Newyorkrita said:

So I wonder who lives here? I have never seen any birds go in or out but as I passed it today I could hear the little ones softly cheeping. Someone has been nesting here.

That birdhouse really is close to my house. It is actually even closer than it looks in the picture. The house is suppose to be for wrens but that doesn't mean anything. The House Wrens did nest in there, I think it was last year for the second clutch. But I have not seen them since the spring nesting in another box out front.

Claudia, I'd love it if you could send that beautiful male Hummer to Florida! All I ever see around here are the females. I saw one male a year or so ago and one early this spring ... for some reason it's always females who come to the feeders in my yard.

Took lots of pictures today ... mostly through the windows cause the 96ºF temperatures today and the high humidity was just too much for me!

Blue Jay


Grackle


Brown Thrasher


Cardinal


We have tons of Mockingbirds around, lots of young ones lately and the adults are always on alert for Crows and other predators. I've seen the adults chasing off crows for over a week and lots of birds went into hiding yesterday when Swallow-tailed Kites were hunting. I spotted a juvenile Mockingbird in a hanging basket on the deck this morning. The bird was eating berries from the Rhipsalis plant so I got the camera and took a couple of pictures through the glass doors.



Red-bellied Woodpecker, female


Red-bellied Woodpecker, male and ........ Downy Woodpecker, female


Red-winged Blackbird .................... Ruby-throated Hummingbird, female

Rita, that is so cool! I will be curious to see who it is residing in that birdhouse! Keep watching and keep us posted!

plantladylin said:Rita, that is so cool! I will be curious to see who it is residing in that birdhouse! Keep watching and keep us posted!

Yes, I will keep watch. Much of this afternoon I was out back and I never saw anyone go in or out.

Very curious who it might be!

Wow Lin, you have been busy!!

I am keeping my hummers! I have been having to fill that front feeder every 3-4 days. It is busy non- stop. I realized that 2 nearby neighbors who usually feed hummers do not have feeders out this year. Guess they are all coming here!

Lin - I only had female Ruby-throated hummers for many Winters. 2011 was the last time I had females using my yard to perch and feed in during Winter. I asked a bander about that and she told me that because I started adding a LOT of plants for hummers (and butterflies), my yard became "prime" hummer property which drew all the males to my yard. They chased off all the females. I would love to see some females now.

If you want males, add salvia, firespike, firebush, coral honeysuckle, as well as a Cape Honeysuckle bush or two. I had to add all these plants all around my yard because the males were fighting over the plants, so now everyone is happy when there are 3-4 males claiming my yard. I have plants in every zone of my yard just to keep the peace in Winter!

PS - If you need a list of good salvia cultivars, let me know. Of course, the salvia I have in my yard only blooms in Fall-through-early Spring. Do you only get hummers in Summer?

Becky, I have Firespike, Firebush (Hamelia patens), Salvia coccinea and Cape Honeysuckle (Tecoma) but the hummers don't seem to be attracted to them. I've seen a hummer on rare occasions at the Firebush but never at the Firespike, the Salvia or the Cape Honeysuckle flowers! If they arrive early in the year they love the Bottlebrush blooms but that tree is only in bloom December through April (with sporadic blooms once in awhile in May). In my yard, the hummers are attracted to the Pagoda flowers, Ixora, Pentas, Tropical Milkweed, Hoyas that hang in a tree and sometimes even Daylily blooms.

We see hummingbirds here in northern Volusia county sometimes beginning in March and they stay through August or September but they are always females ... I rarely see a male. I think it's a bit too cold here during winter for them, not enough plants blooming to keep them fed.

One I got @ 8'Oclock yesterday evening ... I thought it was a juvenile Mockingbird but I'm not certain.

Lin - I am really surprised! Not only do the hummers hit those plants I mentioned, but the butterflies are all over them too. That is really weird. I guess they like different nectar blooms at different times of the year or depending on the area they are visiting? Their behavior is different from Spring - Fall than it is from Fall - Spring. I mainly just have them in Winter (late Fall through early Spring) and they perch all over my yard and are very territorial. I have had 3 males the past couple of years claim my yard as their over-wintering vacation spot. I often know right where to find them perching too. They have their favorite look-out perches!

plantladylin said:One I got @ 8'Oclock yesterday evening ... I thought it was a juvenile Mockingbird but I'm not certain.

I believe this is a great crested flycatcher Lin.

At my house the hummies like the coneflower, salvia, standing cypress, daylilys, glads, rainlilys, blackberry lilys, trumpet honeysuckle (native), confederate jasmine, they will nectar at the butterfly bushes, I've seen then nectaring on gaillardia, they like the phlox, sweet william & a myriad of wildflowers. My firespike doesn't bloom until they have headed south but the butterflies love them.

Ann, I think you are correct regarding the bird being a Great Crested Flycatcher!! I'm really having vision issues lately and I need to call and make an eye appointment soon! About 4 years ago I went to a new ophthalmologist for a regular check up and she asked me why I was wearing contact lenses. I told her I'd been wearing glasses or contacts since the mid 1970's for distance correction. She said that I had 20/20 vision and didn't need correction anymore so she gave me a letter to take to the Drivers License office to have the restriction removed from my DL. She did tell me that she detected a problem with narrow channels that bring fluid from the back of the eye around to the front and explained a laser procedure that I should have to correct it. I didn't do anything about the laser surgery until 1 1/2 years ago when another eye doctor (optometrist) gave the same diagnosis and sent me to a specialist who performed the laser surgery ... I swear my vision has progressively gotten worse since!! My left eye seems fine but vision is very blurry from my right eye ... so I have trouble focusing. I've been told for a few years that cataracts are beginning to form but two ophthalmologist's and an optometrist said they are slow growing and not at the stage for needing removal yet.

That is scary..... I would be making an appointment ASAP!! Something clearly not right. My vision is extremely bad and I have always feared losing my vision. @plantladylin

I agree with Claudia Lin. Go right away & get things checked out!!! Eyes are not something you want to mess around with.

All I ever see in my garden are female Ruby Throats. Maybe by August they could be juveniles but never do I have adult males. I might have seen an adult male once in the spring during migration but I am not sure.

The females are even scarce but I do see them off and on all spring and summer until late August. They must leave after that.

I think @beckygardener sent vibes my way ... I spotted a Hummingbird visiting the Firespike a few minutes ago! It also went to the blooms on a Lipstick plant that's hanging in the Magnolia tree (but I couldn't get a clear photo) and then it flew over to the feeder.


Red-bellied Woodpecker, male grabbing a bite of suet:

So strange that I get all hummers, males, females & juveniles but I really have none of the recommended plants that attract hummers. I have phlox, the Echinacea daylilies & likes and hosts. That is it. I used to have lots of different stuff but it all just kept dying on me.

Beautiful pictures, as always. Hope your eyes are feeling better Lin, take care of them.

Thanks ladies! I plan to call the eye doctor tomorrow; planned on doing it today but had a dental appointment, went grocery shopping and to run errands and the doctors office was closed by the time I remembered. I made myself a note to remember to call tomorrow! A few more pictures from this afternoon ...

Red-bellied Woodpecker, male .................... Blue Jay:


Boat-tailed Grackle, adult male and juveniles, one hollering to be fed:


Red-winged Blackbirds, male and female: