The 2020 Garden, Landscape, and Other Stuff Thread...

[22-rimfire]

annr For sure, the wild is craggy, shorter - the tough survivor that flowers in the most unlikely spots and really digs in if it finds a patch of soil to itself. Thrives in dry, re-seeds profusely. Long lasting blooms.

22-rimfire For sure, both centres are brown!

That's what makes them great flowers for summer blooms in a perennial area. I'm going with "brown".

 

[LEGION 12]

Squirrel or rabbits not sure which .

 

[22-rimfire]

Could be squirrels. I would check my plants for tomato horn worms and see if you have many slugs. Both dine on the fruit.

 

[knarfeng]

Squirrel or rabbits not sure which .

Our tomatoes looked about like that until the rats started in after our ripening figs.

 

[taldesta]

It's a thought: a go-fund-me page for camera batteries ... I am overwhelmed by the numbers of females with babies in the garden. Does planting hummingbird candy pay off?



The moms and kids and grand kids swarm the bee balm like bees, dawn to dusk. I've been able to observe their behaviour like never before. I get why the food source never runs out because every bloom has so many tubes of nectar that none of the hummers even need to compete for a place at the table.


The babies are short in body and quite round when they start out. There is a lot of signalling and tandem flying with mom as they grow from dependence on being fed by mom to helping themselves full time as juveniles.



Freckling on throat seems more common on juveniles. More sleek body shape. Transition from baby to juvenile goes by in a flash!



Through over 60 videos trying to capture the tailfeather signalling and tandem flight of moms with young only resulted in a lot of dizzying sky shots of blurred dots disappearing off screen abruptly - like elusive UFO's

Luck was with me in this one still - mom signalling with juvenile. They then rose vertically facing each other into the sky about 20 ft and descended again straight down. Last year when I first observed this behaviour, I thought it was 'siblings at play'. Now my sense is that the moms signal danger or change of location for food and that babies signal they want food from mom - which isn't on mom's agenda mostly



Please share any info on hummer behaviour you have observed. I am open to correct my take on what I see them do. They buzz me when I am deadheading flowers, zoom past me at startling speed, come into the porch to sample my bouquets of garden flowers - frequently they hover looking me straight in the eyes! I think they think I'm OK. I do try to keep the hummingbird candy blooming

 

[22-rimfire]

taldesta Nice! Wish I had the swarms you seem to have, but it seems that I have a few now since the babies are big enough to travel and feed. Yes you certainly have a lot of hummingbird candy at your house.

Sounds like you don't have to worry about the feeder nectar getting rancid.

Added: As they say, you reap what you sow.

 

[taldesta]

taldesta Nice! Wish I had the swarms you seem to have, but it seems that I have a few now since the babies are big enough to travel and feed. Yes you certainly have a lot of hummingbird candy at your house.

Sounds like you don't have to worry about the feeder nectar getting rancid.

Added: As they say, you reap what you sow.

After I posted I received an email from a friend thanking me for a bucket of flowers I had dropped off. Mostly I've had to cut down all of the jumbo zinnias that are stifling the perennials in their shadow by the house - perfect giveaway. How many times every summer do I ask myself, "What was I thinking?" I added a few glads and liatris.

My friend enjoys a wonderful tree canopy and so not a lot of the sun-loving blooms are to be found there. Well, while taking a pic of the bucket on the deck, didn't a hummer show up to visit the yellow glad! Candy, yes. Pic credit to friend.





BTW I stopped the overnight battle with the raccoon over the hummer feeder as soon as the bee balm came into full bloom. Between the bee balm, nasturtiums, glads, zinnias, calendula, sweet pea ... and all the wild flowers - well - it just seemed not worth the effort in summer. For sure I will have the feeders out on the shoulder seasons for a little extra for the hummers.

 

[22-rimfire]

That is a very nice flower arrangement. Kudos!

 

[annr]

taldesta Magnificent photos of hard to capture....and thank you for the narrative. We had hummingbird feeder outside kitchen years ago and saw the occasional visitor--nothing spectacular like this. Yes, I think you are listed in the "Who's Who" of the hummingbird guide of attractions--probably in first place!

 

[22-rimfire]

There was (or is) a ranch in South Texas that had an amazing number of hummingbirds. I visited years ago. The hummingbirds were buzzing around like bees... hundreds of them. The ranch told me they feed about 50 lbs of sugar a month. It is possible that they winter there but it does get cold for short periods of time.

The only time I have seen large numbers (but nothing like the ranch) was a couple days of activity that I believe was part of their southward migration and they found my feeder. They emptied the feeder in about an hour. I observed and replaced and continued to do that for another day... and then they were gone.

 

[eisman]

Most of the summer flowers are gone now, so the feeders are getting attention. I have one they drain in 3-4 days. What's strange is the one that they used to hit hard is hardly getting touched this summer; and I'm wondering if that's because I've had the trees thinned out. I put a new one in the front yard, but it doesn't get much interest, I think because there's no convenient tree to sit and guard it from. Still, we don't get anywhere near the numbers of birds some of you do. But we do have them winter over, so I'll keep the heated feeders handy and break them out when it gets cold.

One thing I do find is that glass feeders seem to keep "clean" better than those with plastic storage. The plastic ones get "scummy" after 4-5 days, and I can't figure out why. I clean them the same, and in fact have even taken the one plastic one I have and cleaned it with white vinegar to try and kill whatever's causing the slimy feeling.

 

[taldesta]

Squirrel or rabbits not sure which .

