Greetings Birders, Normally, I have lots of ruby-throated hummingbirds from my birthday (July 20) until October 1 here in the Charlotte Park section of West Nashville. So far this year, they have been very scarce with just one or two birds every few days. Wonder if our Easter freeze took its toll on the population or maybe delayed their nesting? Today, however, there have been quite a few, all females. I had one glorious male here late yesterday afternoon. Many of the birds are playing chase and having fights over the feeder. They are just adorable.......AND gregarious! This morning, one of my little ladies performed a stunt I have never seen a hummer do before. Instead of landing on the little feeder-perch to drink, she lit flatfooted on the main part of the feeder and started drinking. I DID manage to get a photo of her standing there with her tiny feet all spread out. I don't know when I'll get it on the computer though, as I have forgotten just how to do that. When the HASMAT crew "sanitized" my house, they either packed my instructions in one of 31 boxes or threw them away. The grape vine that surrounds my deck is so "thirsty" from the lack of rain that I may lose the grapes that haven't ripened. Many of its leaves are yellowing and dying. I haven't been able to carry enough containers of water to its "base" to do it much good. I was really looking forward to having lots of birds in the vines when the bumper crop of grapes reached their height in ripeness. Instead, they'll probably drop off if we don't have rain REAL soon! Wish I had the energy to do a "rain dance" in addition to saying my prayers for rain. My yard is totally brown. Happy birding, Dee Thompson Nashville, TN ************************************** Get a sneak peek of the all-new AOL at http://discover.aol.com/memed/aolcom30tour =================NOTES TO SUBSCRIBER===================== The TN-Bird Net requires you to SIGN YOUR MESSAGE with first and last name, CITY (TOWN) and state abbreviation. You are also required to list the COUNTY in which the birds you report were seen. The actual DATE OF OBSERVATION should appear in the first paragraph. _____________________________________________________________ To post to this mailing list, simply send email to: tn-bird@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx _____________________________________________________________ To unsubscribe, send email to: tn-bird-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx with 'unsubscribe' in the Subject field. ______________________________________________________________ TN-Bird Net is owned by the Tennessee Ornithological Society Neither the society(TOS) nor its moderator(s) endorse the views or opinions expressed by the members of this discussion group. Moderator: Wallace Coffey, Bristol, TN wallace@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx ------------------------------ Assistant Moderator Andy Jones Cleveland, OH ------------------------------- Assistant Moderator Dave Worley Rosedale, VA __________________________________________________________ Visit the Tennessee Ornithological Society web site at http://www.tnbirds.org * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * ARCHIVES TN-Bird Net Archives at //www.freelists.org/archives/tn-bird/ EXCELLENT MAP RESOURCES Topographical Maps located at http://topozone.com/find.asp Tenn.Counties Map at http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/states/tennessee3.gif Aerial photos to complement google maps http://local.live.com _____________________________________________________________