The Hummingbirds Have Been Spotted in Massachusetts

[PeppermintPatty]

Our Ruby Throated Hummingbird migrates all the way from the Gulf Of Mexico. They have been spotted in Massachusetts.

During migration, a hummingbird's heart beats up to 1,260 times a minute, and its wings flap 15 to 80 times a second. To support this high energy level, a hummingbird will typically gain 25-40% of their body weight before they start migration in order to make the long trek over land, and water.

https://www.hummingbirdcentral.com/hummingbird-migration-spring-2023-map.htm

We get many hummingbirds since we feed them. Many breed here so we get competing families and they are so much fun to watch. Very entertaining.


Do any of you feed them?

 

[againstthegrain]

Yes we do feed them. It's lots of fun to have them around.

 

[Jules]

They’re amazing little birds. I watch them at my friend’s feeder.

 

[ElCastor]

We also feed them, although our feeder isn’t as fancy as the one in the photo. We also feed sparrow sized birds, the occasional crow, and of course a certain parrot. (-8

 

[PeppermintPatty]

We also feed them, although our feeder isn’t as fancy as the one in the photo. We also feed sparrow sized birds, the occasional crow, and of course a certain parrot. (-8

We have the regular size hummingbird feeders but we get so many that we have to full them up twice a day so found these larger ones made from glass. They keep the liquid much cooler too.

We feed other birds also. We get junkos, sparrows, gold finches, nuthatches, chickadees, evening grosbeaks, grackles, crows, and blue jays. There isn’t the same variety here as where we used to live though.

Normally I’m not too fond feeding crows since they intimidate the smaller birds but we get a flock of 4 that come by daily who don’t use the feeders. They aren’t the least bit aggressive and help clean up the seeds on the ground. I’m now quite fond of them.

We also have 3 regular squirrels who the dogs love tormenting.

 

[oldaunt]

They came knocking at the window about 10 days ago here, asking me to PLEASE get the feeders out.

 

[RadishRose]

We have the regular size hummingbird feeders but we get so many that we have to full them up twice a day so found these larger ones made from glass. They keep the liquid much cooler too.

We feed other birds also. We get junkos, sparrows, gold finches, nuthatches, chickadees, evening grosbeaks, grackles, crows, and blue jays. There isn’t the same variety here as where we used to live though.

Normally I’m not too fond feeding crows since they intimidate the smaller birds but we get a flock of 4 that come by daily who don’t use the feeders. They aren’t the least bit aggressive and help clean up the seeds on the ground. I’m now quite fond of them.

We also have 3 regular squirrels who I dogs love tormenting.

I love crows!

 

[CarolfromTX]

I put my feeders out a couple weeks ago. Hummers are glorious creatures. Every September, Rockport, on the Gulf coast, has a hummingbird festival. People open up their yards for people to see the hummers as they migrate south. Rockport is also the winter home of whooping cranes.

 

[PeppermintPatty]

I love crows!

I do also. Even as a kid I really enjoy the crows. Apparently they are the worlds smartest bird. I think the blue jays are in the crow family.

Before when I fed them I was trying to feed them all the same way which didn’t with. Now I have catches feeders for the smaller birds so the squirrels and big birds can’t get end and there’s a separate feeder for the bigger birds. This seems to be working very well.
For the crows, I throw down some cat kibble which they devour each and everyday.
One of our dogs like to go out and play crow though . It’s actually super cute. The crows are bigger than he is.

 

[PeppermintPatty]

Did I say too much?

 

[Alligatorob]

The Hummingbirds Have Been Spotted in Massachusetts

That's great, I like hummingbirds.

Ours are probably still a few weeks out, not many flowers for them yet. When the snow does melt we should have lots of wildflowers in the mountains, hummingbirds really like them.

 

[ElCastor]

Normally I’m not too fond feeding crows since they intimidate the smaller birds but we get a flock of 4 that come by daily who don’t use the feeders. They aren’t the least bit aggressive and help clean up the seeds on the ground. I’m now quite fond of them.

We also have 3 regular squirrels who the dogs love tormenting.

Our small bird feeder dispenses a “no mess” seed in a way that doesn‘t work for crows (or squirrels) so no problem or competition there. We toss a handful of scraps and nuts on the patio floor that mainly appeals to squirrels and crows. Needless to say they avoid each other, so most goes to squirrels, and some to crows when the squirrels aren’t around. At one time we had a way to just feed crows, but quit doing it ~~ those crows can sure make a racket!

