anna’s hummingbird

Crow Talk on Hornby Island

/ The Urban Nature Enthusiast / 9 Comments

As you know from my last post, I was a little nervous about my talk on Crow Watching for the Hornby Island Natural History Society.

I’m happy to report that all went very well, despite my jitters. The hall was full — the first time they’d needed to use every chair in the place — and everyone was very friendly and crow-curious. We had a couple of small Wi-fi wobbles when using my phone as a remote to advance the images made the whole show freeze up. Luckily, Phillip and I had discussed what to do in such an eventuality. Like the experienced CBC radio producer he is, he leapt up with his “normal programming will be resumed as soon as possible” announcement, followed by, instead of soft jazz, his own effort at crow calls. He was a big hit with the audience and now I think he only needs a proper crow outfit to be a scheduled part of the presentation.

I also kept forgetting to keep the microphone near my mouth, but, oh well …

Here’s the outline I created for my talk …

The hardest part of the presentation is trying to corral my many, varied, existential, metaphorical and sometimes just silly, thoughts about crows into under a thousand words. I went back to my crow typewriter image as a summary.

I often feel that words fail us. The number of blog posts I write and delete in trying to say what I want to say about crows in words, is one example. On a wider scale, with the rise of “fake news: and alternative facts,” words in general, seem to be a source of frustration at this particular time in human history.

In my portrait images I try to mediate a direct crow to human contact. In my thoughts about what I’m aiming for, I envisioned a typewriter that could transmit crow thoughts, unfiltered by my own human “static.”

Of course, the fact that I’m using just another “word machine” — the typewriter — to express this thought is a joke on me too. Even more hilarious, the amount of time I spent creating a “crowphabet.”

And, it must be said, I’m far from the first person to envision crows (and ravens) as important messengers between heaven and humanity. From time immemorial, countless Indigenous stories have told the same tale.

Another Crow Watching Talk Coming Up …

I know many of you were sad you couldn’t be at the Hornby Island presentation, but I will be doing another one, via Zoom (so available everywhere) for the Stanley Park Ecological Society on September 13, starting at 5:30 Pacific Time. They haven’t put the event on their web site yet, but when they do, you’ll be able to reserve a spot. I’ll let you know when they make it available to book.

A little mystery project I’m working on …

And lastly, a thanks in “crow” for the many kind comments on the blog and all the support for my photography and other work over the last decade and a half!

Raven Romance

/ The Urban Nature Enthusiast / 7 Comments

I love so many things about ravens.

Let me count the ways …

Well, maybe another time, as it’s a very long list.

This time I just want to talk about the the specific ways in which raven couples remind me of me and my husband.

The first time the similarity struck me was a few years ago. A raven pair walked along together, chatting quietly, before one of them (this would be me, in the analogy) got distracted by a piece of foliage and started skipping off in an entirely different direction. I actually made a small print of this image for my husband for Valentines Day that year and it sits in a frame in our bedroom.

It’s a reminder of the time when I was first becoming obsessed with crows and ravens and we were walking together along a wind-lashed beach in Washington. We were strolling along, talking about something or other when I was drawn, like iron filings to a magnet, by a crow playing in the surf. Phillip walked on, continuing our interesting conversation for quite a while before realizing he was yelling over the wind at himself.

Luckily he is very understanding about moments like these (which are ongoing.) Also about the waiting in freezing temperatures while I take “one more photograph.”

The more I watch raven couples the more they remind me of the small and very practical things that go into a long term relationship.

I would submit that the strongest building blocks of all personal relationships, romantic or otherwise, are not so much grand gestures, roses and chocolates, as countless little acts of kindness, rambling ongoing conversations, comfortable silences, silly recurring jokes, finishing each others’ sentences, pointless squabbles … followed by more jokes and more acts of small kindness.

Ravens chat to each other a lot when things are quiet. They also groom each others’ feathers. This is known as allo-preening and is important in two ways:

  • physically, it keeps their feathers in good conditions and controls parasites;
  • bird-anthropologically (birdthropologically?) it builds trust between the two birds, strengthening love and family ties. As ravens (and crows) generally mate for life, this is an important and long term process.

I’ve noticed ravens often play “beak games” which look like a combination of kissing and food stealing. It mostly seems to be the female putting her beak inside the male’s, as if looking for food, even when no food is in play.

