Daily Bird Pictures Vol. 461

You are blessed, Brenda. We have a profusion of flowers they are said to like, first the columbine and then Bee Balm, but no hummies and hardly any pollinators.

They did go to my Cardinal Flowers, but they only lasted two years. Do you have other flowers at your place that the hummies seem to prefer?

Thanks - glad you enjoyed the hummer.

Chillybean - I have tried and tried to get the Cardinal Flower to grow here to no avail. I have Bee Balm, but seems to me that the bloom time is short. As you mentioned - I have the columbine, too. I used to have the red Bee Balm, but now all I have is purple (photo #1). Let's see - the hummies like my hosta blossoms (which I find rather ugly) - but I leave the blooms for them.. I have blue cobalt mint that they really enjoy (and it has been blooming for some time and will bloom until frost-probably mid Oct.). You cannot imagine how many zinnia I have. I actually have them in rows in 4 large gardens.

Speaking of polenators - check this guy out below photo. I think he is about to be overloaded. And of course the he is on a zinnia. My 10 year old grand daughter took the bee photo a couple days ago. Well shucks - my other photo's do not want to load. I'll try another post just below this one.

From post above.

Wanted you to see the blue cobalt mint that the hummies like and also here is the bee picture.

One other thing I have that is yet to be blooming for the hummers, are the cardinal and cypress vine.

RE Herons - fishing in that little creek was okay but not spectacular, but I had an "Aha!" moment. When I was a kid, we used to catch tadpoles in a pond within 2 miles of there. If all the livestock ponds in the area are as thick with amphibians as I remember, that is probably a big part of their diet.
RE Cardinal Flower - I can't get it to grow either, but I am not giving up yet because it is supposed to grow here.
RE Bumblebees - I think they fly because they don't know they can't! One of the reasons I like to grow snapdragons is that watching the Bumblebees wrestle with them is entertaining.

Lovely pictures everyone!

Chilly ~ You might be in an area the migrating hummers don't pass through so there may not be too many around where you live. Even though I do have hummers, I don't have a huge number during spring and early summer. In late summer, though, as migration starts from the north, my hummer traffic picks up dramatically and they zoom all over the yard.

I do have lots of bees during the spring and summer, but very few butterflies (I keep hoping, though).

In terms of Flowers - of course they love tubular flowers, but one that seems to last forever once it blooms is Agastache. I have 'Blue Fortune', a common variety, and they visit so frequently, that it's one I've been able to get pics at. There are lots of other Agastaches as well.

Many DG members have raved about how much their hummers love Salvia 'Black and Blue'. It's not hardy in colder zones, but it's easily grown as an annual. I never got a chance to do any planting this year because I had hand surgery in May. Oh well, there's always next year.

I have Cardinal Flower and my hummers really love it. My first couple times failed, but I tried again and had success. I also leave the plants standing so they can reseed on their own. Finally after several years they're spreading with more plants popping up around the bed I have them in. They're now getting close to blooming.

Cardinal Flower does best in a shady area and likes water since they frequently grow along river banks. This spring and summer we've had a lot of rain which I think has helped because they look healthier than they ever have.

Chilly & Brenda ~ If you have a shady area it might be worth trying again. It's a beautiful native plant.

These pictures were from last autumn when the blooms were starting to fade.


This message was edited Jul 17, 2015 11:10 AM

The area I had the Cardinal flower was the north side of the house where there was a bit of shade. I rarely ever clean away the dead stuff until spring to allow for seeding. I do not have much space left in that area, since the Wild Bergamot is so large. It even covered over the Black-eyed Susan I had there. That's ok, since I have a heap of it elsewhere on the property.

I looked up Agastache. I have some Anise Hyssop in the prairie patch.

We've had hummingbirds during the summer in the past, but the last couple of years they have been rare around here. I finally got some trumpet creeper shoots (which will probably drive the farmer neighbours crazy) and put along a couple of fences. It looked like my dog munched on one. :(

Great pictures of the hummer and the cardinal plant. Thanks too - for the advice on the plant. Guess I'll keep trying and just maybe one of these days I'll have luck (or no) with cardinal plant.
I'm beginning to think it is the heat/hummidity of Southern Illinois that the cardinal plant does not like.

Yes - Chilly I forgot to mention the trumpet vine - we have that, too. I've noticed recently that the hummingbirds have been visiting my row of glads in the one garden.

I'll have to look up Wild Bergamot - either I'm not familiar or know it by another name.

You probably know it as Bee Balm. I just usually type whatever I think of first. :) Mine is the Monarda fistulosa.

