Hummingbirds

 

If you follow my Instagram you will know I'm obsessed with hummingbirds.   These past two weeks I have been sharing videos of feeding them with a hand feeder and a few have landed on my hand.  Pure joy! I fill my garden full of flowers that they love and I can spend all day just watching and taking photos of these tiny birds.  Our summers are short and they will be migrating south soon so I'm enjoying my last couple of weeks with them.

I have this glass feeder I put in the maple tree that they love and guard furiously. 

They also like to guard the feeders in the backyard by sitting on top of my metal hummingbird.  Love this pose! 

I have two baskets of Hummingbirds Lunch that they love. 

They also love the Salvia in the garden.  I have it in a few colours.

I thought I was the biggest sucker for buying this 'hummingbird swing' but they love it!

I also purchased a window feeder and was surprised at how much they use it. Its fun to watch them at the window from inside the house.

If you want to see my videos of using the hand feeder just check out my Instagram reels. My account is  tamarackshack2.0

Summer Heron Birdwatching Report

 

Summer has been flying by as usual here in NW Ontario.   No sewing or quilting happening as I have been spending my days out in the garden or on the lakes kayaking.  Also keeping busy with my favorite summer activity birdwatching and bird photography.  I am enjoying the hummingbirds but we definitely have fewer birds this year.  I also would go every Sunday from mid May to mid July to see the Herons in their rookery on the highway near our place.  We watched all 15 nest activity transition from sitting on eggs to the hatching to the feeding then fledging. It is amazing how fast these large birds grow and each nest had on average 3 chicks.

Two chicks along starting to test their wings.

 I'm sure is how the term 'feeding frenzy' started!

These are the size of the chicks at the end of June.

Parent returns to feed and the frenzy begins.  They get very noisy and start grabbing the parents beak and fighting with their siblings.

Lunch time.

Parent leaves as there isn't much room for them now.

Young are testing their wings and flying from branch to branch getting ready to fledge.

Hard to tell the chick from the adults at this point.  The nests were all empty by the 3rd week in July.