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olderthanIusedtobe
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olderthanIusedtobe
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PostThu May 09, 2019 6:12 pm 
Yes I would definitely describe it as passive. Haven't noticed an ant colony but I'll look closer.

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Mike Collins
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PostThu May 09, 2019 10:58 pm 
Do you have a bird bath nearby? Or a nearby spot where birds can get wet? It looks like anting but I have only seen anting immediately next to the ant colony where dozens of ants can crawl all over the bird. There just are much better places to find ants then in the middle of the lawn. The photo with the Steller jay's mouth agape leads me to think it may be engaged in temperature control by panting. Birds will also cool off by immersing themselves in water and then splaying out the feathers to dry. With the current hot weather the bird may have been forced to use this cooling mechanism. Here is an interesting article. You can scroll down to page 166 for the summary. https://rnd.edpsciences.org/articles/rnd/pdf/1970/06/ABABB_0003-388X_1970_10_hs2_ART0014.pdf

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olderthanIusedtobe
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PostThu May 09, 2019 11:10 pm 
I checked the woodpile, I didn't see any ant activity. I actually wondered about heat regulation when I first saw it. No bird bath, not sure about a source of water in the immediate vicinity, nothing I'm aware of.

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Mike Collins
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PostFri May 10, 2019 8:08 am 
Did the bird exhibit this behavior later in the day? i.e. When it is hottest? It could have been seeking out the microclimate of the lawn for the cooling effect. When we walk on grass barefoot it feels cooler because it is. I have to side with the thermoregulation explanation for the posturing and mouth display seen in the photos.

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olderthanIusedtobe
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PostFri May 10, 2019 11:30 am 
Mid afternoon, it was definitely warm.

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Bootpathguy
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PostMon May 13, 2019 7:52 pm 
First time I was a witness to this. I was working on some outdoor deck stairs. A crushed rock & gravel path leads to the stairs. I watched a hummingbird, several times, and about 3 feet away from me, hover above the gravel and stick his long tongue down into, and between, the spaces & gaps of the crushed stones. It left and returned half dozen times or more. The entire back yard is blossomed out with rhododendrons and the neighbors yard with wisteria. I assume it's mixing up it's diet with insects? Minerals?

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Anne Elk
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PostMon May 13, 2019 9:38 pm 
They do eat small insects, but it could also be this (from wildbirdsonline.com):
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Female Anna's hummingbirds, which nest in Southeastern Arizona during the month of January, pick up tiny grains of grit and sand and eat them. Evidently, the purpose of this is to regain lost calcium that was used in forming eggshells.

"There are yahoos out there. It’s why we can’t have nice things." - Tom Mahood
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Bootpathguy
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PostMon May 13, 2019 9:41 pm 
Anne Elk wrote:
They do eat small insects, but it could also be this (from wildbirdsonline.com):
Quote:
Female Anna's hummingbirds, which nest in Southeastern Arizona during the month of January, pick up tiny grains of grit and sand and eat them. Evidently, the purpose of this is to regain lost calcium that was used in forming eggshells.
Very interesting. Thanks for the response

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Kascadia
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PostTue May 14, 2019 1:39 pm 
Small insects and spiders form a large part of the hummingbird's diet. They are also attracted to the sap releases created by sapsuckers on trees, due to the fact that insects are also attracted to them. Hummingbird rescues will use overripe bananas in cages to attract insects for the birds to feed on.

It is as though I had read a divine text, written into the world itself, not with letters but rather with essential objects, saying: Man, stretch thy reason hither, so thou mayest comprehend these things. Johannes Kepler
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Mike Collins
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PostWed May 15, 2019 5:34 am 
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Bootpathguy
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PostWed May 15, 2019 6:47 am 
Cool. Thanks all

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olderthanIusedtobe
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PostSun May 19, 2019 4:29 pm 
Saw an osprey at Boeing Creek Park yesterday. I've seen eagles there a few times but I don't recall seeing their smaller cousins previously.

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mike
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PostMon May 20, 2019 2:32 am 
Handa

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kite
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PostMon May 20, 2019 5:35 pm 
that's a big backyard you have smile.gif

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Bedivere
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PostMon May 20, 2019 11:03 pm 
kite wrote:
that's a big backyard you have smile.gif
And I really like the landscaping!

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