I’ve told this story before, but in case you haven’t heard it. A few years ago we parked in a lot near a convenience store. Here was this poor crow hopping around with a broken wing. Just heart rending. I went into the store, bought a pastry, tore off a chunk and threw it to the crow. He grabbed it and flew up on the roof.

 

[RadishRose]

Did I say too much?

?? No way! I enjoy your posts.

And thanks for using paragraphs.

 

[PeppermintPatty]

Our small bird feeder dispenses a “no mess” seed in a way that doesn‘t work for crows (or squirrels) so no problem or competition there. We toss a handful of scraps and nuts on the patio floor that mainly appeals to squirrels and crows. Needless to say they avoid each other, so most goes to squirrels, and some to crows when the squirrels aren’t around. At one time we had a way to just feed crows, but quit doing it ~~ those crows can sure make a racket!

I’ve told this story before, but in case you haven’t heard it. A few years ago we parked in a lot near a convenience store. Here was this poor crow hopping around with a broken wing. Just heart rending. I went into the store, bought a pastry, tore off a chunk and threw it to the crow. He grabbed it and flew up on the roof.

We have a multiple feeder pole with a baffle so that squirrels can’t get up but enough food gets out that he gets fed as well as the junkos, crows and any bigger birds or ones who are plain ground feeders. It actually works out really well.

We had a small flock of grackles the other day. Maybe about 12 to 14. They looked like they were migrating birds. It made me wonder if they actually look down while they are flying to check for bird feeders. Do they notice the birds all flocked up first or the feeders and I’ll never know cause I’m not a bird.

Crows and blue jays have to be some of loudest birds ever created. It used to annoy me some when I’d spend all kinds of time making homemade suet for them, feed them peanuts with the sell on so they could stash it some where for later and they’d squawk at me for using my own deck. They are loud. When my father in law was up my husband asked how he handles all the noise from the city traffic and he asked how we handle all the noise from the blue jays.

Our crows are really quiet here and so are the jays but they aren’t huge flocks either.

Crows are smart enough and with enough street sense to pull off that poor bird broken wing stuff easily. That’s funny.

 

[PeppermintPatty]

Thank you. I can really ramble though. lol

?? No way! I enjoy your posts.

And thanks for using paragraphs.

 

[ElCastor]

Crows are smart enough and with enough street sense to pull off that poor bird broken wing stuff easily. That’s funny.

I have read that crows also use the broken wing to lure predators away from their nest. Saw a crow thing on the Internet. There was a walnut tree near an intersection. Crows couldn’t crack the shells so they dropped the shells in a crosswalk. Passing cars broke the shells. Crows waited for the light to change, flew down and grabbed the nut pieces.

Another one — a scientist put a crow snack in a deep tube and a long straight wire next to it. Crow couldn’t reached the snack so he tried stabbing it with the wire. Didn’t work. Then he bent the end of the wire into a hook. Goodbye snack. (-8

 

[Disgustedman]

Very nice to watch...

 

[PeppermintPatty]

I have read that crows also use the broken wing to lure predators away from their nest. Saw a crow thing on the Internet. There was a walnut tree near an intersection. Crows couldn’t crack the shells so they dropped the shells in a crosswalk. Passing cars broke the shells. Crows waited for the light to change, flew down and grabbed the nut pieces.

Another one — a scientist put a crow snack in a deep tube and a long straight wire next to it. Crow couldn’t reached the snack so he tried stabbing it with the wire. Didn’t work. Then he bent the end of the wire into a hook. Goodbye snack. (-8

Haha. Very good. I saw that . They are smart birds. That’s witty! They are entertaining and the only reason I’ll know they are here is that I catch them out of the corner of my eye swooping down or our dog starts barking at them. That can scare the life out of me at times. It’s nice seeing them walk around. I think I might make a shelf feeder for them so I can feed them without our dogs eating it.

Today we had the flock of grackles again and a larger flock of gold finches and junko’s. One bird that I couldn’t identify today. It was blackish brown with whitish shoulders. Our bird community is expanding. I should paint a picture of one.

Anyway I find such simple pleasure and joy out of feeding them. It’s soothing and relaxing. I’d try to get some nice photos.

 

[mrstime]

I like both Hummers and crows. Watched a film on Hummers in Costa Rica on PBS today, amazing their importance.

 

[PeppermintPatty]

Here is a picture of some of the grackles we get. There’s a red winged blackbird in there too. It’s a rainy day so dismal looking. Their metallic shoulders really shine and stand out on sunny days.