Saturday 18 January 2020

Birds

I've been so worried about our resident hummingbirds. We haven't seen any activity in the past few days. We have one feeder warmed by a trouble light and another feeding station where we would alternate feeders, taking in a frozen one and replacing it with a warm one. Nevertheless we fear the worst. Here is what I just read on FB .....


"Harsh winter weather on B.C.’s south coast has frozen out the area’s resident hummingbirds.
The Wildlife Rescue Association says it has responded to more than 75 calls in just a few days from people who have found distressed, freezing or starving hummingbirds.
The group has rescued 10 hummingbirds and expects more help will be needed over the weekend for the birds that stay in southern B.C. year-round instead of migrating south for the winter.
The centre says if people want to help, they should get additional feeders and alternate them when they freeze.
It says hummingbirds need to eat almost constantly and can consume half their weight in pure sugar every day."
The temperature this morning was minus 1 C. and we are looking forward to temperatures above freezing in the next weeks. If only the hummingbirds would have been able to make it through those few very cold nights.
On a more cheerful note we were able to go walking this morning. First time this week I think.  The paths had been cleared but there was about 2 inches of fresh snow that had fallen overnight.  I like the sound boots make when they crunch the snow. Not many people were out walking. I'm fairly sure I saw a Golden Eagle flying overhead. DH thinks he saw white on the Eagle's head but I didn't . I suppose it could have been an immature Bald Eagle. I choose to believe it was a Golden.
The first picture here ( from the internet) is of an immature Bald Eagle. The second one is of a Golden Eagle. We do see both kinds in this area but the Bald Eagle is much more common.

I hope you weren't too bored with me going on about birds today. It just so happens that's what is on my mind so of course, that's what I blog about.
Thanks for coming by,
Granny M





 

19 comments:

  1. I spent a lot of time worrying about the hummingbirds too. We only have a few here, maybe only two. I 'm not sure what is happening today. I spent time making a heater using a night light in a metal plant pot to be fastened underneath the feeder, but it wasn't warm enough. My second feeder is under the deck on a heating pad. There was a little male perching near it for a couple of days, but he hasn't been doing that lately. We did see him yesterday on the clothesline though, or a male HB anyway. I have turned the trouble light and the heating pad off today. Hope all is well with them.

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  2. I hope your hummingbirds do survive. Severe cold must be a huge challenge to the poor little things.
    Identifying birds in flight, like your eagles, is not something I find easy to do. We have a lot of different sea birds around our coastline and I can rarely tell exactly what breed I am looking at unless it lands somewhere.

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  3. I love your empathy for the birds - - -

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  4. Oh dear..... I'm hoping and praying for the best for your hummers. Poor little things. Sure hope they make it through your harsh weather. Thanks for all you do to help them!

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  5. We can only hope that the temperatures start to ameliorate and the the hummingbirds will be able to survive. They are certainly being pushed to their limits right now.

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  6. Several people around here have been talking about hummingbirds too. I didn't even realize they were still around in the winter. I'm hoping that your hummingbirds just found somewhere safe to get food in the cold and that you'll soon see them again.
    Blessings,
    Betsy

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  7. Oh, I hate to think of the hummingbirds freezing...just feel pain for them...not bored though. Until I read your post the other day, I did not know there was any that did not fly south.

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  8. Not bored at all by bird talk. Bless you for caring so much about the dear little hummingbirds. How sad to hear about their struggles with the harsh weather. Glad you were able to get out for a walk.

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  9. I can see why you would have a problem distinguishing between the immature Bald Eagle and the Golden Eagle. BTW, that is a mandolin in the picture on my blog post, lol. Sorry. Didn't mean to be so secretive. ;) Sorry about the poor hummingbirds! They know better than to hang around in these parts!

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  10. Birds are always a popular topic with me. I have found it almost unbelievable that you have hummingbirds overwintering there. Hopefully, they found a warmer place during those really cold nights.

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  11. I am so sorry about your hummingbirds. It's been a tough winter for our feathered friends.

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  12. I did not know that about humming birds with the freezing temps.I never see any humming birds except late Spring and summer. Glad you could get and walk some. I need to be ashamed of myself. Here you are just glad to be able to get out and walk some and I am having to TALK MYSELF into just getting back in a routine of some kind of exercise. (my sad face is showing right about now) I do hope that you have a great week GM. Hugs and blessings, Cindy

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  13. I do hope the hummingbirds do survive, you are certainly doing your best to keep them going.

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  14. I hope the hummingbirds will survive.

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  15. Yikes! I was just up at my mom's and it was so cold. The wind blew and blew. I hope the hummingbirds survive.

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  16. I would be worried about the hummingbirds, too. :-( I hope the weather warms up and they find enough food. I think it's exciting to see an eagle at all, and that there being two species of eagles in the area that one might see!

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  17. I meant to say it would be hard to tell the difference in the eagles...either one is thrilling!

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  18. I hope your hummers do survive. It's so hard to help distressed birds when you cannot bring them inside.

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