It was a good summer on the river, although I can't believe how different my interaction is with RTs now compared to a few years ago. The photos of Henry were from 2011, this group is 2010. This was the first RT that showed up, a male. And he very quickly became the owner of the two feeders that were on the river side of the house. A huge mulberry tree was near by, and he never seemed to stray very far from it. The females that had begun nesting and needed a steady supply of nectar were challenged to get to drink without being run off by him.
I placed one in the holly bush outside the kitchen window on the other side of the house, and he finally migrated around there, and wasn't able to cover all the feeders on two sides of the house, so the females were able to eat more without him interfering.
He spent a lot of time grooming himself, napping and generally just hanging out. Males have no involvement in incubating or feeding the young, so after he had his flings, he was not too busy. He never fed while I held the feeder either, but spent time at a few other feeders besides mine, and the females were pretty good at knowing when to show up. ©photos/content pegyates/2012
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