Today I got my first hummingbird at the balcony. Unfortunately I was just opening the screen door to go outside and it skedaddled. It hasn’t returned; maybe it already scoped out the flowers and found nothing of interest. I’m not really sure if hummingbirds eat geraniums, dianthus, or petunias, but my guess would be they’re not a very hearty meal.

 A few weeks ago when I was at my local Wild Birds Unlimited (which isn’t so local anymore, it’s such a hike that I go maybe once a month, unfortunately), I was looking at the little glass hummingbird feeders, trying to decide if I wanted to get into any more feeding responsibility than providing peanuts in my little froggy dish. The thought of cleaning those little glass tubes 2-3 times a week was unappealing and I wasn’t sure I’d get enough action out of it. Of course, now that I actually saw a hummingbird here, I’m having second thoughts. I think maybe I’ll buy 2 of the feeders, then I can have one in the dishwasher so I’ll always have one clean feeder available.

As for the watering hole — I was very upset to have to give up my bird bath when we moved here last October. I have a really cute one, it’s terracotta with a glazed blue interior, and you can hang it or put it on stand on the ground. I’ve had it in 2 different places and had a blast watching the birds taking their baths. I miss that. In the first place I had it up, the birds came at 1:00 pm every day (give or take a few minutes). What a show! But now, on a balcony, without an easy way to clean it, I just can’t see myself maintaining one. I also have a winter feeder with a heater, but we have no outlet on the balcony. So a proper birdbath was out.

I’m still providing water for drinking though. My oregano plant — a standard terracotta pot with matching base — tends to drain water easily, and the base was always full of water. So the little birds are drinking out of that. It’s not as good as watching a bird take a hearty bath, but it’s nice. The chickadees in particular like to drink when we’re outside — actually I think it’s just one chickadee who is the boldest one, but who can tell? He perches a bit behind the pot and frequently pops his head out to make sure we’re not up to anything fishy.

Roman is even starting to pay more attention to their activities. I know it’s anthropomorphizing, but it really seems like such a little dramatic world out there, an avian Peyton Place. I think by the end of summer, the birds will be eating freely while we’re out there. And I’m thinking of tempting the chickadee to eat from my hand, but I’m not sure I have the patience. I have no doubt he has the nerve.