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Wednesday, July 14, 2010

We Have a Hummer!!!!!!!

For a couple of weeks we've been seeing glimpses of one or more hummingbirds in the garden.  I've seen them on the Vitex and Rose of Sharon bushes, and my husband saw one hovering just outside the window on the patio.

The camera was never anywhere close until I glanced out of the patio door yesterday and saw a hummingbird on the feeder.  This is our first year of having a feeder, so I was thrilled to see it getting some attention.

I grabbed my camera, zoomed, focused and snapped -- only to find the camera was still in video mode.  So rather than a high resolution photo, I got a low resolution video. I was able to pull a couple of stills from it, which you can see below.

As always, if you click on the photos, you'll see the larger version.


The little guy sat on the perch for a few minutes while he took some sips from the feeder. And then he was gone.  They move so quickly.  I was glad he sat still long enough for me to get some footage/pics.



I'm happy to report he came back later too.  I hope he comes back again, and brings his friends.


Words and photographs by Jayne Wilson, Green and Serene, Jayne's Country Garden.

7 comments:

Kyna said...

So exciting to see your first hummingbirds! I love my little hummingbird buddies. They don't come around as much this year, because the heat seems to turn the nectar bad faster, and I don't get out enough to clean it (like every 3 days). But they tend to stay around till late fall which is cool :)

Jayne said...

It's blisteringly hot here too Kyna. I'm mixing new nectar every other day, but now I'm just mixing one part sugar with four parts water, it's not nearly as expensive as buying the ready made nectar from the store.

meemsnyc said...

That is so awesome! Love hummingbirds!

Amy Brecount White said...

Hi, Jayne. I love it when I spy my first hummer of the year.

You might be interested in checking out my debut novel, FORGET-HER-NOTS (Greenwillow/HarperCollins.) It's a new spin on garden magic with the language of flowers come magically to life. It's designed for girls ages 11 and up, but flower-lovers of all ages will enjoy it.

Best of luck with your garden and have a lovely summer,

-Amy (Brecount White)
www.amybrecountwhite.com

Kathleen Scott said...

Congratulations! Doesn't it make you love your habitat plants even more? Once hummingbirds find a nectar source, they come back, even stopping at the same places year-to-year in migration. So you've got a friend in this hummer for as long as he lives.

I couldn't tell from the pictures whether he was a ruby-throat or black-chinned. What do you think?

I've been wanting a Rose of Sharon bush. Deer eat the flowers so I haven't done it yet but your story makes me wonder if it's worth fencing another plant. How often do you have to water yours?

Jayne said...

Your book sounds perfect, Amy - I'll check out that link. Thanks :-)

Jayne said...

Well Kathleen, I assumed he was a ruby-throat, but to be honest I'm not sure. I got another photo the following evening, and it appears to be of a female ruby-throat. So perhaps I have a nesting pair now?