you are so lucky!

I can tell by the way you wrote about them - “Sugar fueled helicopter“ - how much you appreciate them. And I share your joy of them.

I enjoyed your description and could almost feel your surprise and delight. I just can't leave those hummers alone. My camera keeps urging me to go get some more hummingbird footage. I must have 15 movies up about them. Might I recommend the one about why they fight each other so much? It shows them in super slomo. kzfaq.info/get/bejne/p5qWptB4y8vcgIU.html

Thanks, Ayr. I’ve bought a camera that does super slomo, and this summer I want to get footage of hummingbirds fighting end of their wing action. I never get over the antics of these hypersonic, irascible little creatures.

Sure enough!

John, I enjoyed reading about your experience feeding the hummers. I know what you mean about getting the feeders out at dawn. When we visited Estes Park this summer, the feeder at our cabin attracted many more hummingbirds than we get at a time here in St. Louis. We're early risers and we put the feeder out before dawn. They showed up when it was still almost dark. And when we took the feeder down to refill it, they raised a racket. It was all fun! It's nice to hear that you subscribed. Here are a few of my favorites: Green Herons Feeding Juveniles, Dragonflies Mating, Praying Mantises Catching Prey, Great Horned Owlet Nearly Ready to Leave the Nest, and both movies about the Yellow-shafted Northern Flicker. That's off the top of my head, but of course you can decide for yourself what subjects grab your interest as you browse.

@@JoAlwoodBIRDSANDTHENSOME Thanks for the information Jo. I will look into that. I had an Oriole come to my seed feeder yesterday morning. That's very rare for Texas. I guess it's in the process of migration. He tried to get to the syrup on the Hummer feeder but the holes are to small. Most beautiful bird I have seen live. We have a lot of blue birds down here. Next Spring I am going to get a mial worm feeder. I know I miss spelled. Also a Purple Martin house. Looking forward to next Spring. Enjoy your birds Jo!

We've tried and tried to get Baltimore Orioles to stay in our yard, but we're just not rural enough. They show up during spring migration, but since the males can't find a mate in our area, they soon move on. And I agree with you about how gorgeous they are.You see one with full sunlight on his orange, and he's ablaze!

@@JoAlwoodBIRDSANDTHENSOME Yes Mam, he or she was absolutely beautiful. It hasn't been back. I guess it's moving South. I am grateful for the time we had though. I told my friends and relatives but they just don't understand how unusual that is for Eastern Central Texas. I hope I get a chance to see more before it gets cold. My Hummers will be moving out in October and the beginning of November. Halloween night is when Texas starts to drop down in the 50's. I hope I get to see some different Hummers come by during their migration. Ones with brighter colors. When I started making my own nectar that's when they really started showing up. I don't think they like the store bought as much. We have no idea how old it is. I got a good deal on two 32oz feeders on Amazon yesterday. That will help with all the hungry Hummers. Hope your well Jo! It's nice to talk birds with someone who understands how special they truly are!

Enjoy the glorious hummingbird migration, John! I envy you, because here in St. Louis we only get the Ruby-throated Hummingbird. It's good to know you started making your own nectar. Here's a link explaining why you shouldn't use store bought nectar.tinyurl.com/ofacgd7 If the Oriole you saw was brilliant orange, it was a male. In general, we don't get the variety of birds that you would--lucky you!--but at least we're on the Mississippi Flyway, one of the major migratory routes for birds in the States.

Thanks, Ev. Actually, the line about mustard was an afterthought. After I'd gone through the draft for the bazillionth time, I realized that that spot in the script needed a metaphor. I'm happy to hear it worked.

Oh, I know, Adair. That's all we get in St. Louis. To see the others you have to travel. Or else skim through the mini-documentaries on my channel from February through August of 2018. You'll find quite a few hummingbird movies of other species. Here's one I especially like: kzfaq.info/get/bejne/ZrRprKmq1LOVXWw.html

Lucky us, huh, Scott? Thanks for letting me know how much you enjoyed the video.

I couldn't agree more, Kevin.

@@JoAlwoodBIRDSANDTHENSOME I would like to know how to get them in my yard in Rhode Island!!! I have the flowers!!! Just no birds! 🤐

You'd want tubular flowers to attract the hummers. This older film of mine shows you a few species of such flowers: kzfaq.info/get/bejne/lcplgpSGxteuZ4k.html At this point in the season, all I can recommend is putting up hummingbird feeders. I don't know when fall migration starts for them in Rhode Island. The males will start leaving Missouri in the next week, and the rest will go by the end of September. But if you remember, hummingbirds have remarkable memories for the food sources they've visited, so if you feed some of them this fall, they might well show up to your yard in the spring. And especially if you have some spring tubular flowers in addition to feeders, you can expect a few to stick around. Good luck! (And hang at least one feeder near a window that you often look out of. We do our kitchen window. If you're going to feed them, you want to SEE them. As long as the weather remains hot, you'll need to change the water every other day. It goes bad pretty fast.)

Thank you, April. I certainly enjoyed making this movie about the hummers. (Now that I think of it, though, I enjoy making all of them!)

You're welcome, Lisa. I almost hated to be finished making this movie, because the hummingbirds are such amazing creatures that I enjoyed immersing myself in the topic.

+Jo Alwood (BIRDS AND THEN SOME) I Sure Understand That! They Are So Fascinating!

I did look in on your channel, Jakub, and enjoyed seeing that you get Black-crowned Night Herons there too. I shouldn't be surprised. They're worldwide. I have a film about them you might like to see: kzfaq.info/get/bejne/jLSIaN1q1Ja0f30.html. I enjoyed your choice of music for the 4 or 5 videos I looked at, and recognized the music for the Pygmy Cormorant as something I've used. Too bad you don't get hummingbirds in Europe. They're one of the joys of warm weather in this part of the world. Thank you for commenting.