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Mission Control, We Have Hummingbirds at the Bee Balm; a Smidge of Cool in the Air; and a New Cam On the Way

So it turns out that the sneaky little buzzards like the bee balm after all. While I didn't need to smack them with the video cam and tripod, it still took a while to get a few seconds of decent video of one of our resident ruby-throated hummers visiting the monarda patch.

In fact, their preference is for the feeders, as the nectar is more reliable there. But the hummers seem to be somewhat fastidious in their eating habits and don't like ants crawling on the sugar water founts when they are dining. So I let the feeders get a bit ant-covered to, ah, encourage the birds to visit their secondary food source. And guess what? It worked.

So while I didn't have to jump ugly and pull a "Barry Bonds" to swat a few hummers into the garden, I still had to use sneaky tactics to get them there. Oh well.

Setting aside the hummingbirds, at long last (four days) the heat is beginning to ease just a bit here on Cape Cod. Tonight, it dropped below 70 F, which is pretty much heaven. At last check, the crows have stopped panting. Come on rain!

Lastly, it looks like we're finally going to replace our late Canon Rebel XT. That camera had a "salt-water moment", and that was all she wrote. Stay tuned. By tomorrow I might yet again be able to make the late Ansel Adams spin in his grave.

See you by the feeders,

CapeCodAlan


Cornell Ornithology Laboratory: Inside Birding

Cornell Ornithology Laboratory: All About Birding

eBirdseed.com photo library

eBirdseed and misc. references

Other birding references

eBirdseed.com bird cam

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