Thanks Chilly - you are right. I suspected beebalm, but I was just not sure.

Let me tell you about the bird pictures that got away today. Geesh - I was tooling around on the EZ and came up on 4 turkey hens headed for the fenceline with at least 18 (varied in size) little jakes, this morn. What a treat!

Then while I was fixing lunch, out from the kitchen window there were a pair of tiny little gray knatcatchers...... That was a first for there.

The only bird pictures I have managed to get today were these, the orchard oriole (look close - he's hiding), had been gathering something from amidst some of my daylilies. Or maybe bugs.

The other bird picture - a flycatcher was just resting from the heat. He looks hot. (Our temp gauge says 99.) Not his nest box - for sure.

I've enjoyed all your posting. Here is some of mine to share. Today's highlight; a juvenile Red-headed woodpecker. It's soooo sooo cute!

Soon after I saw the younging, its parent showed up. Apparently the parent has showed the young bird the way to come for the peanuts.

I have never seen a juvenile before. I didn't realize that they were entirely black.

irisMA, it's very interesting looking. The head's coloring is dark grayish before it turns red. It apparently favors peanuts at the feeder over other seeds.

Enjoyed the red-heads. I see one now and again, but less now, than what I used to. I had never seen the juvenile until your post. Most interesting.

These are my birds for today and I have identified them, but I could be wrong? What do you think?

#1 photo - I'm guessing them to be green winged teal? They seem to go from pond to pond in the neighborhood.

#2&3 photo - I think it is a female blue indigo?

I cannot tell with the first one, but I do not believe it is a female Indigo... The streaking is too dark. Maybe a young House Finch. I see a little gape flange. I'll put an old photo of mine of what was ID'ed as a female Indigo.

Congrats, Lily_Love! We had a Red-headed family around one summer. It was an enjoyable experience.

Here is a photo of my Little Taters (Barn Swallows). :D I think they will leave in a day or so. Two already flew to the top of the door and back to the nest.

Chillybean, your sweet 'taters' are adorable! Here is my 'mater' @ the feeder.

Lots of great pics you guys!

Kim ~ Where is the Picture in your last post?

Oh, I miss my Taters. They did some practice flights Sunday, left the nest Monday, but stayed near, even going back to the nest for the night. Tuesday they completely left.

It's been awhile, but we visited the WF Osprey tower Saturday. I read on line two eggs hatched near the end of June. No young were visible from where we were at. It was a very warm day. We noticed they blocked off some of the parking spaces near the tower.

Edited because I had my days mixed up.

This message was edited Jul 22, 2015 1:31 PM

Here is my Mater.

Congratulations Chillybean on the fledglings. Hope there will be success with the Ospreys nest as well.

Enjoying the Osprey, the barn swallow and the red heads.

I have a newbee bird in and around my home this year. I saw the pair of knatcatchers the other day out from my kitchen window. Yesterday, this little guy was just out from my living room window. Nothing like my DH sitting in his recliner telling me I have a new bird. This tiny little guy is really active flitting that tail around. He is here and there gathering small insects. The first time I saw two, but yesterday - I only saw this one.

Chilly ~ Pretty exciting about the Osprey babies. Your "Taters" are probably flying overhead gobbling up mosquitos, so congrats.

Kim ~ Will your Red-heads stay all year? They're beauties! So cool that you have a baby.

Brenda ~ Congrats on the "newbie"!

Some of our House Finches have taken a liking to our Sedums. At first they were just nibbling on the leaves, but now they sometimes nibble on the buds as well! It's not that they're thirsty...we have two birdbaths with fresh water that I change daily. Sometimes I also add a tray of water on the ground. They must just like the taste.

Well, last night I bought some bird netting to try. It's for trees so it's huge which will allow me to cut off as much as I want. Hopefully it will save the flower buds.

Nuts,

We've been seeing Barn Swallows around, but no longer can tell if they are ours.

That's interesting about the Finches. The only thing birds ever did to my sedum is sit on it. I yanked all but one sedum out this spring. "Autumn" something. Bumbles and other pollinators seem to like it. I hope my prairie patch has an abundance of something to make up for the lack of Sedum this year. I need to learn some late flowering natives that bumbles will take to.

Brenda,
Congrats on the new bird. That is one I have never seen.

