Ruby-throated Hummingbirds

LOL Mrs. Ed...I don't think anything will surprise him now!

ha. well, bless their hearts for putting up with us. DH bought me the camera for this because he knew how much I loved it. He's even watching for the kildeer to return to his work place so I can come take a picture. So i know he rolls his eyes sometimes, but in general he's putting up with it nicely!

Just let me know when we're making a road trip Mrs. Ed! lol

They (dh's) are very patient with us aren't they!!

It's a tri-state bird mini-roundup!!!!

Sounds like fun to me...I need an excuse to get this house in order...it is a mess!

I got a hanging red Petunia plant at Lowe's today and hung it on the front porch. That's where I've always seen the hummers first! They were less than 45 miles south of us day before yesterday so I expect them any moment!! On pins and needles here and biting my fingernails to boot!!

:D :D :D

you are so darn cute. I LOVE that you were able to find a nice big welcome plant!!! I hope it matches the sign on the roof.

Super pics everyone! Can't wait till the Hummers show up here! :)

Marilyn

I took it for granted that hummers like it hot. Besides, mid nineties isn't really so bad.

My hummer posed for me right by the patio on a branch of the red abutilon about 6 feet away from me. I took a picture and it's blurry! I'm so mad at myself. This one was the only one I took that wasn't too blurry and she's almost not in the picture!

I discovered that my camera has a "sport" setting that's supposed to capture motion. I haven't tried it yet. When my hummer came by I was trying to take pictures of Cedar Waxwings and two gorgeous male Goldfinches that were in my neighbor's tree way, way, way far away and behind a bunch of telephone wires. I didn't get their picture either!

Thats very cute Elphaba!!!

Thanks for posting it!

Still keeping an eye on my feeders here but doubt I'll see anything till next month.

Frank - I had a pink/white salvia come up in my garden on it's own last year. It got
to about 3ft by 3ft & was very hardy. The lady at the garden center only knew it by
"Hummingbird Salvia" & it lived up to it's name! I got 2 hummers the last 2 wks
in Sept. I've been trying for hummers 4ever. I had also planted 3 plants that I only
remember as Candy Corn; both hummers seemed to love it, too. I'm hanging
my feeders out now (judging by the Hummingbirds.net map) so I hope the little
critters remember where the eats were!

Wow they are really marching North fast!!!

http://www.hummingbirds.net/map.html



This message was edited Mar 30, 2008 6:33 AM

Yes, they are!!!
I check my migration map every 2 minutes ha ha!!!
Still no takers at my feeder.
I can watch it from my sofa so I am always checking it.
Cant wait!! GM

I finally saw my first one of the year late yesterday afternoon!!! Now I guess I can stop watching the feeders 24/7 and return to my 'normal' life! I've had the feeders up for 2 weeks and hummers have been spotted all around me for a while. Guess they've been busy with the azaleas, jessamine, honeysuckle, etc and didn't care to bother with the homemade brew!

Yep, better be getting mine out and cleaned up to get out this week!!

Carol, was this plant your Candy Corn?

Heres a Candy Corn Vine.

http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/1338/

Heres another.

http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/64733/

I do hear a number a hummer enthusiasts like this second plant.

Theres one in NewYork now!!!

http://www.hummingbirds.net/map.html

Yes, I saw the map too!
Maybe we will get one this week? :) GM

Interesting that they are traveling up the coast faster than through the mid-section.

I'm sure they are following the flowers. It's full-blown spring along the coast, while here in the Midwest, we're just getting green! Lucky them.

SO not fair! ;)

Elphaba - The Candy Corn I had had blooms that were long & thin, bright orange
& yellow, more tubular, less bell shaped. Without knowing what it was, the first
time I saw it at the garden center, I immediately thought of the Halloween candy,
so the name made perfect sense. I bought it because it was so cool looking; at-
tracting the hummers was just a mega-bonus. Apparently it's annual here, so I
hope the center carries them again this season.

Does anyone know of a drought-tolerant, full sun plant for a hanging basket that
will attract hummers? I'm really tired of killing fuschias! Spots for baskets in my
yard are mostly full sun all day.

They are all over GA, but not here. My first ones appear around 4/10 every year for about 6 years. I've had feeders up for weeks, but still can get stragglers. Hope my regulars return on time. Its been cold and dreary here after a week in the 70s. ARGH.

beclu,
Maybe you'll see one very soon. Hope so! I stayed home from work today and saw the first one at my feeder in the front. So I know at least one has been at both feeders that are up so far. Do you have azaleas in bloom now? When I've seen them mid-March, that's where they were. It's always frustrating to see that they've been spotted all over the state, according to the migration map, before I've seen one! I'd love to know if the earliest ones were seen at feeders or at flowers. Keeping my fingers crossed for all of y'all who haven't seen one yet!

carol13: Cigar plant (cuphea) can take full sun. Hummers love it!

for upright items, mix in some salvia uprights.

For trailing, hummingbird plant http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/141372/

also, head over to the hummingbird-butterfly gardening forum for good ideas.

I plan on getting some Salvia Black&Blue along w/ Salvia Greggiis.

I hadn't thought about azaleas. Mine are almost blooming. I see buds, but none are open yet. I'll have to check them more often. Thanks for the tip lussah!

Wow, see the one up near Buffalo,NY?

http://i27.tinypic.com/122n8cg.jpg

Okay, that's just WRONG!!! I have way more bugs and stuff here for them to eat I'm sure!!

: shakes head: SO not fair.

:D

Ooops; never mind its and April Fools joke!

Heres the real one.

http://hummingbirds.net/map.html

This message was edited Apr 1, 2008 10:43 AM

Elphaba,

This is your beautiful plant. http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/64127/
It is a perenial here and blooms almost year round. It roots easily since it is a creeper. Just pull up a piece with a root on it and put it in a little pot (or root a piece-they're easy to root) Keep it indoors during winter and you can plant it again next year. Maybe the roots of the plant itself will come back there.
Pam

PELLLLLLLLLL!!

you are sooooo bad!

You got me.

I didn't do it honest! I was fooled too. :-)

ahhhhh… i was wondering why you gave up the joke so soon.

:D

It's a good one!

Remember, these are the scouts...more will be coming!!


Good joke Pelle!!!

I snapped this one this morning. It's dark and cloudy, so the flash went off which made for a weird looking picture. I like how it lit up her back though. She didn't mind the flash at all, but when I closed the flash to try again, she did not like that click at all and promptly flew off.

See that green thing above her head? It's a seed pod. The plant is covered with them. I don't know if the seeds are any good, but if anyone wants some, let me know.