Teresa - I am part of a study host group for the eastern Painted Buntings. Their numbers have declined (probably due to development causing the loss of their habitats along the eastern coast from the Carolinas down into Florida). I was also part of a host project for Ruby-throated hummings in 2011. The past few years I've hosted at least 3 RTHs each Winter in or around my yard. In 2011, I had females. Since then, I've only had male birds. I love both bird species! In Winter, they delight me when the blooming plants are mainly just my Brugmansias and Roses. Few other plants bloom at this time of year. When the birds leave, the daylilies start blooming. The constant change in my garden is the reason I've never gotten bored of gardening. There is always something to delight me! I am interested in everything ... my other interest is the butterflies. Which has been my longest interest and why I started gardening 10 years ago. I should have had a career in biology, forestry, or something similar. I missed my calling ....
Here's a photo of some the Painted Buntings at my feeder. These birds hang out with the Cardinals that are year round residence. The buntings are migrants. A bander comes to my home at least once a year to band the birds she can catch. So far she has banded 13 Painted Buntings this year. She will be back later in the Winter to band again. We estimated that I had about 12 birds last January. It's funny because I just thought I had one or two pairs of buntings, but it turns out I had quite a few more. Only a few were coming to the feeder at one time. I live in a residential neighborhood. Just a lot, not acreage. Anyone who thinks they need a large piece of property to grow plants and attract wildlife is wrong. My yard is not big, but it is packed full of garden areas. My goal ... no lawn.
I am like you ... would only want to visit snow states, not live there!
Cindy - Thank you. I am hoping some of the seedlings I grew from your seeds bloom this year. I haven't yet had time to sow/start the freebie seeds yet. Hoping to do that within the next 2 weeks. It's exciting to see any hybrid plants and what they produce as blooms! I love daylilies ... rust and all! LOL! I also love Brugmansias. I have several that were grown from cuttings. But most were seedlings. The seedlings are a different species of Brug, so the blooms are much smaller. I decided I prefer the larger blooming brugs more. I have 13 Brugs. It's interesting to see how they grow. Some are quite tall, one looks like a dwarf. Some have small blooms, some have large blooms. Many are white blooms. My favorites though are the large flower pink and yellow brugs. I have no names for any of them. All unknown or seedlings.
