It rained all day so I couldn't go outside to play in the garden. But the garden still found a way to give us a couple of thrills anyway. This male Ruby Throated hummingbird visited our garden today. Since the freezes we've had at least three female and immature hummers in our garden, but this was the first male we've seen.
Here he is trying out another restaurant. Isn't he cute! I took all these photos through the window.
The little feeder (top two photos) is only about 6" long and holds one cup of sugar water. We have several of those and we love them. The large feeder above was a gift from some very special friends.Sugar water formula: one part sugar dissolved into four parts water. It's best not to add food coloring. The ant guards are a must, they made all the difference.
Though it's hard to see him well, this is a male Painted Bunting. They are small birds, and really beautiful. The head is dark blue, the lower body is bright red and the back is an olive green. He's quite the looker!
This little cafe feeder is my favorite among our many feeders.
I just came over to see your blog from "The Dirt". I'm "kgardens" there. You have a lovely place in which to garden. I have to admit to a little jealousy over your painted bunting. One of my oak trees must be related to yours, at least they have similar facial features :) I look forward to seeing more of your gardening adventures.
ReplyDeleteI just love Hummingbirds, only had one so far. I am going out side and give them fresh food. Thanks for sharing. Janice
ReplyDeleteI can't decide which I love more, the bunting or the adorable feeder he's on. Wherever did you find that?
ReplyDeleteIt looks like you got up to blog-tech speed quickly. Congratulations! It's beautiful and I love your photos
Oops, just realized you may not recognize the screen name from my Google account. This is Penny from The Dirt
ReplyDeleteHi Ladies! Thanks for posting on my new blog.
ReplyDeleteNanaK, we actually had two male painted buntings that rainy morning, but I was only able to get a photo of one. They are really beautiful to behold. So our trees have similar facial features - we should get them together, maybe they are related through the family "tree." ha ha!
Janis, do you know what kind of hummingbird you have? The ruby throated seems to be the most common. There is a web site to report hummingbird sightings in Florida, FloridaHummingbirds.net, run by a man in Valrico who has about 18 hummers every year and is active in researching them.
Penny, thanks for the nice comment, I find I am enjoying blogging more than I thought I would. Still some kinks to work out though. That cute little cafe table feeder was a present from my mother about eight years ago...it's held up well and I just love it! I think she bought it at Big Lots, and only paid a couple of bucks for it. If I find another one I'll let you know.
Thanks again for the comments ladies!