Indholdsfortegnelse for June - July 2017 i Birds & Blooms

“They are the sweetest little creatures on earth, and they have such spirit.” —Sherry Wheless, Birds & Blooms reader I couldn’t have described hummingbirds better myself. Their charm and antics elicit huge smiles and enthusiastic oohs and aahs from onlookers as no other bird does! Every year in the June/July issue, we celebrate the spunky fliers in a big way. You’ll find 51 extraordinary photos of hummingbirds within these pages. Each photo showcases the quirky personality and stunning beauty that make them one of the most popular bird species. To help you get to know these tiny fliers even better, see photos of the 14 hummingbirds that breed in the U.S. beginning on page 30. Our bird experts guide you through the critical marks that distinguish one species from another.…

A leucistic Anna’s hummingbird visited the Australian Garden at the UCSC Arboretum, a public garden about 60 miles from my home. I love hummingbirds, so I had to drive there to see this rare bird for myself. I’d heard that seeing it was hit or miss, but I got extremely lucky. The bird streaked across the sky like a white bullet, then hovered over the blossoms in front of me. Wow! As my heart raced, I took as many photos as I could until it sped off as fast as it had flown in! I’ve been back to look for it many times since that day. Sometimes I’ve seen it and sometimes I haven’t, but each time I do, I’m still in awe at the sight—and grateful that it graced…

WHY I LOVE IT There’s always something to see and do in Salina, whether it’s catching a musical performance at the art deco Stiefel Theatre, which opened in 1931, or stopping by Smoky Hill Museum, a small, Kansas-centric free museum about the history of the heartland. 365 DAYS OF BIRDS Lakewood Park should be the first stop in Salina for any visiting birder. Thanks to its habitat mix of prairie, woodland and lake, a wide range of species exists here. Wood ducks float across the water, colorful migrating warblers pass through in spring and blue-gray gnatcatchers are here to nest. In summer, be on the lookout for roosting Mississippi kites. In winter, hundreds of cedar waxwings feast on all of the berry-producing shrubs and trees. But no matter the weather,…

Actual fireflies are scarce around bustling Tokyo, Japan, but one firefly festival releases 100,000 small glowing orbs on the Sumida River to imitate that quintessential glow. 1 From 1960 to the mid-1990s, the Sigma Chemical Co. paid collectors up to one penny per firefly, harvesting over 100 million lightning bugs and possibly reducing local populations. (The company sold luciferase, which is the enzyme that produces light in fireflies.) 1 In Great Smoky Mountains National Park in Tennessee, one particular species of firefly (Photinus carolinus) synchronizes to create some beautiful bioluminescent displays. 21 Lightning bugs live as adults for about 21 days. 0 If a field is paved over, the fireflies that lived there don’t migrate to another field. Instead, they disappear entirely. 100 Nearly 100 percent of the chemical reaction…

A SHRUB WORTH SHOWING OFF No hummingbird can resist fragrant hibiscus blooms. These feathery flowers come in a wide variety and are hardy in Zones 5 to 8. Some are native to the tropics and are grown as annuals or are overwintered indoors. Others are perennials with huge flowers. TO-DO LIST June • Design a hummingbird habitat. Go beyond just hanging a sugar-water feeder. Install a water mister, plant a variety of flowers and shrubs, and avoid using pesticides. • Clean and prep your birdbaths. Use a mild bleach solution and start scrubbing. Don’t forget to rinse with plain water. • Plant a butterfly garden. Create a caterpillar nursery with native host plants, like milkweed for monarchs and violets for fritillaries. The butterflies will thank you!…

BLOOM TIME Variety is essential for attracting ruby-throats and other hummingbirds. Plant this cardinal flower for consecutive blooms. 1 Cardinal flower LOBELIA CARDINALIS ZONES 2 TO 9 SIZE: 3 TO 4 FEET TALL, 1 TO 2 FEET WIDE Cardinal flower, named for the red robes worn by Roman Catholic cardinals, needs mulch to retain moisture during summer and protect its root system during cold northern winters. Why we love it: This deer-resistant, reseeding and self-rooting perennial lights up partial shade or full sun areas that boast consistently moist soil. Flower spikes open from bottom to top, and stay in bloom for several weeks. 2 Bee balm MONARDA SPECIES ZONES 4 TO 9 SIZE: 1 TO 4 FEET TALL AND WIDE For a surefire way to attract hummingbirds, grow bee balm.…

