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Post by davidjp on Sept 28, 2020 13:35:01 GMT -5
I found this site the other day which uses radar to track and predict large scale bird migration trends at night birdcast.info/
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Post by Mumsey on Oct 4, 2020 4:12:49 GMT -5
davidjp, that's pretty cool! I never knew that most birds migrate at night.
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Post by desertwoman on Oct 4, 2020 9:37:43 GMT -5
And I love 'Lights Out' they are promoting. I had no idea lights interfered with migration. Another good reason to turn off lights at night. Thanks for this link davidjp,
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Post by davidjp on Oct 4, 2020 9:47:38 GMT -5
Mumsey , it is interesting. I think its a way for them to avoid hawks and other daytime predators that might find it easier to attack them when they are tired, also its cooler at night so less chance of overheating. I remember I used to go with a group of birdwatchers to a spot on the farthest southern point of the island I used to live on in England. It was a great place to watch migration in the spring and if you got there early you could watch birds coming in off the sea after their flight across the sea which at that point was about 80 miles from the coast of France. That spot had some high cliffs behind it and in those cliffs there was a pair of peregrine falcons who regularly nested there. It was sort of amazing to watch as the falcons would suddenly head straight out to sea fast and watch as they intercepted birds coming in low over the sea and watch them harry them trying to get them into the sea where they could snatch them off the surface. It was obvious the birds were tired but an interesting sight as you rooted for the poor bird to avoid being taken. So you got an appreciation of how risky migration is to birds so anything they can do to minimize that risk must be well worth it in evolutionary terms
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Post by Mumsey on Oct 4, 2020 15:36:19 GMT -5
I also learned that hummers migrate solo. Not any wonder since they fight all the time! They also fly low in order to seek nectar along the way. There are still some stragglers here. They should have left by end of September.
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Post by James on Oct 5, 2020 12:02:48 GMT -5
Do you feed the Hummingbirds?
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Post by davidjp on Oct 5, 2020 12:10:03 GMT -5
They should have left by end of September. We have a few here year round and I feed year round but I think it must be pretty close to the edge here for them. Last winter I literally watched as one dropped dead in a snowstorm feeding at a feeder. I brought it inside and it quickly revived and I released it out into the snow but I'm sure the mortality in winter here in those conditions is pretty high and I did pick up a few dead hummingbirds over the course of winter but many did survive
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Post by davidjp on Oct 5, 2020 12:11:21 GMT -5
Do you feed the Hummingbirds? I do 1:4 sugar water mix seems to be the universal mix recommended
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Post by desertwoman on Oct 5, 2020 13:41:37 GMT -5
Our hummers have been gone for at least 10 days.
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Post by Mumsey on Oct 5, 2020 14:21:33 GMT -5
Yes we feed them too.
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Post by Wheelgarden on Oct 5, 2020 14:52:22 GMT -5
We've fed and been entertained by scads of hummingbirds all season long, but they've dwindled to only a few. Now, the fall crows are moving in to fuss with the bluejays.
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Post by Mumsey on Oct 5, 2020 16:29:36 GMT -5
Crows and blue jays are here seems all the time! Wishing turkey vultures leave soon.
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Post by desertwoman on Oct 5, 2020 21:39:57 GMT -5
I don't feed hummers from feeders. I feed them with the plants I put in for them. In my yard they feast on honeysuckle, trumpet vine, agastache(hummingbird mint), heuchera (coral bells),columbine, monarda (bee balm), red hot poker, butterfly bush, and a couple of salvias. I find hummers too aggressive at feeders, for my taste, but when they have flowers to sip from, they space out differently and don't fight with each other.
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Post by tom ๐ on Oct 6, 2020 6:08:08 GMT -5
I find hummers too aggressive at feeders, That's why I stopped feeding them. They chase each other, fly into glass windows and doors, break their necks (apparently), and die. I got tired of picking up dead hummingbirds off the porch. Putting out additional feeders does not stop the violence.
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Post by James on Oct 6, 2020 10:06:44 GMT -5
No Blue Jays here. We have Crows, Magpies and the Turkey Vulture.
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