Unusual

After many days of rain, the weather yesterday offered up a change . . . snow.

This next twenty seconds video is composed of two ten seconds videos shot scant minutes apart immediately after the rain went from big drops of water to big drops of snow.

The snow was very wet and heavy. The shrub you see at the left of the video frame was bent down nearly to the ground in less than a half hour. I went out twice during the next few hours to shake the snow from it and from as many of the trees I could get to.

I did that because hummingbirds use the shrub as shelter during bad late-season storms. Some might recall similar tales from previous years. I try to provide warm sugar solution until late in the evening, then I bring in the feeders and then put them out again before sunrise. I got up at 5:10am to get the feeders out, and then replaced them every hour or so as ice would start to form on them. We had at least four hummers making constant runs to them.

These shots are from yesterday afternoon.

By the way, this is what it looked like this morning.

I was really concerned for the Dogwoods trees out back. So far, it does not look like I lost any branches.

I did lose at least one branch of the bush outside my window (won’t know how bad it is until the snow melts), and I lost a big branch on one of the front Aspens.

BUT . . .

. . . this post is titled for the following.

Around 8:30pm, I went out to grab the feeders. The blizzard was in full swing, and the temperature was already in the mid-20s.

I opened the front door, and there, somewhat battered by the wind, a hummingbird was flying in circles within the confines of the front overhang. It may have been perched on the outside light or one of the ledges, but the wind was pretty fierce, and I don’t think he would have been able to find safe purchase. 

I think it just happened to be out there looking for shelter.

When I opened the inside door, the hummer started to fly at the glass of the screen door, hitting it two or three times. I opened the screen door and . . .

That is a hummer perched on the decorative (fake) poppies atop the island overhang in the kitchen.

I turned off the ceiling fan (it’s always running), grabbed a ladder, and put a feeder up there. We then closed all the doors and turned off all the lights. Melisa went to watch TV in the bedroom, and I went on the PC in my office.

I walked out a few times to check on him (it is a him), and for a couple of those visual checks, he was perched on the hanger for the feeder. The rest of the time, he was on one of the poppies.

I went to sleep listening to the fierce wind and worrying about my trees.

As I said, I got up early and put out the feeders. Hummer (that’s what I named him – original, I know) flew around as I moved about. I was not sure if he was eating, so I grabbed the ladder, retrieved the feeder, and set it on the table. Once the weather warmed up a bit, the plan was to leave the sliding door open (it’s right in front of the feeder) and have Hummer fly out.

Meanwhile, Hummer repeatedly tried feeding on the fake poppies. I tried not to laugh; I did not want to make him feel bad.

He even checked out the tomatoes (the yellow thing in the background is my ladder):

 

 

After he fed a few times, and around 8:00am, I opened the sliding door and climbed up the ladder both to dissuade him from staying perched up there and to get these videos. The second video is about 20 seconds long, and the bird is only there at the beginning and end.

Here he is at the feeder on the table and in front of the sliding door (when these were shot, the sliding door was closed).

Shortly thereafter, he flew out the open door.

. . . he looked like a community organizer . . . I’m expecting 20-30 hummingbirds to be waiting at the front door this evening when I go out to bring in the feeders.

The full-size photos are in THIS Smugmug album, but the quality is not optimum. However, them who are interested have the option to check them out.

That’s it. This post has ended . . . except for the stuff below.

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