Newsflash: Hummingbird Sits Still! Seastars Running in Streets!

Well,  one out of two:

 

Que milagro, no?

I believe it's a female Anna's hummingbird.

=) 

biobabbler

P.S. Thinking about initiating Mumday. One day a week I post pic or pics and no words. I've seen Wordless Wednesday, but thinking Monday might be nice for me as I continue to recover from weekend.

Any opinions? Thoughts, suggestions? I'm all ears.

We are humming birds' seastars...

[biobabbler date: 4/28/2010]

Early this morning I spied my first hummingbird actually using our feeder.

Since then, I've seen several more visits. Very exciting for me, as this is my first feeder and I REALLY want good pictures of a few hummingbirds. So, hoping word will spread.

One was actually SITTING while feeding (I'm guessing a female Anna's, Calypte anna). I was on the phone so couldn't get the camera, plus I was loathe to scare it away. But, what a rare treat to see one of these metabolic wonders looking calm, and moving deliberately (lean head back, put beak into feeder, feed, pull beak out, rest: repeat).

Knobby sea star, Pisaster giganteus.

I was musing earlier today that we are probably hummingbirds' sea stars. We move so slowly, by comparison, that all of our goings on are probably barely detectable.

biobabbler

humming bird feeder...

 
Got this from a friend of mine (wildlife biologist--Thanks!! =) ). I've NEVER put one up in my life, but figured I'd try it out.

Truly, those of you who know me and my amazing powers of procrastination, this is a minor miracle.

And I put it close enough to the window that I might get some decent pics for y'all.

We'll see.

Check out the super cool mirror images of the trees, with the sky in between. I assume this is due to convex and concave surfaces, plus the wonders of water, or something? Anyone? Any enlightenment here would be appreciated (all you physics phans).

Anyone has any h-bird feeder advice, I'm all ears. For starters, how often do you change the water? I know mold & bacteria are anathema, so every 2 days? Thoughts? I really want it in the sun so I can see h-bird colors best.

the biobabbler