I wonder if it’s partly the female reminding the male that there are times of the year when he will need to feed her. During nesting season, when she’s stuck on the nest incubating the eggs, she’ll have to rely on him to remember to keep her fed.

I haven’t seen crows play these beak games, but their equivalent seems to be that, at the beginning of nesting season, female crows mimic the begging calls and postures of a fledgling in order to get the males into Nest Dash mode.

Anyway, like most of the raven couple behaviour, it looks like fun — but with a practical component.

When I take photographs of raven pairs, I’m always thinking of them being in a big family album.

A mix of formal portraits …

… and those candid snapshots that make up a lifetime together.

Somehow, the lyrics of “This Is Us” by Mark Knofler always run through my head.

So, as we approach another Valentine’s Day, I’m not saying don’t buy your loved one roses and/or chocolates … but just think how surprised they’d be if you thoughtfully offered to check their hair for parasites as well!

Some other posts about ravens:

 

________________________________________________________________________________________

© junehunterimages, 2023. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to junehunterimages with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

Tiny Warrior Hummingbirds

/ The Urban Nature Enthusiast / 15 Comments

The Anna’s Hummingbird is Vancouver’s Official Bird, elected to the post in 2017.
I imagine they won by simply staring at the competition like this  . . .

. . . until they withdrew their applications.

All of that avian attitude is certainly in play this week as temperatures plunge far below seasonal norms and snow blankets the Vancouver landscape.

Every morning when I open the back door, I hear a loud and indignant tutting.

I would not be surprised to hear an accompanying request to speak to the manager.

You can see why the Anna’s Hummingbirds might be a bit exasperated. Over the past 70 years, milder winters, flowery gardens and well-tended hummingbird feeders have convinced them to expand their range from southern California to southern BC.

Some time in the 90’s they started to forgo the southern migration and stay here all winter. This week, however, I think they’re wondering if it’s too late to book that package holiday to the sun. They are not alone in that.

Luckily, they’re remarkably tough little birds. Delicate as they look, they have a few winter survival tricks up their iridescently-feathered sleeves.

Unlike other hummingbirds, the Anna’s isn’t solely reliant on nectar for sustenance. Insects, spiders and tree sap broaden their dietary options.

During the cold nights they enter an “energy save” mode, called torpor. During this mini-hibernation, their heart rate slows from a daytime rate of 21 beats per second to a mediative one beat per two seconds. At the same time their body temperature lowers from a toasty 107 degrees to 48.

In spite of their toughness, they could use our help this week.

While temperatures are below freezing for days on end, the insect and tree sap supply is out of commission. Waking up from their night-time torpor, they need breakfast ASAP to top up the energy banks and, right now, hummingbird feeders are their only option. Equipped with formidable memories, these little birds can remember the location of each food source in their territory, and if they get to the feeder in your garden and it’s empty or frozen, they will be very, very disappointed in you . . .

. . . and you certainly don’t want that!

Some tips for keeping your hummingbird feeder thawed and snow-free:

  • Keep at least two feeders so you can keep one in the house thawed and ready to replace the frozen one outside
  • Hang the feeder under cover if possible, or with a bird feeder dome over it to stop the nectar ports from getting snow-covered
  • External heat sources will help to keep the nectar thawed. Ideas include: a trouble light hung nearby, incandescent (the old-style heat-producing) Christmas lights hung around the feeder, hand warmers, mug warmer or aquarium mat (for lizards) taped to bottom of feeder
  • Insulating the feeder with old socks or bubble wrap can help

A 2022 update on hummingbird feeder heaters …

I have the one shown in the video below, available at some Wild Birds Unlimited shops or online.

 

There are various models available and here’s a review of some of them — most seem to use the same basic method of holding a bulb under the feeder to raise the temperature just a bit. I found mine kept the nectar from freezing unless temperatures get down to about minus ten, in which case it’s back to getting up early and putting out fresh nectar before dawn.

 

If the worst happens and you find a hummingbird in distress and too cold or tired to fly, contact your local wildlife rescue. More information here from Wildlife Rescue BC.

If you’d like to read more about these amazing birds, this well-headlined Tyee article by Kerry Banks is full of fun facts:
The Amazingly Cool Anna’s Hummingbird Scoffs at Winter|
Vancouver’s official bird is a sex-crazed, smart, supercharged recent arrival.

 

 

_________________________________________________________________________________________

© junehunterimages, 2020. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to junehunterimages with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.