Good Evening,
The fir trees have two to three inches of bright green new growth.
The ferns are between six and ten feet tall but not done unrolling. The
hummingbirds returned and brought friends. It is quite busy right now,
I have to duck when I walk out the door. They enjoy flying at eye level
close enough to feel a breeze.
The sun is moderately active. A number of M class flares this week,
but no major CMEs are due. A mix of fast and slow streams of solar wind
is pummeling the ionosphere. Should lead to some interesting and varied
QSB. Summer storms will add some noise. It will start raining tonight
and continue for a few days. I don't expect lighting, it's not that
common here.
Please join us on (or near):
14050 kHz at 2200z Sunday (3 PM PDT Sunday)
7047 kHz at 0000z Monday (5 PM PDT Sunday)
73,
Kevin. KD5ONS
-
The case of the missing hummingbirds
Anna's hummingbirds are the first to arrive each spring. They take
advantage of my feeder for a few weeks then become more scarce. Next
the Rufous hummingbirds arrive and use the feeder. This year they sipped
through one feeder full, then disappeared after I refilled it. No
Rufous hummingbirds for seven days.
But I did notice more birds arriving. One of them has a prominent
red head and breast - the Red breasted sapsucker. They make parallel
rows of notches in the bark of trees. One species they harvest is the
Douglas fir. I have plenty. One of them has been chopping notches in
the underside of a bough right outside this window. The red flash, and
the nifty inverted landing maneuver, catch my eye when I'm at the keyboard.
I did a web search on them and found some interesting tidbits. One
is that Rufous hummingbirds are known to follow sapsuckers around to
exploit their many sap wells. They use them as another food source when
flowers are lacking. Hummingbirds also feed from the clouds of tiny
flying annoyances; of that I am grateful.
Now I had a clue to work with, only a day later I saw a Rufous
hummingbird on the underside of the bough right outside this window.
When the sapsucker moved in they found a rich resource to tap, with a
variety of nutrients. After a week feasting from the sap wells they are
now back fighting for my feeder. I chased five of them off so I could
water my plants. A number of species of butterflies enjoy my blooming
chives. The hummingbirds don't mind at all.
https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Red-breasted_Sapsucker/
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