Boo, I have five nests this year and two are in he courtyard. Every morning when I open the front door to let some fresh air in before it gets to hot. I am always met by two mothers telling me to get the he** out of the courtyard. They come right to my level and look me right in the eye.
Monday, I was planting some Coleus in a bed in the courtyard near the front by the gate into the courtyard.. I kept hearing this hummingbird whine. I finally got up. I was sitting on the ground and getting up is not one of the things I do easily. I went out the gate and in the Sumac by the gate was Mama Hummingbird and Baby Hummingbird. Mama was teaching Baby hummingbird how to fly and the Baby was not a willing participant. She would actually push the Baby off the very thin hanging branch. Baby would fly a short distance to the next thin branch. Momma would come again and that was when the Baby made the whining sound. This went on for a long time and I finally, because i did not have a video camera, eent back to my gardening.
I read somewhere if you want a lot of hummingbirds put rotting fruit out somewhere in the garden. I put 5 rotting bananas behind the KOI pond. Oh my goodness, try it. They flock to eat the fruit gnats. And they are quick. Now the Dragonflies and Hummingbirds are fighting over the gnats. I also have two bird feeders set up in the back landscape. They are about 40' apart hanging in two different trees. . In the morning it is a riot. They are flying back and forth like crazy birds thinking they are missing something at the other feeder. If you do not like birds, my back landscape would drive you mad. I have a wrought Iron fence to the greenbelt that I have to power wash each week because of all my favorite friends deposits. In the courtyard it is the hummers nest making their deposits. If you want to find a nest just look up from the little tiny mess on your patio or sidewalk.
So first thing in the morning I have the Hummers, Quail, Doves and then a bunch of finches that have very strange parentage backgrounds. Yellow heads, orange heads, orange chests, yellow and orange combined. I have a whole bunch of cross breeding going on here. Then every afternoon 3 Robins come to the KOI pond water fall for a bath. Now Robins know how to take a bath. It is a blast to watch. This afternoon it was so hot the Doves and Robins were waiting in line to get into the KOI pond waterfall. I have a wonderful view from my kitchen window. And they signal in their own special way when I fill the feeder. The larger one with song bird feed I only fill every two days. They have learned to rock it, two story, and spill the seed. The other site takes two days to empty their socks..
Sorry this is so long, just wanted to share my morning joy with my gardening friends.
