We had a very nice visitor this morning. This oriole stayed around most of the morning and seemed as interested in us as we were of him. A pleasant surprise.

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Do you have feeders out, Dave.

They seem to be more popular in Winter?

Hi James, we quit putting bird seed out about the last of April. But we have lots of water, shrubs and flowers that attract birds.

Here in central New York State I have put out orange halves, grape jelly, an oriole feeder for over five years. Total sightings? One. And that one was two years ago. Other people have them around us but we have a hard time attracting them. Same with the indigo buntings, rose-breasted grosbeaks, scarlet tanagers. We've got other feeders, bushes and trees, nearby woods. Oh, well! We'll appreciate the hummingbirds, purple finches, goldfinches, cardinals, three kinds of woodpeckers, etc. we do attract.

That's great Dave! I love it when our feathered friends visit us. Where do you live?

I had an oddball bird visit the other day as well that I can share. I was in my shop with the overhead door open. I heard a strange buzzing sound, and it turned out a hummingbird had flown in and was trying to sit on top of one of my fluorescent lights! After awhile he(?) found a perch up in the rafters. I was concerned about him getting stuck in the shop, so I decided to see if I could get him out. I used a plastic garden tool handle and tried to shoo him towards the door, but no luck. He seemed to be really calm when perched. Hmmmmm....... Then I held the tool up next to him and got him to step out onto the handle. I started moving the handle down, but it must have been too fast and he flew back up into the rafters. I got him to step on the handle again. This time I lowered it v-e-r-y slowly. I managed to lower him down to where I could reach and them closed my hand around him from the back. I ended up with a fist full of hummingbird!

It was so crazy I had to show my wife (no one would believe me otherwise that I caught one). I walked into the house with just his beak sticking out the top of my fist. She said "What have you got?" She looked closer. "It's a HUMMINGBIRD! How did you manage to catch a hummingbird?" I just had to smile and tell her, "I guess I'm just fast, huh?" It was really good for a laugh. How many people can say they actually caught a hummingbird? I didn't even think to get a picture I was so shocked by it all.

The strangest thing is he didn't struggle at all. He must have felt either really secure or scared out of his wits! He just sat there in my fist and blinked. I didn't realize how light they really are. It felt like a couple of cotton balls in my fist.

All's well that ends well. I took him out front and put him on the perch at one of the feeders we have. He must have told his friends that we were OK after all - as of today we have three around our house now.

Maree and I saw one darting into a bush in Hollywood...(tick)....

I did not know they were so small.

[QUOTE=TinyTiger;338230]That's great Dave! I love it when our feathered friends visit us. Where do you live?

Hi Russ, I live in central WV, along the Little Kanawha river.

A gang of Blackbirds come to my garage to steal my two *****es' food.