My mom just sent me this link that is filled with amazing pictures of baby hummingbirds. Someone found a hummingbird nest and carefully took pictures starting with the eggs all the way to the young bird leaving the nest. It took just 24 days from birth to flight.

There are five pages in all, with the last picture showing a matchstick and a penny in the nest so that you can visualize the actual size. Amazing!

Check it out for yourself at:

http://community.webtv.net/Velpics/HUM ]]> http://www.bluejeansandcottontees.com/birth-of-a-hummingbird/feed/ 0 http://www.bluejeansandcottontees.com/making-my-own-suet-or-how-to-really-stink-your-house-up-and-make-your-children-gag/ http://www.bluejeansandcottontees.com/making-my-own-suet-or-how-to-really-stink-your-house-up-and-make-your-children-gag/#comments Wed, 26 Mar 2008 19:46:00 +0000 Country Gal http://www.bluejeansandcottontees.com/making-my-own-suet-or-how-to-really-stink-your-house-up-and-make-your-children-gag/ I had read several articles and researched several recipes, so I felt prepared to attempt to make my very own suet.

It looked pretty easy. Melt fat and add lots of ingredients that birds like, such as nuts and seeds. No problem right?

I decided to use the packages of lard that have been at the bottom of my freezer since the last time we butchered a hog, say 3-4 years. (Somehow I never quite got around to using it!)

Do you have any idea what fat does when it sits in the freezer for a long time (say 3-4 years)? It gets rancid and very smelly. We discovered this as soon as I put the lard in a pot on the stove. The entire house was filled with the horrid smell of old fat. My children were running around with the noses plugged making gagging noises. I can’t blame them, I felt like it, too.

Thankfully the fat melted quickly and we could add the peanut butter, old wheat berries, and oatmeal to the pan. We mixed it quickly and poured it into an old cake pan to harden.

Once you got past the smell it actually went pretty well. They birds seemed to enjoy it, the chickens loved the scraps that fell off, and I got rid of some very old (say 3-4 years) lard.

I’d say it was a win-win for everybody (at least once the smell cleared out of the house)!

We’ve always found that having a nest box open and ready in the early season is a great way to attract bluebirds. Many times we are able to get one nesting early in the season before some of the more aggressive birds (such as the house sparrow and the house wren) arrive to compete for the nest boxes.

We’ve attached the nest boxes on hedge posts and metal T-posts (used for fencing), but you could also a commercial wooden post. You can mount them right on trees, but they seem to be more susceptible to predators. (Raccoons, snakes and other climbing predators can easily climb the tree and destroy the nesting birds. Squirrels have also been know to chew and destroy the box itself!)

Once the boxes are out, you are ready for business! Now all you need is spring and the return of the bluebirds. But I’ll have to admit, that seems pretty far away right now! As I am writing this, we are under yet another Winter Storm Warning, and March is just 2 weeks away!

But the thought of spring with all the green leaves, warmer weather and the bluebirds nesting is enough to give me hope that sooner or later, even this winter will have to end! Preparing the bluebird nest boxes is just another act of faith, just like buying my garden seeds!

Maybe I’m a little prejudiced but the character Sammy Jay in the classic Thornton Burgess books for children, but to me, the blue jay has always appeared to be the bully of the bird feeder. He swoops in like he owns the place and scares everyone else away. He chitters and chatters as if scolding all he sees.

He is a beautiful bird, but please don’t tell him. His head is already big enough! The deep blue coloring of his back and wings are set off perfectly by his white breast. He’s a bright spot of color against a dreary winter horizon . But there’s something about the way he holds his head and how his beak looks as if he is wrinkling his nose at the world that makes his entire demeanor appear stuck-up. Oh well, Sammy Jay can still feed at my feeder, despite his bad manners. I will admit that his antics provide a bit of enjoyment for those of us on the other side of the window.

But now it is quiet. I appreciate the stillness of a winter walk. I need the stillness of a winter walk. My soul soaks up the quiet like a sponge. My responsibilities and worries and concerns just melt away as the peace of the winter afternoon surrounds me. I returned to my responsibilities with a clear thoughts and a smile on my face, ready to face my challenges.

At 9-13 inches tall, they are a mid-sized bird. Their muted gray and brown coloring reminds me of the dignified matron of the past. Always neat and well-dressed in a classical kind of way. Not a hair out of place and dressed to not call undue attention to oneself. Even their call is smooth and mournful. They are seed-eaters and typically ground feeders, but when the ground is snow-covered, they are quick to find a feeder and thoroughly enjoyed our sumptuous feast of sunflowers. She was just a guest however, and did not linger long after lunch. We do hope she stops by again so we can further enjoy her demur appearance.

That’s one of the joys of feeding birds during the winter months, the ability to watch a bird closely for a few minutes from the warm, dry house. They are much harder to see in the other seasons when there is an abundance of color and activity all around. The stark surroundings of winter and the need for food brings these hard to spot birds out in the open where even my young ones can watch them and enjoy them.

This guy does seem a little shy. He would swoop down and feed until another bird appeared, then he flew off in a flash to the safety of the electric pole. We were able to watch him fly over to the evergreens and could spot his bright head among the branches.

The children decided that he was quite the dapper fellow with his black and white tuxedo on, but still couldn’t figure out why he’s called a red-bellied woodpecker when the red is on his head! A quick look in our Audubon Field Guide informed us that he does have a reddish patch on his lower abdomen but it is very difficult to see in the field. No matter, we all enjoy saying “red-bellied” woodpecker, it just rolls of the tongue!

He’s a welcome guest at our feeders! He’s large enough to quickly spot and identify, even for the younger children, and we enjoy watching his flash of red brightening up our winter days. So welcome Mr. Red-Bellied Woodpecker! Enjoy the food we have left for and make yourself at home!