Cold weather is here and the lights that warm our
hummingbird feeder failed. We made it fall a year ago when Thumbelina, a female
rufous hummingbird, first showed up. She came every day from November 7 through
April 11, then moved on to her summer breeding grounds, possibly in the Northwest. Rufous Hummers have been seen in summer from Oregon to Alaska.
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| Map from Cornell's site |
They're usually on the West Coast all year, so she's a real wanderer. More and more are seen in the East in winter. They've adapted pretty well to the cold weather.
When it’s above freezing, she eats insects. We often see her darting back and forth, usually in our holly tree. We know it’s Thumbs because nothing else can change direction in mid flight that way.
They've adapted pretty well to the cold weather. When it’s above freezing, she eats insects. We often see her darting back and forth, usually in our holly tree. We know it’s Thumbs because nothing else can change direction in mid flight that way.
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| Christmas tree lights in a plastic tub |
The temperature is going down to 15 degrees this week, so we dug out another set of lights and re-rigged her heated feeder. Appropriate for January 6 and the Feast of Lights, don't you think? This is also Epiphany, when the wise men visited the babe in the manger.
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| Thumbelina, Nov 13 |
We’ve been watching for her and she
came back November 13. Here she was on that bright, sunny day. We didn't attach the lighted container until the first freeze.
When the temperature reaches mid forties, we turn it off as
the liquid (1 part sugar to 4 parts water) starts to thicken if too warm.
I managed to get a bad
picture of her while ago, so she’s doing well. |
| Thumbs, Jan 6 |
The lively and entertaining Shehanne Moore, author of some excellent steamy historical romances, nominated me for the Drum Beat Award. Visit Shehanne's blog! She's funny, nice, generous, and always interesting.
“This is an award created by Sue Dreamwalker to pass along to bloggers who are sharing posts which are helping show our empathy, Love and Kindness, or who Highlight injustice who beat their own Drum to bring awareness to the world”.
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| Drum Beat Award |
