Get your feeders up!
Just wanted to tell you first thing this morning. Hummingbirds have been spotted in both Michigan’s Upper and Lower Peninsulas. My mom put up the feeder down in Yale on Friday. She offered a “signficant” prize for the person who saw the first hummingbird. She wouldn’t tell my dad and me what the prize might be. “Signficant prize,” was all she said.
On Saturday she excitedly announced, “I saw the first hummingbird!”
“You get the prize,” I sighed, “but what is the prize?”
“A hundred-dollar bill,” she said smugly.
Hmmm…now she tells us. For that signficant prize Dad and I might have spent our whole time together staring at that feeder, waiting for the first sighting!
It’s the males that have arrived from southern vacations, all red and green and glowing with their vibrant male colors. Females follow, approximately one week to ten days later.
Barry called from home in the U.P. on Saturday night, just before our big family dinner in Yale.
“The first hummingbird!” he said. “I just saw the first hummingbird!”
(This proved that the hummingbirds had already been in Yale for about a week or more, as it takes that long for the little fellas to fly the 550 miles north to our house. Or else one lone hummer headed full steam for the woods near L’Anse because he was desperately homesick.)
I just wanted you to know that hummingbirds have been spotted in the U.P. and so have I! I’m back near the shores of Lake Superior getting ready to go back to work at the school. Only missed one day of work this trip, phew! Here was my Facebook status a few minutes ago: Hummingbirds have made their way back to the Upper Peninsula from the south~~and so have I! Loving returning to the shores of Lake Superior in our cozy house in the woods. Sipping the nectar of life along with those hummies…
My mom said the visit was one of the best surprises of her life. Maybe the best.
Grin. 🙂
Lake Superior Spirit 
Grin.
Grinning back.
I put the feeder up last weekend and we’ve had a visitor all week. So he was probably around even before that…
Glad you’re home safe and sound. I imagine it is a wonderful thing to go home to the shores of Lake Superior…and of course the husband in the little house in the woods.
Wonderful trip you had! Isn’t it grand to have family!
It felt like a long long trip back to the UP, Dawn. The trip down seemed like it lasted two minutes. Strange how perception is. It IS grand to have family–(and blog family, too.)
I think the trip home is always longer than the trip off to vacation.
I agree. Wonder why? In my case I think I’m always a tad bit more excited to head off on a new adventure than to return to more known adventure.
Hummingbird sightings and being able to delight mom — life is good. Very, very good!
Life is good. It is indeed, Laurie.
I’m ready – if I don’t get any other decent shots this year, I’d like to at least get one hummingbird shot! I can just picture a little beauty buzzing around your feeder in your photo above, it would make a great image!!
You’ll get a hummingbird shot, Holly. I know you will. I figure we need the shot of the feeder first. Then the hummingbird. All in proper order!
Not sure if they’re here yet in Nova Scotia — but thanks for the reminder to get a feeder.
Do you really think the prize would have been $100 if you saw it first ?
That is the BEST question, Sybil. Why do I suspect not? lol! It’s easy to say that was the prize in retrospect, after SHE won. Yep, you better get your feeder out.
Sweet! HUMMMM!!!
I can just hear that hummin’ buzzin’ magical bird. Hope you’ve sighted many of them so far, Jeff.
Now those kind of hummers I love. Enjoy your time back at home with the fast moving birds. Of course, I am still waiting for photographic proof. 😉
Just as I told Holly, Scott, you have to show the photograph of the feeder first. Then the birds swoop in…and then you show the photograph of the hummer. (OK, truth is I didn’t have TIME to stand there waiting for the hummingbird. Much too busy laughing and talking and hugging my precious family. I DO believe my mom, though. If she said she saw one, she sure as anything saw one.)
Life is full of blessings!
It is indeed, Carol, thank goodness…
Very cool! A surprise visit…nice.
I’m still grinnin’, Marianne. Thank you!
Put our feeder up yesterday in fact. no sightings yet but with 43 degree temps this morning i’m sure once it’s found it will be visited frequently. last year i was sitting on the deck at our place in Skanee watching an eagle soar over Huron bay . All of the sudden a hummer was right in my face , scared the bejesus out of me. I think he was attracted to the bottle of gatorade i was sipping on. what a contrast and what a shock ! they certainly are a wonder to behold.
Jeff V, you’re even further south than the Thumb of Michigan, aren’t you? You’re not up in Skanee now, are you? I’ll bet that hummer was very interested in your gatorade, or maybe he just wanted to show you that he was as important as that majestic eagle!