Oh Chillybean - it's hard to believe you have never seen the knatcatcher. Though, take my word -- it is an adorable little bird. Autumn Joy is probably the sedum that you left. I really like those and they as hard as nails. The tall goldenrod (Salidago altissima) or asters might be something the bumbles and other pollinators would like? Perhaps passion flower, but it is vining. Or lobelia.
Then of course there is tall thistle (Cirsium altissimum), but that might not be an add-a-boy. Zinnias are not native, but they are sure good for the pollinators and their seed make excellent bird seed. Ex: Last winter when we had 10 inches of snow, at one time, there were birds on about all the zinnia seed heads that were left in my one garden. Which was really a treat to behold.

I was surprised about the finches eating on the sedum. Wonder if there was a bug or something on the sedum - hummmm.

N.A.N. yes the Redheadeds stay here all year round. The knatcatcher are pretty cool birds. My garden is mostly shady now, Sedum autumn joy used to do well here, until the shade, shades it out as many other sun loving perennuals.

1st pic. is an Eastern ....something. The name just escaped me. lol
2nd and 3rd is a pair of Mallards, I think.

Enjoyed the Eastern? and your ducks with the view.

Here is my bird for the day. I think it is a red tail hawk just waiting patiently for me to take the picture. It was almost dark as you can see. There is a pair of them that have hung out around our hay fields feasting on whatever they find.

We have Autumn Fire. It's definitely not bugs. My Sedums aren't infested with anything and the birds actually take bites out of the leaves making little triangle shapes all over the plants.

I googled to see if others had experienced this and apparently it's not all that uncommon. If I remember, maybe I'll take a pic or two of the Sedums.

Brenda, I've never seen a Gnatcatcher, either. Nice silhouette of the hawk. You had a couple of lucky days!

Lovely pics, Kim!

Hah, the name of that mysterious Eastern...., not phoebe, not... BB, its name will come to me eventually. lol

Here, my Redheaded wps are back. I think this maybe the parents of the juvie that visited us lately.

We only see the Redheads about once a year, but they don't stay. It could be because we have so many other woodpeckers or maybe they're just passing through.

I don't know if it helps, but Cornell Lab of Ornithology lists these birds with names that start with "Eastern" - Bluebird, Kingbird, Phoebe, Screech-Owl, Towhee, Wood-Pewee, Meadowlark & Whip-poor-will.

That's it. The Eastern Towhee. N.A.N. We have Hairy, Downy and Red Bellied woodpeckers, as well as the huge ones that I don't get too, just so happens I forgot what's the name.

Glad you remembered it. I hate it when I can't remember a name. I usually think of it in the middle of the night.

We also have Hairy, Downy and Red-bellied. Occasionally we'll get a visit from a Northern Flicker or two, usually in winter and once in a great while a Red-headed will stop by for a day. Two winters ago we had a male and female Flicker pair that stayed for about a week.

We also have red-bellied, downy & hairy. plus flickers & occasional piliated, although I have not seen the latter for several years.

Enjoyed the redheads feeding at your feeder. I find that unusual, as I began to think they were on the decline. We are kind of like nutsaboutnature - we only seem see them once in a great while.

I sincerely hope they're doing well here -- the Redheaded, for I see them all around everywhere I go here. This afternoon, I saw one of the parents accompanied her fledgling back to the feeder.

DH called to my attention when these Mallards pair visited our backyard. :) No babies Mallard seen this year. :(

Photo #1 - I think the Purple Martin are gathering before heading south on migration. It's about that time of year that they disappear. I took this photo yesterday. I thought it unusual that so many were crowded on the martin box. Geeee, where is this year going. Tomorrow is the last day of July, then it's AUGUST.

Photo # 2 - This morning I was messing around in the house and I looked out the window to see the domestic Canadian Geese going down the driveway in single file. They are quite social this time of year. We do not feed them.

female hummingbird tried to look in our window--sorry, your reflexion darling.

Love the 2 pictures Brenda. Yes I agree where has the time gone? Love those hummingbirds too Iris.

Enjoyed the pics, Kim & Brenda!

Kim ~ Love hearing about the abundance of Red-heads in your area. It's very encouraging.

Brenda ~ It's true many birds will start their southward migration soon, but many others will increase for us. Even some of our year-around birds like Goldfinches start growing in numbers as they start building their nests. It's cool to see Goldfinch fledglings when most other birds have finished breeding for the year.

Our Hummer numbers also increase dramatically starting in August as the males begin migrating from the north.

We also have Canada Geese everywhere around Northern IL. It's fun to see a line of cars stopped and patiently waiting as an entire Goose family waddles across the road.

Iris ~ Oh how I wish I could get a picture during some of those special moments.