) black and white birds - chattery things, but their cries are more harshly grating than melodious.

The lorikeets thoroughly swore at me when I went for my walk today - how dare I walk across their garden! ...

Dump Duty - who did Addie annoy to get that task?

Indeed, how dare you intrude on their turf! 

The girls, except for Nellz, who has somehow managed to exempt herself, are pretty good about taking turns on the dump runs. You never know when you'll find something interesting!

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8 September - A Doll A Day 2021:

8 Smartember - Danielle aka Nelly aka Nellz

[Alliecat]

Ooo, I never use colouring in my hum juice. I figure it's an artificial ingredient they don't need. I've never heard observations of their reactions to colour variations though -- interesting. I've seen pictures of crowds of them around feeders -- just doesn't seem to happen in this part of the world. I had a 2nd one last summer. Just didn't get around to doing that this year, partly because I didn't have a spare when they arrived in May.
Strange about the timing. You'd think with warming climate they'd arrive earlier & depart later, but that might be too simplistic. I haven't noticed a change here. They're pretty much like clockwork, first week of May or thereabouts.
I use 4:1. Hadn't heard about 3:1. I suppose it makes sense, more calories, if they're around in colder weather.

Did Addie (or you) find anything interesting at the dump this time?
Interesting b&w effect with Nelly.

[Elfy]

The B&W suits Nelly. She looks like she could come from that era.

[davidd]

Ooo, I never use colouring in my hum juice.  I figure it's an artificial ingredient they don't need.  
. . .
You'd think with warming climate they'd arrive earlier & depart later, but that might be too simplistic.
. . .
Did Addie (or you) find anything interesting at the dump this time?

The hummers don't need color, but they like it! It certainly doesn't seem to hurt them any! You might give it a try next season. One tiny drop diluted with all that water and pure sugar isn't likely to harm them.

Yeah... you'd think? Maybe there's something to be gleaned here. 

No dump treasures for a while now.

The B&W suits Nelly. She looks like she could come from that era.

Nelly looks at the 1930s and 1940s Universal Studios monster and mad scientist movies as documentaries worthy of emulation.

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9 September - A Doll A Day 2021:

9 Smartember - "What's This, Eh?"

A mysterious parcel arrives... from Canada! What could it possibly be?

[Alliecat]

Yay! I can't wait for the next adventures!

[Elfy]

If they need to open something shouldn't they get the Ameliae?

[Lejays17]

The B&W of Nellie is very atmospheric - I totally get the Hammer Hirror movie vibes from it.

An exciting parcel - open it! Don’t leave us all in suspense!