[bristol-birds] Re: hummers at my place

[Dnldhlt@xxxxxxx]

Hey Wallace and other hummer-heads,
     Not meaning to cast aspersions on any one observation, I would like to 
sound a note of caution on interpreting nectar volume dispensed at hummer 
feeders.  I used to have a feeder that would lose nectar whenever the 
temperature changed.  Cool nights and warm days can cause pressure changes 
that might force nectar out of the feeder.  The relative flexibility of the 
feeder's material might play a role.  That is why I prefer to use feeders 
that store the nectar completely below the feeding port.  However, I also 
used to have a problem with such a feeder that would be emptied every night.  
I suspect a flying squirrel would tip it sideways, causing spillage.  Gray 
squirrels and larger birds could do the same thing in the daytime, even if 
not feeding, as in a territorial mockingbird.
       I agree there are probably lots more individuals than we can count at 
a given time, and that they are constantly being replaced.  Nonetheless, I 
think the turnover is sometimes slow enough to allow individuals time to 
accustom themselves to the surroundings.  I notice some hummers that come 
into my classroom thru the open windows beside the feeders immediately begin 
searching the ceiling and take a long time to find their way out, while 
others fly in one window and immediately out the other, perhaps taking a 
shortcut they have learned over time by trial and error.

Don Holt
910 Smalling Rd.
Johnson City, TN 37601
(423)926-0865
Dnldhlt@xxxxxxx
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[bristol-birds] hummers at my place

[bristol-birds] Re: hummers at my place