GC.SUL@forsythe.stanford.edu (Sullivan) (12/20/89)
Thought this might be of interest to those of you with outdoor aviaries and/or cat problems. Last spring I got an aviary from a local Wildlife Rescue group that rehabilitates hummingbirds. I grow over 300 different plants that have nectar accessable for hummingbirds; have the whole 1/4 acre planted for them, and am in a good spot to release them. I don't do the actual rehabilitation-it takes very specialized care and constant feeding-of babies and injured adults. What I do is take the birds that are strong enough to feed freely, but perhaps not ready to be released, and keep them in the aviary several weeks. I put about 5 different flowering plants in every few days along with the feeding solution (changed twice a day) This way, the birds learn how to enter different types of flowers in the safety of the aviary. Then, I open the door and out they go. When we first set the aviary out, my cat was fascinated, and crouched outside the aviary. I was afraid she might knock it over, or snag a sleeping bird if it was too close to the mesh. I wanted a way to convince her to STAY AWAY from the aviary at all times. Yelling at her or throwing gravel had little affect. I finally found a solution that REALLY worked. Every time she was within 5 feet of the aviary I yelled "get out of there: and lobbed a water balloon right at her. I only had to do it 3 times-and never saw her anywhere near the aviary again! Since there has been discussion of how to keep cats away from feeders, etc, I thought it might be a good idea to share this-it worked, and did not injure the cat. (only her dignity) K. Sullivan Hummingbird Gardens Nursery
denise@dadla.WR.TEK.COM (Denise Caire) (01/06/90)
In article <6599@lindy.Stanford.EDU> GC.SUL@forsythe.stanford.edu (Sullivan) writes: > >I finally >found a solution that REALLY worked. Every time she was within 5 >feet of the aviary I yelled "get out of there: and lobbed a water >balloon right at her. I only had to do it 3 times-and never saw her >anywhere near the aviary again! Since there has been discussion of >how to keep cats away from feeders, etc, I thought it might be a >good idea to share this-it worked, and did not injure the cat. (only >her dignity) > >K. Sullivan >Hummingbird Gardens Nursery Spraying a cat with water is an excellant way to change its behavior! The only problem is being around often enough when the unexceptable behavior is being displayed. I heard a story from a friend who's Mom effectively trained a neighbor cat bothering the birds at the feeder by patiently waiting every morning and then whacking it with a broom. (My friend also stated that her Mom would normally never hurt anything but the cat needed to learn to stay out of her yard.) I have an idea for a device that when placed in proximity of a bird feeder could detect and spray a cat with water. It wouldn't take long for any cat to learn to stay away from a feeder that sprays it! Is there a mechanical engineer out there with whom I can collaborate with to develop such an item? From the amount of controversy on the net lately (my oponions included), I bet such a mechanism could be sold commercially. Denise Caire denise@dadla.WR.TEK.COM P.S. Do humming birds migrate? If they do, where to?
sandra@pyrtech (Sandra Macika) (01/10/90)
In article <1267@wrgate.WR.TEK.COM> denise@dadla.WR.TEK.COM (Denise Caire) writes: > >Do humming birds migrate? If they do, where to? > >Denise Caire They sure do. I know that they migrate all up and down the Western Coast of North and South America. I am sure other ares too. Sandra
dmark@acsu.Buffalo.EDU (David Mark) (01/10/90)
In article <97783@pyramid.pyramid.com> sandra@pyrtech.pyramid.com (Sandra Macika) writes: >In article <1267@wrgate.WR.TEK.COM> denise@dadla.WR.TEK.COM (Denise Caire) writes: >> >>Do humming birds migrate? If they do, where to? >> >>Denise Caire > >They sure do. I know that they migrate all up and down the Western Coast of >North and South America. I am sure other ares too. > >Sandra Well, actually, *most* US hummingbirds migrate out of the US, to winter in Mexico or even further south. We (US and Canada) have two non-migratory breeding species: Anna's Hummingbird, very common in much of Cailfornia, wintering regularly at least as far north as Vancouver, Canada (where in winter they are feeder-dependent); and Buff-bellied Hummingbird, resident in the Lower Rio Grande Valley of Texas, and south into Mexico. Most of the hummingbirds live in the American tropics, and are non-migratory, but often with seasonal altitudinal movements. I would expect a few migratory ones in temperate southern South America. David Mark
mjm@oliven.olivetti.com (Michael Mammoser) (01/10/90)
In article <1267@wrgate.WR.TEK.COM>, denise@dadla.WR.TEK.COM (Denise Caire) writes: > > P.S. > Do humming birds migrate? If they do, where to? Most species of North American hummingbirds do migrate. They tend to winter in Mexico and Central/South America. Many of the Texas and Arizona specialties live year-round in Mexico and points south, but extend their breeding range into small limited areas of these two states. These would include Lucifer, Broad-Billed, Violet-Crowned, Blue-Throated, and Magnificent. Some are rare vagrants or breeders in these two states; such as, Green Violet-Ear, Berylline, White-Eared, and Plain-Capped Starthroat. Then there are a couple of West Indian species that rarely make it into south Florida; Cuban Emerald and Bahama Woodstar. I believe that the Buff-Bellied Hummingbird is a year-round resident of the Rio Grande Valley. The Costa's Hummingbird, although migratory, has a range of permanent residency that includes Baja and extreme northwestern Mexico, southeast California, and southwest Arizona; such that this bird can be found year-round in the U.S. The rest of the North American hummers are extremely migratory, with the exception of one species; Anna's Hummingbird. This bird may wander somewhat in winter in the southwest but, for all intents and purposes, is nonmigratory. Its range extends along the entire west coast of the U.S. as well as south into Baja and north into B.C. Its original range was supposedly restricted to Baja and southern California, but has gone through an explosive expansion in recent decades. It is probably still expanding into Arizona. I recently read an interesting article about a Costa's hummer that was visiting a feeder in Alaska this last fall. Not only was the bird well out of range, but it was late in the season and the bird was showing no inclination to migrate. The day before the first snow fall of the season, the hummer was trapped and flown (free of charge) to Washington state, where it was released into a meadow full of flowers that was occupied by numerous hummers. Mike