I'd taken the birdfeeders down because of the high winds earlier this week, and just put them back up this morning, and the birds were *ready for it*. while I was out there on the porch a hummingbird came up to the feeder, about two feet from me, watching me warily. the chickadees, juncos, and crows gathered while I swept the porch. as soon as I went back inside there was a FEEDING FRENZY, including a downy woodpecker. XD
@BertL I'm in Seattle, WA. the Anna's hummingbird has extended its winter range up here, through all the urban and suburban range along the coast, because humans keep putting out hummingbird feeders and make year-round nectar available. http://www.seattleaudubon.org/sas/Learn/SeasonalFacts/Hummingbirds.aspx has a good page about Seattle hummingbirds in winter. at the wildlife rehab center, I'm told they get more hummingbirds in winter as people find them downed and unable to fly.
@BertL I feel like I'm birdbragging, lol! XD there's a big stretch of untended greenspace, mostly trees, behind our building, and a large pond, so we get ducks--mostly mallards of course, but also some buffleheads and other assorted hard-to-identify probably mallard hybrids, and the occasional kingfisher. also this spring there were three Cooper's hawks raised back there. the barred owls are *everywhere* in Seattle, it seems like, and *aggressively cranky* this time of year...
