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It has quietened down a lot at the feeders here in our yard in White Point this past week or so. There appear to be at least two female hummingbirds here and possibly three males. Damaged male is back and looking much better. At the moment I have three feeders with sugar water out. I change it every 4 - 5 days. I wouldn't call it heavy feeding, just I am afraid where they are hanging in sun that the syrup might get a bit off. I do see the males combing the trees and window wells for what I think are tiny spiders and mites. Today they are going with what appears to be cobwebs so after that wind maybe things need repairing. I still can't find the nests of any but one is in the hedge out front and the other is in the arbour area of the maple tree toward town. Possibly in the climbing Hydrangea. I won't go poking into things until later in the fall. The Starlings have brought forth their young this week and they seem to have had an especially prolific year. There are hordes of them, as well as the grackles. I haven't seen any young I can call brown headed cow birds but they must be there somewhere. Our swallows are still trying but it is simply a matter of time I think until it is predated. They wouldn't be discouraged from the worst possible (my opinion) in the yard. I keep hoping they are successful. They work so well together. No sign of a bat so far. Blue Jays and young are having a party trying to capture the June bugs at dusk. The manoeuvring is amazing!! I always thought they were pretty but more rascally birds but after watching this (successful) hunting display, I will never growl about their food consumption again, well......maybe less (?) at any rate. The chickadees are coming only briefly now and starting to look tatty as they change plumage. There are still a number of Juncos who don't leave the feeders from dawn to dusk. The song sparrows have brought out their young, two or three families of them and the Mourning Doves are still trying to repopulate the world. I assume the young are the ones with the fine spots and lacy look. There are quite a few. The other day I spread seed outside my workroom window thinking if I took a break I might get a picture of a bird that has been visiting that I can't (couldn't) identify. I glanced up to see a couple robins, Mom and young, and a whole line of mourning doves and a very pregnant squirrel peering in at me. Of course when I looked up they all went airborne! This morning there was a treat for me. Now something I am concerned about. Poppa male Hairy woodpecker brought his baby to the seedcake. It was very nervous and fell off the grapevine structure (still unrepaired) in a flurry of wings every time a grackle or starling flew in. Poppa got quite aggressive, (unusual in that he is quite timid usually) chased everyone away and proceeded to pull out corn and sunflower seeds and shove them into the young one. I think I have a picture that shows the older beak actually making its deposit. I will know later on today. Ok so here is my question. These parent birds are bringing their young directly to the feeders. Am I doing them any favours? Should I take away the feeders so they have to forage? or should I leave them filled freshly everyday as the nests are dependent? Oh and the unidentified birds from earlier in May would have appeared to be a female and a male summer tanager. I looked up scarlet tanager and knew it wasn't that. The other day someone was speaking of the summer so I looked up that and bingo! We have a couple warblers (no black and white ones as far as I can see, Andy) but the numbers are way way down for us. I have a couple Blackburn and at least one chestnut sided, as well as a couple very yellow ones I need to search out to identify. It was nice before we had to cut down the birch trees as the birds were with in a couple feet of my window. I think that is it. Marg Millard White Point, Queens http://margmillard.ca
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