Screen capture via PhoebeCam
The Phoebe Cam is fully operational again–hurry, come see!
Phoebe's* been zipping around her rose bush this morning, practicing her take-offs and landings. Last year's nest is completely refurbished, and it looks like she'll be laying new eggs really soon…
*I should mention here that this may or may not be the Phoebe we've come to know and love. By way of explanation, here's what the site operator had to say: "It is too difficult to determine who it is from season to season. By choosing to occupy the rose bush [the nest builder we're seeing here] agrees to be called Phoebe of the manor."
So exciting! And beautiful! 🙂
Mother Nature sure knows how to keep things exciting! And yes, as you said, beautiful. 🙂
*LOVE* that hat in your icon, my friend. It’s very spiffy! 🙂
Yay for Phoebe!!! I’m glad to see her make a triumphant return! I wish my tangerin tree/hummingbird habitat hadn’t been murdered. I miss my hummies!!!
🙂
I’m feelin’ pretty fancy, I must say.
It’s tragic to think back on that horrific experience, and I’m sorry you don’t have any hummingbird nests close by. But on the bright side, we can cozy up to this rose bush…us, and umpty-thousand other Phoebe Phans.
Welcome back, Phoebe!
She’s a welcome sight, isn’t she?
Oh, how beautiful! So lovely of you to share this with us, Melodye.
We’re all fortunate, I think, to have this close-up view of Phoebe’s nest. Such a miracle…a splash of sunshine, as we head into winter.
“By choosing to occupy the rose bush [the nest builder we’re seeing here] agrees to be called Phoebe of the manor.”
This makes me giggle. Do you suppose she signed her Rosebush User Agreement and Terms of Service? ;-D
I know, right? I laughed out loud when I read that.
And on the other hand, we have an implied agreement of our own…We, the undersigned Phoebe Phans, agree to suspend disbelief and ignore common sense, so as to fully enjoy this and all future nesting experiences.
Oh yay! How gorgeous! I’m so glad you’ve tuned us into the Phoebe season. 🙂
Melodye, that’s a beautiful image of possible-Phoebe and her surroundings. I clicked on the “come see”, but unfortunately I got this message:
“This Account Has Been Suspended”
On another (but somewhat related) subject, I was reading a new issue of “Popular Science” and saw a short piece about a “faux” hummingbird which has been developed for surveillance. Not as pretty as your Phoebe, but quite fascinating (at leas to me). Here’s the URL for the developer:
http://www.avinc.com/nano
There are some cool videos there showing the “Nano Hummingbird” in flight, with a smaller window showing the view FROM the device. — PL
Ack! Thanks for letting me know!!! I checked Phoebe’s Facebook page (Phoebe Allens), and the site owner’s temporarily referring everyone to UStream, another camera site. I’ve edited the link up top, but here it is, for easy reference:
http://www.ustream.tv/HummingbirdNestCam
I’ll check back later, so as to watch the hummer drones at my leisure. Sounds really cool, although–hmmm…I don’t know that I like the idea of “our” beautiful birds being replicated for nefarious purposes. *the mind boggles*
Melodye,
That link works, though I must say I was momentarily taken aback when — after only a few seconds of PhoebeCam viewing — an advertisement for a videogame popped up, taking over the screen! I did sit through that, only about thirty seconds, and then Phoebe — or at least her nest (and is that an egg in it? — came back.
“I’ll check back later, so as to watch the hummer drones at my leisure. Sounds really cool, although–hmmm…I don’t know that I like the idea of “our” beautiful birds being replicated for nefarious purposes. *the mind boggles*”
I can definitely see them being used for nefarious purposes, as you say, but also for some pretty neat ones. For example, if real hummingbirds were willing to tolerate their robotic counterparts, can you imagine being able to fly in among the real hummingbirds and get that kind of view? Or dart in around flowers and butterflies and capture that on video? Nice.
And in one of those odd coincidences, after posting that comment about the Nano Hummingbird on your blog today, when I went to Barnes and Noble this afternoon for my weekly “new magazine day” run, what should I see on the cover of the new Time magazine but… the Nano Hummingbird! Crazy.
Have a great T-Day!
— Peter