I had my first hummingbird in my garden this morning. I startled it and I am hoping it comes back. Walking around looking at the gardening and looking to see what needs tending and there is was and POOF it was gone.
I have foxglove and turtlehead planted where it was what do you guys think it was feeding on? I wish I got a chance to get a better look so I could see what kind it was!!
It was VERY EXCITING, for me anyway, I never thought I was going to see any in MY garden.
I am so excited!
Glad to be the first to congratulate you. Isn't it funny it has taken so long for him to get there. Sounds like you have good stuff planted in your garden. I think anything with tubular type flowers is what they like and foxglove fits that description, doesn't it? I am not sure about turtlehead as I am not familiar with that. Supposedly they tend to gravitate towards red colored flowers but there is one poor girl on here, Becky I think, who says she has planted many, many, many red flowers to attract hummers and has yet been unsuccessful. So who knows what draws them. You did not mention if you have a feeder? If not, then more power to you that you can get them in your yard with flowers. That is a great achievement. I bet he will be back. I have one or two that come every day and if I get up in the a.m. and go sit outside one of them shows up like clockwork. He is coming to a feeder mind you, I have not seen any one of them try my plants except one did try a hibiscus flower once, but never again. Must not have tasted too good. LOL.
Anyway, I bet he will be back and I hope so and you can enjoy him the rest of the season. It is funny too, to me, no matter how many times I see them I always kind of catch my breath when I see them again because they are just so exciting to watch. Such lovely and fascinating creatures.
Leslie
No feeder, well not outdoors yet. I do have one but it is in my kitchen waiting to be filled. Not going to get many hummingbirds in there am I ;)
It was very exciting. I am going to go make some nectar and hang it. Should I hang it away from my other feeders??
Yes foxglove is a tubular shaped flower and turtlehead is sort of tubular as well.
I was reading a thread where a lady has 7 of them visit her feeders daily!! What a lucky lady she is!!
dpoitras,
Yea for you! Most of the Hummers that visit my yard these days are nectaring off the flowers too...but they like feeders as well. I have all of my feeders together and it's never been an issue.
Adrienne
I agree the lady with seven visiting her feeders is very lucky. What a sight that must be. I will never know.
Leslie
I get one multiple times daily, and sometimes 2, on flowers only - and it doesn't seem to matter what flowers - lobelia, agastache, glads, morning glories, sweet peas, geranium, crocosmia, day lilies, nicotania are the ones I can think of right now that I've seen them visiting. All different colors and white too. Not once did I see them at the feeder.
I saw it again last night!! I was very happy. Those little buggers are FAST! Too fast to see if it is a male or female. I am hoping that when they come back in the spring they remember me. Does anyone know if they come back to the same area each year?
Yes, according to the Hummer migration site, the Ruby Throats will use the same nest the following year and rebuild on it if it needs it! I read something to that effect under the "species" tab on the site. http://www.hummingbirds.net/map.html
Congrats!
Yes, they like Foxglove. It's one of the Plants Bill Hilton Jr. suggests for hummers. As to the hibiscus...yes, they like those, and their cousins, Rose Of Sharon too.
Right now, they are migrating south and putting on weight for their journey across the Gulf of Mexico. Sugar water and nectar does not build fat...it's just quick energy. They are hunting tiny insects inside of the blooms for the protein.
And yes, they will come back. Depends on what you have as to when you will see it again though. If it's a young first year bird, it will not have a territory yet for nesting...it will have to select one next year. If it's a mature female, she'll probably go back to where her nest was this year for the summer....and use you as a 'filling station' again next year. If it's a mature male....well, they pretty much do as they please...since they take no part in nest building or rearing young...the female is truly a single mother.
Great info Melody. I have always thought I get the same one back every year. Have no idea where the nest would be though. I would love to see one. And I think dpoitras that you will find they do remember you and will see you next year. So take heart. You keep giving them what they want and they will remember you. They are so cute it is unebelievable.
And I had no idea they were hunting insects in the flowers. I have two hibiscus plants and am expecting a rose of sharon to be delivered sometime. So that is good news that they like those. Mine are still mainly staying at the feeder. Have yet to see them on a plant but then they may not migrate much farther from here. So they may not need as much weight as they would farther north.
Anyway, great information Melody. I know you are the hummingbird expert now and it is great to have you here for our questions.
Leslie
My first hummingbird article will run on the 16th.....there will be two other ones, but I don't have dates yet to share.
Hope the information will help.
Should I put my feeders up again in hopes of getting lucky with some visitors?
I am still waiting for those little visitors .................
Melody I will be watching for your article!! Hummingbirds are so beautiful, irridescent green and red!! And fast! Must be all that sugar they eat ;)
Becky, Bill said that you'll have a better chance in the spring....but put out your feeders anyway, and tie strips of ribbon or surveyor's tape that will flutter in the breezes. Motion attracts them ...they are migrating now, but it will be a bit before they hit the coast in any great numbers...I had between 12 and 18 today.
Mini has the ones that have already made it to the Gulf Coast...they'll tank up and double their weight before taking off across.
They will be at normal weight, or below, 20 hours later when they hit the Central American coast.
Congratulations!! I too have been seeing a regular hummer visitor this year ... never thought I'd have luck in the city, but she's come by nearly daily for the past few weeks. The most popular flowers include salvia coccinea, gartenmeister bonstedt fuschia, black and blue salvia, liatris, caryopteris blue beard, scarlet runner bean, tropical and swamp milkweed, mexican sunflower, cardinal flower, and even my geranium rozanne! Totally ignored my feeder.