Much Awaited Tiny Visitors- The Hummingbirds

Once again this year, the yard did not have much to offer to migrating birds in spring, March/April. A few freezes during winter had affected most plants and there were hardly any flowers to attract hummingbirds and other birds. 

Then we had a pretty rough summer, and it started early. May was hotter than usual, and June which brings the most rainfall of the year was dry! Every week, the news people updated drought conditions in the area, and the hottest July ever recorded with hardly any rain put our area in extreme drought. Burn bans were in effect throughout the state, and watering plants had to be done only on certain days. The poor plants were bearing the brunt. Blooms looked smaller on some plants like Duranta, while native plants like Salvias, Cosmos, Rudbeckia, seemed to be faring much better. 

I read people posting that the hummers were in the area and were visiting yards frequently. No sighting was recorded in my yard all of July. In the first week of August, I saw them a couple of times, but only for a moment or two. I was beginning to feel bad. These little guys have the power to uplift the mood immensely. Last year, they had made the garden their home for over a month! I had written about it here. 

From mid-August, the rain department decided it was time to bless the scorching earth and we had several showers that seemed to transform the garden! Plants reward you with blooms almost immediately. 

The hummingbird favorites from last year- Celosia spicatas were throwing out flower spikes of pink all over the yard. Duranta flowers got bigger and more abundant, the cute red Cypress vine flowers began to appear. A Mexican sunflower plant that was eaten up by rats and rabbits two or three times finally managed to grow and the first flower appeared in the last week of August. Zinnias in a variety of colors added oomph, and so did four to five kinds of salvias! 

With such a colorful garden beckoning, the little guys soon were seen visiting often. 

A new favorite this year was this Vitex. I have the faint pink, almost white variety as opposed to the common purple one. They are seen feeding on it very often.

A female Ruby-throated Hummingbird feeding on Vitex

A cattle panel arch is their favorite perch. Lots of drama as they sit there resting between feeding flights. 

A Male Ruby-throated Hummingbird

Taking off on a feeding flight

Another new favorite this year- Firespike Gomphrena

On a hot day, beak open, trying to cool itself

On a rainy day, enjoying the cool weather

Like I said before, lots of drama while taking a break on this perch, strange pose there!

Bending even further, a leg seems to be scratching the back

A better angle showing the leg used for a head massage

Feeding on Mealycup Sage (Salvia farinacea)

Another shot of it feeding on Mealycup Sage

This is not a great picture, but I am including it here to show the variety of flowers that it likes to feed on. It visits this Althea often.

Mexican sunflower aka Tithonia is a treat!

Goofball is tired and about to take a short catnap

There it is! A short nap after a busy morning

And off again to the Celosia spicata for a sip

This series on the cactus zinnias is my favorite

Love the feathers in a wave like pattern here

Sandwiched between two zinnias

Most of the time, just the male or the female visit the garden, but lately, I have seen both resting on the cattle panel sometimes. On this day, they were sitting beside one another, but by the time I got my camera, one had moved. 

 

Taking a break!

I hope they are here for a few more weeks before heading down south for the winter. 

They are back!

Moving to a new house after being settled in the previous one for 15 plus years isn't exactly easy. My most challenging part was leaving behind an established garden. The backyard had evolved over the years as an inviting place for lots of birds, butterflies and other critters. A few birds even nested in the yard and I would see them feeding their fledglings year after year. A large maple graced one corner of the garden and provided a great niche for shade loving plants, not to mention a nice refuge for birds and squirrels. It broke my heart to leave it all behind. 

However, human nature is unbeatable! My garden buddies reminded me that it is a clean slate now and I could start over. This yard is smaller than my previous one, but planning it has been interesting. Initially, I just got with me the ton of plants that I had meticulously collected over the years, and planted them without too much thought. They needed to be in the ground. They had an advantage that this was  happening at the peak of spring, when the elements cooperate with everything that is trying to grow. 

Soon, I began hearing stories of hummingbirds in the area. I waited for one to show up, and then realized that there was almost nothing yet in the garden to attract them. I do not believe in putting out feeders with sugar water, I like having plants that attract them. I have never had a feeder in my garden. I just have a variety of plants, and a few bird baths. However, this spring, I actually got a feeder in the hope of getting one of those little guys to show up. Nada! No such luck! 

I continued to work in the garden. A mockingbird would often sing nearby and visit the birdbath, and a couple of doves sometimes paid a visit. The plants were growing, and the native self spreading salvias seemed to be everywhere. The cypress vine was growing like crazy and kept trying to smother nearby plants. I worked to keep everything in check. In my mind, these were the best bets to see a hummer in the yard in the fall. A lot of plants that were new this year and had started out as 6 inch babies were growing nicely. 

Somewhere around mid August, I saw a familiar fluttering of wings in one of the bushes. The feeder I had put out in April wasn't there anymore. It was the red flowers! Tube like red flowers are magnets that bring these little fellas. Sure enough, I saw it again, and again! I realized I had a lot of stuff that it liked. Not just the little red salvias and cypress vines. 

Red Salvias are a huge favorite! 

Cape Honeysuckle had been putting out new branches all summer. It was a patch of green. I was wondering if I would see blooms after the small show in spring. As if on cue, bright orange blooms began to appear late August. My little friend had a blast!

I had not realized that Duranta would be an attraction. It sure was! Note the orange pollen on the head from the Cape Honeysuckle flowers. 

By now, I had an inkling that it was turning into a resident of the garden. There are two of them. They have three favorite perches. One is this red mahogany hibiscus bush.

The branch of the rose bush is another place it likes to hang out. Lots of preening and other drama goes on here.

The Okra plant is the other spot it often goes to for the shade it offers, I think. It also snacks on little bugs on all these plants.

It's gotten used to having us around, and lets me sit there on the patio chair with my camera. Sometimes, it hovers in the air five feet from me as if to tease, before it takes off for another meal. This one below is a female. 

What I had completely not imagined was how much it loved this Celosia! It is a favorite haunt. Such a pleasant surprise! I was wondering if I should have it next year, but this tells me that I totally should.

Another surprise was seeing it feed on the Mexican sunflower. It had competition with a Gulf fritillary once, and they solved it amicably.

This one is a male I think. Salvia Amistad is another favorite plant. 

I saw it take a sip from the Indian Basil once. 

The Hibiscus bloom was also tried a couple of times.

It is not easy to get pictures of these fast movers. Some of these pictures are not the best. However, I am trying to document the different plants it has fed on. 

They were also observed on the Turk's Cap bush, the butterfly pea bush, Althea and the blooms of Coleus. I did not have the camera on me at the time.

Meanwhile, other business went on elsewhere in the yard. There were different kinds of dragonflies,  and they love interacting with us when we water plants.

Love is in the air for these two!

A skipper butterfly on the zinnia.

Gulf fritillary butterflies love the passion vine and the Tithonias. They sure get the gold medal for synchronized feeding!

Swallowtails, both Giant and Black, visit often. 

I have identified this pretty yellow one as Southern dogface. Do correct me if I am wrong. 

My friend has rewarded me by making this a place to hang out all day. I love watching it dance around by itself or with buddies. 

Thank you, dear guy!