Any birders here?

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How much do you totally spend per month feeding the birds?
I just figured it up -- about $130/month. That doesn't include the 10-lb of sugar/month for the 16-0z hummingbird feeder, which gets re-filled every other day.

I purchase almost all from Walmart, a trip every other week, so it's as cheap as I can get it.



I just figured it up -- about $130/month. That doesn't include the 10-lb of sugar/month for the 16-0z hummingbird feeder, which gets re-filled every other day.

I purchase almost all from Walmart, a trip every other week, so it's as cheap as I can get it.
Thanks and if it's what you love to do, then it's worth every penny.



I I have what we call "the pond", which is a small, shallow, concrete watering pan/bath that has running water, albeit a trickle, 24/7. This is a godsend for wildlife here in the Sonoran Desert.
I wondered where you live.

Husband is a fanatical bird feeder year round here in CT. He’s always at Home Depot buying wild birdseed. Very diligent about water too for them. All kinds of birds. We have cats outside, but they never harm the birds.

For the first time this year we had two woodchucks. Husband freaked thinking they’d eat all his veggies in the garden, but he doesn’t seem bothered by them now.

For the first time in my life I have been stung twice this summer. So painful & my hand swelled up. Don’t know what kind of bee it was - something that doesn’t leave a stinger. Had no idea they can fly up from the ground & get underneath clothing, which happened to me.
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I’m here only on Mondays, Wednesdays & Fridays. That’s why I’m here now.





So I got out my camera today and to my surprise there was a flurry of bird activity in the back garden by the bird bath. I even seen a hummingbird, so I took this photo. I think it's an Anna's Hummingbird?



Nice picture.

I'm guessing we have about a dozen that stay here all year round. Sometimes during the spring and fall migrations we get a large influx of hummers.

I have trouble IDing the hummingbirds. The juveniles of one species look like the adult females of another species. You need to get really close (or telephoto lens) to ID them. Also their iridescence in the sunlight makes them look wholly different than they do in the shade.

Here's a funny: Sometimes when I'm carrying the hummingbird feeder, one will follow me, trying to land on it.
That was shooting through a double glass window that needs cleaning! The hummingbird was about 20 feet away. That was with a 250mm lens but if I had a 400-500mm lens I could've had a much closer view.

I'm in western Washington state and it can get cold here in the winter, sometimes down into the teens and yet I've seen resident hummingbirds even during the winter. I don't know what they use for food?



I'm in the Sonoran Desert but at about 2,500 ft elevation so even though the temp can get as high as 110 degrees F here in June, we do occasionally get winter temps down into the mid to low 20s and twice in the last 25 years here I've recorded 18 degrees and 19 degrees. But most the time the avg winter temps here are upper 30s at night and 50-60 during the day.

Hummingbirds eat insects for protein and syrup/nectar for energy. They need both.
Interesting, I didn't know any of that.



Actually I'm on the very edge of the Sonoran Desert. The lower elevations (Phoenix, Yuma) have blistering summer temps -- above 120 degrees F sometimes -- and milder winters.

You can tell if you're in the Sonoran Desert -- if there are Saguaro Cacti around, you're there.
My wife's mother lives in Arizona, we've visited twice, once in summer and once in winter. The desert is very beautiful! We drove out to see the Saguaros and some of the highlights in the area, I was impressed!



I wondered where you live.

Husband is a fanatical bird feeder year round here in CT. He’s always at Home Depot buying wild birdseed. Very diligent about water too for them. All kinds of birds. We have cats outside, but they never harm the birds.

For the first time this year we had two woodchucks. Husband freaked thinking they’d eat all his veggies in the garden, but he doesn’t seem bothered by them now.

For the first time in my life I have been stung twice this summer. So painful & my hand swelled up. Don’t know what kind of bee it was - something that doesn’t leave a stinger. Had no idea they can fly up from the ground & get underneath clothing, which happened to me.
Sounds like a wasp. Probably a yellow jacket.