Must bee Summer Cuz lots of Bees!

June is wrapping up and although I have not gone back through the blog to see what time of year the honey bees show up and commit suicide in the oriole feeders, it is probably about the same time as years before. I dread having to bee-proof the oriole feeders because most of them become oriole unfriendly. I will try, again this year,to find a way to exclude bees while feeding orioles.

A couple of photos to illustrate the problem..

Death by sugar water!

 

Goin' in. I had tried drilling out the openings to convert feeder to oriole friendly - too big!

Bee guards partially working, bees are not inside feeder - but bees are keeping away birds. 

On a more pleasant note, oriole population seems as high as last year. This includes what are likely several batches of youngsters, fledgling male for sure - so most likely females as well.

Also, continuing to see at least one pair of Allen's hummingbirds. Have not id'd a Rufus male yet. Of course, lots of Anna's, and a good quantity of Blackchinned and Costa's.

Orioles Are Beginning to Show Up

Quick note - The 'time lapse' is new and though it goes fast, you can see the orioles at the feeders. You can also signup for email notice when an update is added to the blog.

Today is the first day I have seen more than one hooded oriole at the same time, so I know there is more than one and not just seeing the same one repeatedly. The best non-visual clue is the chatter they make when more than one are in close proximity. There are at least 3 males in the area now, should soon be seeing the females. The first photo shows the 3rd male, the next photo is two in the dead 'hummingbird bush'.

It is a bit hard to see the second one, he is left and down a bit from the easy one to see. Below is an (and maybe the) old guy guarding his feeder (just below him out of the photo).

Still have not identified any other hummers besides Anna's yet - soon, I suspect.

I will get better photos of orioles later, had to zoom in a lot and camera shake is blurring the shots a bit.

Delightfully Cool Again!

After 3-4 days of blazing hot weather, we are back to below normal (substantially) weather. The day after the last post, we hit 100 F for daytime highs for 3 days. Bird activity seemed to slow a bit during that time. Now we have had a week of below average temps, Nice! 

Both the orioles and hummers are in high gear. There appears to be an influx of blackchin hummingbirds all of a sudden. The males are distinctive with their tidy iridescent deep blue collars.  They are slightly smaller than the more common Anna's but just as friendly.

This season's oriole youngsters are showing up at the feeders in good numbers and catch on very fast to the feeder routine, although they are more timid than the adults. Chatter, chatter - especially around dinner time!

Anyone interested in a nice collection of hummingbird photos should check out this link - http://www.flickr.com/search/?q=hummingbirds&w=9486153%40N03

Tuesday evening at the Feeders

It's the 1st day of June, sunny but slightly cooler than normal (73f for high temps). Relaxing out back and trying to get a few photos of the fledgling orioles. I am not sure I did, but here are a few of the day's images.

 2 adult males at a large feeder

 Nice shot of adult male hooded oriole - Icterus cucullatus

 Nice profile of adult male, bright yellow with black chin and bib and black and white wings. The adult females and young of both sexes are difficult to tell apart except that the young males have a faint gray to black chin and bib.

One of the adult house wrens (Troglodytes aedon) actually coming out the front door! Usually, they zip in and out the vent slot at the top of the box.

 Either an adult or juvenile female hooded oriole, very hard to tell. No black under beak - so not young male.

 Adult male, keeping a eye on me while getting a drink.

This is the same old guy (Anna's hummingbird - Calypte anna ) from last month. This desert willow is his outpost from where he defends 'his' feeder. 

 A different adult male hooded oriole.

Three adult Anna's having evening drink. The hummingbird population seems a bit down this year (at least so far) based on the rate of feeder mix usage. I think the oriole count is about the same as last year.