Are you a wild bird nerd like me?

I found these great live bird cams, with sound, and now I'm a little obsessed.

A pair of osprey with two chicks in the nest, on the coast of Maine:

http://explore.org/live-cams/player/osprey-nest#disqus_thread

A teeny, tiny hummingbird in California, sitting on her teeny, tiny, tic tac eggs in her teeny, tiny soft little nest (no chicks as of yet, but they're saying it should be any day):

http://explore.org/live-cams/player/bella-hummingbird-nest

But only if you're a bird nerd. Otherwise you'll likely be bored out of your mind. ;-)

Thank you! I am indeed a wild bird nerd!

Thank you! My family and I will enjoy these so much. We were so excited to see two Baltimore Orioles flying through the trees near our house this past weekend. And we've been planting whatever we read that hummingbirds like to encourage them to visit the yard, as well.

Yay! Fellow bird nerds. Enjoy!

OMG. the walrus cam -- I'm watching them sleeping and hearing them snore!!! Thank you so much @meandtheboys -- what a fantastic site for animal lovers generally! http://explore.org/live-cams/player/walrus-cam-round-island

Along with the birds, I often check in on the kitten cam.

Me too!!!

meandtheboys said:
Along with the birds, I often check in on the kitten cam.

There IS medication for this! Kidding

The kitties are my medication... When I am having a bad day, I watch kittens.

mem said:
There IS medication for this! Kidding

If being a bird nerd is wrong, I don't want to be right! ;-P

(where are the emoticons?)

marylago - what do you do when the kitties eat the birds?

I had my suet feeder hanging near my bird feeder until Ms. Raccoon stole it....twice! We would get several kinds of woodpeckers all day.

Our friendly neighborhood Great Blue Heron stopped by for a few fish at our pond over the weekend. The dog freaks when she sees it.

If the hummingbird feeder is empty, I have one hovering at the window to let me know

Love the birds

Yes! Just ask the people laughing at me in the Costco checkout line because my cart is filled with three jumbo bags of bird seed.

I keep my kitties inside and my birds outside... Ne'er the 'twain shall meet.

mem said:
marylago - what do you do when the kitties eat the birds?

As it should be.

blackcat said:
I had my suet feeder hanging near my bird feeder until Ms. Raccoon stole it....twice! We would get several kinds of woodpeckers all day.
Our friendly neighborhood Great Blue Heron stopped by for a few fish at our pond over the weekend. The dog freaks when she sees it.
If the hummingbird feeder is empty, I have one hovering at the window to let me know
Love the birds

Sounds lovely. Are you in M/SO? I don't get hummingbirds.

Saw my first collared kingfisher today. No camera, though. From wikipedia.

I once saw one at New Meadowlands fishing in the Rahway river. They can be very elusive. There was no way I was getting close.

You have to get your hummingbird feeders out early and keep them refilled with fresh nectar weekly, @sweetsnuggles

Our hummers return year after year, and I see them at my window feeder dozens of times each day, but I know they nest in the tree in my front yard. I also have a family in one of my backyard trees, and the dad actually hovered in mid-air, with his brilliant red neck glittering in the sun like a jewel, one afternoon not long ago!

You are most likely to catch a sipper just before dusk. It's the perfect time to sit in some shade with binoculars and a glass of wine and just stare at your feeder. Be sure to place your feeder near some flowers that are well-known hummingbird magnets. (Practically any red trumpet-shaped flower, Monad aka Bee Balm, a shrub called Wisteria, red salvia if you can find it (it will self-sow and behave like a perennial if you let it))

Hummingbird nectar recipe is 1:4, regular cane sugar well-dissolved in clean tap water. Don't waste you money buying commercially prepared nectar; no dyes needed.

Big thanks to @meandtheboys !!! Love the hummer-cam!

There's a tiny baby in the tiny hummingbird nest.

Here's a shot of one of the Baltimore Orioles from this past weekend - so beautiful to see them flying through the trees!

Cody, beautiful!!

Nice.

@meandtheboys - did you see the hummingbird cam today?! The second tiny egg hatched over night!!!

(simple, little pleasures)

Sweetsnuggles said:
Last year we had lots of hummingbirds visiting our feeder. This year I've not seen a single one. We are in Maplewood.

I've been trying to attract hummingbirds with a feeder this year after giving up a few years ago. I saw one female a few weeks ago, but she never came back. I've changed syrup more often than weekly and have bright colored (including red) flowers next to it. Not sure what else to do ... sigh!

SAC, have you tried putting plants in the garden that the hummers love? A two-pronged attack of flowers plus feeders could help. That reminds me... I want to put some bee balm in our garden, and lobelia. Those are great for hummingbirds in my experience.

PeggyC said:
SAC, have you tried putting plants in the garden that the hummers love? A two-pronged attack of flowers plus feeders could help. That reminds me... I want to put some bee balm in our garden, and lobelia. Those are great for hummingbirds in my experience.

We planted a bunch of trumpet vine last year but I think the winter killed it. I did hang a basket of red geraniums (on the Audubon "attraction" list) next to the feeder, but haven't figured out what to replant in the garden that might do better through the winter.

Do folks ever go out tot the great swamp to go birding?