By Staff
A reader asked me to do more columns on the "dots," so here we go.
Last Tuesday I sat and watched the "dot" feeder in the garden.
I wanted to see if I still had any "dots" around.
None showed up. I thought maybe the baby "dots" had left, too, as that was all I had left.
First I noticed weeks ago no males, then no adult females.
I knew it was time for their long journey south, their migratory time-clocks ticking.
But lo and behold, Friday I saw a large female "dot" around the feeder. She must have been stopping by on her way south.
Sometimes a few adults from way up north on their way south stop and refuel.
That's why I leave my feeders up until the second week of October.
Don't worry, some say to take your feeders down because it will cause the "dots" to stay and linger around here way past their time to migrate.
Animals are way more smart than what we humans give them credit. When that migratory time-clock says go, they go.
Back to my feeder.
I want to share with you an experience I had. As I watched my feeder three baby "dots" showed up, separately.
I could tell they were different birds because one was way smaller (so cute) and more trusting.
This bird was a very inquisitive little bugger. After it ate it flew slowly towards me and hovered a couple feet away.
This tiny bird was looking me over. It then returned to the feeder. After getting another couple gulps (by the way, this whole time I held really still), it flew back towards me, only closer this time.
I only wondered what the "dot" was thinking as it hovered so close. I closed my eyes, even though I had my glasses to protect my eyes.
It got so close I could feel the air from its beating wings on my hair.
I know my hair looks like a bird's nest, but really! After a moment or two, with my eyes still closed, it flew off.
Another "dot" was larger and more afraid of me. The other "dot" had a deeper sounding hum to its wings when it flew.
So I still have "dots."
Do you? If you do, savor them because it won't be long now before they are gone for this year.
I want to leave the feeder up as long as possible to give these birds every advantage to drink up before they head south.
To end this column today, I will leave you with this tidbit, found in Birds and Blooms.
A reader wondered how the "dot" feeds its young. Did it hold the nectar or sugar water in its mouth? But no, they thought, its bill was way too narrow, so how do they feed the chicks?
They actually do use their bill, by placing a spider or insect right into the chick's open mouth and by holding the nectar or pollen in the adult's throat and then squirting it into the chick's mouth.
Sometimes it's quite a mouthful and the chick's throat swells up. It looks like it has a goiter until it gulps it down.
To me, the garden is a doorway to other worlds; one of them, of course, is the world of birds.
Anne Raver