很快，這不絕於耳的打鬥聲開始讓我心煩意亂，越來越坐立不安，我無法清靜地坐在桌前看書工作。早上11點多電話會議結束後，忍無可忍的我衝出門，爬上去把糖罐拿了下來，很想好好教育一番小鳥。那隻守在附近的蜂鳥很快發現糖水罐不見了，飛到空空的架下不停飛舞著，迷茫著，好像在問"who took my honey?"
In the backyard, a tall stem erected from a Aloe vera was bearing a couple of bell-shaped flowers, attracting hummingbirds for the honey. As I saw a pitiful bird fluttering hard, poking its beak deep into a narrow flower tube for meagre honey, my sympathy was roused. Weeks later, an old hummingbird feeder, found back in the garage, was cleaned, filled with dissolved sugar water, and hung on the trellis.
The bright red color base with four yellow flower-shaped petals as its feeding mouths, designed for color-sensitive hummingbird, soon effectively lured a hummingbird, who examined the feeder and the area fully before plunging in and sucked more than 10 times (A record of around 60 was noticed days later for a hummingbird).
But when more birds wanted to join the party the next day, the happy aggressive hummingbird turned sour. In an attempt to claim the sole ownership, it started chasing off any other hummingbird from the area, and thus sparked a bout of fights. At a lightning speed, the hummingbirds whooshed by. Then in a second they rose up to the sky, and plummeted like a rock, bumping against each other in the air with all its force and strength. The fights culminated the following day, and for the whole day while I was working next to window, the garden was engulfed in the fighting noises, sharp, high-pitched and non-stopped. The scarcity of food source has made hummingbird selfish. Their presence was not a joy as I expected, but an irritant. For once, I stormed out of the door, took the feeder down and shut myself in, leaving the hapless hummingbird confused and restlessly hovering under the empty space. But then empathy triumphed, and the feeder was put back to the spot.
Luckily the intensity ebbed after a day or two before the backyard resumed its normalcy on Wednesday. The aggressive hummingbird, though still seen circling around and chasing off others in the dusk, was no longer so agitated in the day. It visited the backyard a few times in the morning and the afternoon, rested on a slender dangling vine by the feeder, or perched at the tip of a new dragon fruit shoot, overlooking the yard, and then soared away in a fleeting second.
回複 '7grizzly' 的評論 : Hi, My friend. Thanks for visiting and comments. As time goes on, it seems like they are getting on better. I did not go and buy another feeder, kind of lazy. If they can get along well, it would be better to just have one, as the sugar water can easily attract ants.
Yes, dragon fruits are not cheap, as they are not very productive, and that it takes about two months for the fruits to be ready. It is said to be full of antioxidants. But my backyard is too small, far from being a goldmine:)) Have a great new week!
Great observation! So the birds sorted things out among themselves :-) Indeed, it would be interesting to see what if you put two feeders out, at the risk of more noise.
Dragon fruits are pricy as I just discovered. I have never eaten them. You are cultivating a goldmine ;-)
很快，這不絕於耳的打鬥聲開始讓我心煩意亂，越來越坐立不安，我無法清靜地坐在桌前看書工作。早上11點多電話會議結束後，忍無可忍的我衝出門，爬上去把糖罐拿了下來，很想好好教育一番小鳥。那隻守在附近的蜂鳥很快發現糖水罐不見了，飛到空空的架下不停飛舞著，迷茫著，好像在問"who took my honey?"
In the backyard, a tall stem erected from a Aloe vera was bearing a couple of bell-shaped flowers, attracting hummingbirds for the honey. As I saw a pitiful bird fluttering hard, poking its beak deep into a narrow flower tube for meagre honey, my sympathy was roused. Weeks later, an old hummingbird feeder, found back in the garage, was cleaned, filled with dissolved sugar water, and hung on the trellis.
The bright red color base with four yellow flower-shaped petals as its feeding mouths, designed for color-sensitive hummingbird, soon effectively lured a hummingbird, who examined the feeder and the area fully before plunging in and sucked more than 10 times (A record of around 60 was noticed days later for a hummingbird).
But when more birds wanted to join the party the next day, the happy aggressive hummingbird turned sour. In an attempt to claim the sole ownership, it started chasing off any other hummingbird from the area, and thus sparked a bout of fights. At a lightning speed, the hummingbirds whooshed by. Then in a second they rose up to the sky, and plummeted like a rock, bumping against each other in the air with all its force and strength. The fights culminated the following day, and for the whole day while I was working next to window, the garden was engulfed in the fighting noises, sharp, high-pitched and non-stopped. The scarcity of food source has made hummingbird selfish. Their presence was not a joy as I expected, but an irritant. For once, I stormed out of the door, took the feeder down and shut myself in, leaving the hapless hummingbird confused and restlessly hovering under the empty space. But then empathy triumphed, and the feeder was put back to the spot.
Luckily the intensity ebbed after a day or two before the backyard resumed its normalcy on Wednesday. The aggressive hummingbird, though still seen circling around and chasing off others in the dusk, was no longer so agitated in the day. It visited the backyard a few times in the morning and the afternoon, rested on a slender dangling vine by the feeder, or perched at the tip of a new dragon fruit shoot, overlooking the yard, and then soared away in a fleeting second.