🙂 Welcome Home Ms. Kathy! I bet your Mom and Dad were sad to see you go. But at least now the hummingbirds will entertain them! I’ll be sure to get my feeder out now too…maybe I’ll be lucky enough to get one or two here. We saw a couple of them last year, all throughout the summer.
I hope you’re getting this gorgeous sunshine that we have here…it’s beautiful outside!! 🙂
Hi, Brenda! It’s always hard to see our kids go, isn’t it? I am glad they’ll be able to watch the hummingbirds. (And there are cardinals down there, too.) I hope you’ll get to see a few of the beautiful birds. If not, gorgeous sunshine is always a treat!
Hummingbird sightings and your Mom’s sweet comment made your visit extra-special, Kathy. Glad you’re safely back home.
It was an extra-special trip, Barb. Glad to be home, as always. Thank you.
Yay for hummingbirds! I got my very first hummingbird shots this year; I’ll send my “Rebel powers” along to you so that you can get one too! (Remember to use a quick shutter speed!)
I wonder what my mom would do if I suddenly drove the 200 miles to surprise her? Tis more of a production for me with kiddos living at home, of course.
OK, Karma, if you’re reading the comments, please tell me this secret (that probably all Rebel owners already know.) Is a quick shutter speed the same as ISO? I am thinking it’s not. Sigh… I will attempt to photograph one of the hummers this spring/summer for sure. Your powers are greatly appreciated. P.S. you’ve got to try the surprise visit! I thoroughly recommend it. Especially if you know she’ll be home & she’s a flexible sort.
I saw above your theory about showing the picture of the feeder first – it worked for me!
No, fast shutter speed isn’t the same as ISO. ISO is kinda related to the old days of film speed. Remember that? ISO100 film was for bright light situations, not much action. Higher ISO’s capture more light & action in less light situations, but you’ll have more “noise” or “grain” in your shots. Scott tells me I should try a shot with a shutter speed (how quickly the shutter opens and closes) of 1/1000 or higher to try to get a stop action shot of a humming bird.
I need a class. You see (saying this in a whisper) I don’t know how to set the camera at 1/1000. And I’ve even been reading the manual, a tiny bit. Could you come and visit and show me for a day or two? Please?
Those birds will have to keep their tiny wings beating pretty fast if they’re in Leelanau today. It’s sunny but COLD! I’m guessing it’s cold in the Keewanaw, too?
Hi, Pamela! You are so guessing right. It’s been sunny but cold the last couple of days. Today a strong wind is blowing, so our mid-50’s feel like the mid-40’s. Brrrr… By the way, I can’t remember, have you found any morels? I went searching once and came back empty-handed; may go again tomorrow.
Our little guys are huddling around the two feeders, in the rain, hoping for some sun. Or maybe it’s my imagination and they’re just enjoying an evening snack and a bath. Quite a few stay all year and there is a nest in the tree just outside the office window….fun. I’m glad your’s are back.
From my own mom-vantage-point I can well imagine your Mom’s surprise and utter delight!!
Hi Colleen. I hope your little guys have some sun by now. I talked to my California friend, Melinda, this morning, who lives in the mountains near Yosemite and she said they had snow there last week. I hope you have a wonderful upcoming visit with your own mom.
How exciting! 🙂
Good luck, getting pictures of them!
I will need a little bit of luck and knowledge about how to adjust shutter speed. Barring that, I will need a LOT of luck! Thank you, Micheala.
Grats! I’m happy to hear they made it that far. Some were spotted way down here on April 8th. Most of them stick around here for a week or so though and fatten up for the trip north. At least they seem to…there will be a few around for a week or so and then none for while and then more will show up every other week.
It’s always amazing to consider how these little tiny birds travel for thousands of miles. How do they do it? (I suppose it’s because they’re fattening up on feeders and flowers like yours farther south.)
I’d love to come visit you sometime so we could play with the Rebels together! Quicky lesson for shutter speed: turn your dial to the Tv setting. A box should be highlighted in the upper left corner of you LCD screen in light gray which will tell you what the shutter is currently set for. Turn the command wheel (that wheelie thing with the little “teeth” in front of the ISO button) until you reach the shutter speed you want. 1/4000 of a second seems to be the fastest my Rebel will shoot – but you’d have to be in bright light for that to work.
I meant to answer this earlier~~I was SO EXCITED that you took the time to explain this to me. Big hugs, Karma! This is the kind of information I want but can’t seem to glean from the manual. Hurray! I am actually going to print this off right now. Thanks, sweetie!