Glad that the freezing weather is over for now. Had to bring the 20 plus
feeders, spread over an acre of yards, in the days when the temperatures dipped
below 25 degrees F. Went to a 2 to 1 ratio of water to sugar and still the
feeders froze.
So we are back to "normal" for a while. Things have changed quite a bit over
the last week here. I saw six females (with no or small gorgets) showing up
when before I saw only one or two females over the last several weeks.
Interestingly, the males were not chasing the females away from the feeders
today. I don't know what's going on but perhaps the male's tolerance of the
females being around the feeders has to do with the fact that mating time is
here. That's my guess but although I'm a biologist (fish) I'm just learning
about what these incredible birds are about, especially their resilient
behavior during the winter.
I've put out raw cotton in suet feeders for nest building. Maybe the female
Anna's (and chickadees,etc.) will use it for nesting material soon, We'll see.