Hey LEGION 12, on comparing the snack marks between the tomato you posted and this one of mine munched by a chipmunk, I would say that your tomato looks like it was more 'gummed' than bitten into. That said, I don't think you could possibly miss the presence of a tomato horn worm on your plant - they are so big. I can't imagine a slug of a size to eat this deeply either. Get out the game cam

 

[taldesta]

I tot I saw a headless, tailless chipmunk

 

[taldesta]

Can anyone tell it's raining here and I am indoors again?

More zinnias had to be removed to let the perennials thrive. It's working for me, though - flowers in the porch ...

 

[22-rimfire]

Squirrel or rabbits not sure which .

I noticed marks or blemishes like this on a number of my tomatoes yesterday and discovered two tomato horn worms on plants. I also noticed another plump grey caterpillar. Maybe it was an immature horn worm? They have been removed..... Did a little search, the grey worm is probably an armyworm.

Added: I made a Cades Cove (Smoky Mt NP) visit Thursday and it was pretty much a complete flop relative to wildlife sightings. It can be like this in August quite a bit based on my experience. It was still enjoyable however. I got wet and dirty in the wet woods following a significant thunderstorm. Took two washings just to get my tea shirt clean. I like the white carhartt pocket tea shirts and they unfortunately show dirt.

One thing happened that has me scratching my head.... I decided to do some off trail exploring on the side of the mountain and got a little twisted up (not lost). It baffles me somewhat as to how you can get twisted up when "up" slope is away from your starting point and "down" slope is back in the direction you came from. I was looking for Pink Lady Slipper orchid plants as a possible woods area for the spring of 2021 (photo outings). I knew there had to be Lady Slippers "around" in the woods, but never found them before other than the occasional plant. I found perhaps 100 plants on this walk; so success.

I guess I wasn't paying attention looking at the ground all the time and the woods is pretty grown up with short sight distances. There is always the possibility of tramping on a poisonous snake. It pays to pay attention to where you place your feet in the woods as I have walked up on many poisonous snakes. When I discovered that I didn't feel I was going in the right direction and was uncomfortable (felt that little panic tingle), I eventually headed down slope to flowing water. It was very overcast (no sun) and a rain storm was brewing. Followed the water down slope and came out where I expected to. But following a stream in the Smoky's woods is not a comfortable walk as you have tangled Rhododendron thickets and boggy areas. Maybe that's why they call thickets "thick-ets"?

<chopped out some comments>

 

[Retired UPS Driver]

Here’s a couple pictures I took while taking a break this morning out back.
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[Retired UPS Driver]

Finally a cooler morning with some clouds. At least at my house, the Hummingbirds almost always feed with their back or side facing the morning sun. Today they fed facing east due to the cloud cover. The lower lighting will slow down the shutter speed and give a little more color, but blur the wings when hovering. Todays camera speed was only 1/500, but I find 1/1000 is my all around the best speed/color ratio for me, with 1/1500-1/2000 for freeze action shots.

This is a juvenile born this year, feeds alone now, but mom is usually nearby watching over him/her. Photos are taken in sequence starting with the perched drink, the back up with an upward hovering, and finally the perched on the line fluffing up and looking up at mom overhead.

If it’s quiet outside you can actually hear the Hummingbirds calling each other. It sounds like a very high pitched mouse trying to suck some fluid from a thin straw. Once you see and hear them do it, it becomes quite common to hear them calling out, even if you don’t see them. It’s pretty cool.

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[taldesta]

Finally a cooler morning with some clouds. At least at my house, the Hummingbirds almost always feed with their back or side facing the morning sun. Today they fed facing east due to the cloud cover. The lower lighting will slow down the shutter speed and give a little more color, but blur the wings when hovering. Todays camera speed was only 1/500, but I find 1/1000 is my all around the best speed/color ratio for me, with 1/1500-1/2000 for freeze action shots.

This is a juvenile born this year, feeds alone now, but mom is usually nearby watching over him/her. Photos are taken in sequence starting with the perched drink, the back up with an upward hovering, and finally the perched on the line fluffing up and looking up at mom overhead.

If it’s quiet outside you can actually hear the Hummingbirds calling each other. It sounds like a very high pitched mouse trying to suck some fluid from a thin straw. Once you see and hear them do it, it becomes quite common to hear them calling out, even if you don’t see them. It’s pretty cool.View attachment 1400569

I call that their 'happy noise' ... whenever they find food or each other they just can't keep a lid on it

My sense is that you have a sweet little girl at your feeder - the white tail tips would tell me. I thought for months that the baby hummer that over-wintered here in Canada with me - 18/19 - was a boy because of the red throat feathering; but not as it turned out. That surprised me, not to mention I had to change all the pronouns in my documenting of what was one amazing experience for me. Hope the link works!

They are as fascinating as they are tiny. The distances they travel, the odds they face.

 

[taldesta]

We have harvest

 

[Retired UPS Driver]

I call that their 'happy noise' ... whenever they find food or each other they just can't keep a lid on it

My sense is that you have a sweet little girl at your feeder - the white tail tips would tell me. I thought for months that the baby hummer that over-wintered here in Canada with me - 18/19 - was a boy because of the red throat feathering; but not as it turned out. That surprised me, not to mention I had to change all the pronouns in my documenting of what was one amazing experience for me. Hope the link works!

They are as fascinating as they are tiny. The distances they travel, the odds they face.

Thank you for your link, it worked just fine. Really great documentary. Amazing what such a small bird goes through, not to even mention their migration flight. They are fun to watch and each has its own personality too. Thank you also for your helpful tip on identifying marks to help distinguish between male/female.