Wednesday, September 23, 2020

HUMMINGBIRD AT GREEN SPRING GARDENS

 On Monday (21st) we went back to the garden as we woke up to sunshine and cooler temperatures.  It was 64 degrees when we left the house.  In today's post I am sharing Gregg's photos of the hummingbird we saw.

I don't know my hummingbirds very well, so perhaps someone who does can name this one.  It seems to have little white tips on the end of its tail feathers.

I have cropped each photo and put the cropped version below the original.

Not necessarily about this particular one, the red lettering will take you to an interesting field guide here.

Added note: thank you Eileen, Debbie and Martha for ID'ing this pretty bird as a Ruby-throated Hummingbird.  You can read their comments below this post.




Below you can see the flowers this little hummer was so interested in.  I am pretty sure it is the Lobelia laxiflora var angustifolia, also Sierra Madre Lobelia.  A very hardy flower and easy to grow.

This flower was named after a French botanist and herbalist Matthias de l'Obel (1538-1616).  It is in the bellflower family, Campanulaceae.

Its several common names include Mexican lobelia, Sierra Madre lobelia, Mexican cardinal flower, loose flowers lobelia and drooping lobelia.  In Spanish and Nahuatl it is known as aretitos.  Very easy to grow and it attracts hummingbirds from June until Fall.  The plant can live up to 16 plus years, and still thrive.  

It is native to the Sierra Madre Occidental Mountains of Southern Arizona and Northern Mexico, and as such is highly adaptable to changeable circumstances.  Producing many flowers it is able to completely spread in a garden with a profusion of willowy leaves and flowers.  They grow 3 feet tall x 4 feet wide.

Thanks for looking and I wish you all a great day.





44 comments:

  1. Beautiful little pocket dynamos that I would love to see for myself. Huge thanks to you and to Gregg.

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    1. Muito obrigado. Um abraço e desejo um feliz dia e um feliz final de semana.

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  3. Hello Denise,

    Pretty captures of the Ruby-throated Hummingbird. It is usally the only hummer species we see in the east. The plants are pretty, I like the blooms.
    Enjoy your day!

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    1. Thank you Eileen, I appreciate you ID'ing this little hummingbird. Much appreciated :) Happy Friday and a happy weekend to you :)

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  4. Good morning Denise! I love all the pretty little hummingbird photos, very informative post too. Thank you for sharing them with us. I hope you are having a great week :)

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    1. Hi Martha, thank you so much and you are very welcome. I am happy you enjoyed my post. Have a great weekend :)

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  5. gorgeous images of the little hummer. it appears to be a ruby throated hummingbird, more common in my area, perhaps yours as well. from the angle you are showing, it is difficult to tell if it is male or female. the males have red, iridescent, metallic gorget that can be seen in certain light and in certain angles. females do not have that!!

    awesome job gregg, i hope you heard their unique humming!!!

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    1. Thanks Debbie and for the ID also :) No, didn't hear the humming. We didn't get that close but will try whenever we are lucky to see them again.

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  6. Interesting shots. Hummingbirds don't fly here in Hawaii. Too bad.

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    1. You have other pretty birds in Hawaii we don't get here Gigi. I loved seeing them but yes the Hummingbird is one of my favorites :)

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  7. Hummingbirds are attracted to red flowers. It must be their color.

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  8. so precious and my what camouflages he has for that plant

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  9. Amazing photos!!!!!!

    Don't know my birds. But yes, they do like that kind of flower... Long....

    🍁✨🍂✨🍎✨🍂✨🍁

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  10. He got wonderful photos! And that is so small feat, they are incredibly hard to snap because they are so fast and are never still. I think it was you who posted a recipe for Chinese chicken noodle Soup. I just made it, and we loved it!

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    1. Gregg takes great photos, I always enjoy seeing photos through his eyes. So glad you enjoyed the chicken soup Ginny. Thank you for sharing that.

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  11. The hummingbird blends in perfectly with the foliage!

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    1. It certainly does. At first we thought it was one of those big hummingbird moths, which we have seen more often than the hummer. This was certainly a gift.

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  12. I don't know what type of hummingbird Gregg captures, but he sure did get some very clear shots for ID purposes. The flower info was interesting, Denise.

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  13. I've always been enchanted by hummingbirds, but I didn't see them in Chicago. I remember seeing hoards of them at the Butchart Gardens and thought they were bees from a distance swarming over a flowering tree. Greg has a very steady hand.

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    1. Thank you Kay, yes he does have a steady hand. You bring back memories of our trip to Butchart Gardens many years ago now. I didn't pay as much attention to birds back then and was there for the flowers, but I would love to go back to do both. Maybe one day :)

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  14. It's always such a fun treat to see hummingbirds. Great photos!

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  15. A great idea to show the cropped version and the original. I don’t know my hummers well either, but that should help your bird experts with the ID. ... you definitely DO know your plants. That was interesting to read and it is a pretty one (which is all I would have known about it before you taught me.)

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    1. Thank you Sallie, so glad you enjoyed and appreciate your sweet comment. I am learning as I go along with just about everything.

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  16. Gregg took beautiful photos of the hummingbird, Denise. I love the flowers she is visiting. I'm not sure but she looks like a ruby throated hummer. So darling and such a hard worker.

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    1. Thank you Martha Ellen, he will be very happy when I tell him. I thought so too, about the hummingbird being a little darling. Thank you for the ID, much appreciated :)

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  17. Doesn't the hummingbird blend in well with the foliage.
    Great series of photographs.

    All the best Jan

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    1. It does indeed. A lot of good camouflage in those feathers. Thank you Jan and all the best to you too :)

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  18. Lovely little hummer. I have yet to be fast enough on the draw to capture one, LOL. Gregg did a great job.

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    1. Thank you GGG, me too :) I will pass your kind remarks onto Gregg.

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  19. What great photos of the hummer!

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