THE TROPICAL TEXAN Buff-bellied Down in southern Texas, this medium-large hummingbird is seen all year, and it sometimes wanders along the Gulf Coast. Males and females look almost the same: apple green on the back, throat and chest, pale buff on the belly, and rusty red on the tail. THE DARK KNIGHT Magnificent Another large species, the male magnificent looks dark and mysterious until the light catches his brilliant purple cap and green throat. Females are duller gray and green. This species spends the summer in southwest mountain forests. THE WESTERN COUSIN Black-chinned West of the Great Plains, this bird is often seen in yards, parks and along riversides each summer. It’s a close relative of the ruby-throat, and it looks nearly identical, except the male’s throat is black and bright…

Q How can I keep yellow jackets away from my hummingbird feeders? Gail Mitchell MARTINSVILLE, VIRGINIA Kenn and Kimberly: Reducing the ratio of sugar to water might help. Try 5 parts water to 1 part sugar, instead of the usual 4 to 1. Be sure to clean any spillage off the feeding ports after refilling the feeder. Another option is to use saucer-style feeders that keep nectar farther away from the feeding ports. Since bees and wasps prefer to feed in sunny areas, you could try moving your feeders to a shadier area. Avoid using products such as pesticides, petroleum jelly or cooking oil on the feeding ports to discourage bees and wasps, since these substances can be deadly for hummingbirds. It’s also good to remember that these insects are…

answers on the bottom! Did You Know? • RED, ORANGE AND PINK are hard for hummingbirds to ignore because their eyes are sensitive to warm colors. • HUMMINGBIRDS use their long tongues to scoop out nectar from flowers and feeders. ANSWERS 1. CORAL BEAN 2. VERBENA 3. BEE BALM 4. HIBISCUS 5. HONEYSUCKLE…

Hummingbirds fly forward, backward, sideways…and up, up, up! They go where the food is, and to the colors they love most: red, orange and even rich pink. If you think about it, flowering trees, such as redbud, eucalyptus and mimosa, are nectar favorites, and they’re way above the ground. Hummingbirds have even been spotted checking out rooftop gardens of towering buildings in large cities, so the sky really is the limit. To make your high-level offerings truly stand out, focus on vivid flowers. For a sunny balcony, geraniums are a solid choice. Their bloom clusters are huge and draw the eye of humans and hummingbirds alike from a distance. But geraniums are generally scanty in nectar, so add a pot or rail box of nectar-rich nasturtiums (long-blooming and easy to…

Whether you have a sprawling landscape or a small patio, growing nectar-rich blooms in pots is a no-fail way to boost the hummingbird and butterfly population in your garden. These cherished fliers flock to colorful flowers that are nestled into favorite pots. The major benefit of this small-space strategy is placing the pots wherever you need to—near a sugar-water feeder, a shady corner or a sunny balcony. Try these two combos, or mix and match with other hummingbird favorites! THE DIRT ON DIRT It’s tempting to toss some dirt from the garden right into your containers, but a potting mix that includes vermiculite, peat moss, compost, perilite or a combination of these materials yields the best results.…

it’s a magical moment when a hummingbird comes to call. These flying dynamos, arguably the crown jewels of backyard birds, are among nature’s most beautiful and fascinating creatures. Once you know what they’re looking for, hosting them in your backyard is easy. Now let’s lay out the welcome mat! GO RED. With one of the fastest metabolisms in the animal kingdom, hummingbirds are always on the lookout for nectar to fuel their busy bodies. As it turns out, hummingbirds have a heightened visual sensitivity to red flowers, so they tend to visit blooms in these hues. Perennials like cardinal flower, bee balm and garden phlox and annuals like snapdragon, flowering tobacco and pentas are excellent varieties to plant. Another option is to set out a bright red sugar-water feeder—or tie…

It’s easy to think of wasps as the annoying yellow jackets that raid your backyard barbecue, or the paper wasps that build nests under your eaves. But in reality, social wasps are your best allies in pest control, and they rarely sting people. In fact, only 38 wasp species sting aggressively, and that’s because they have helpless eggs, larvae and pupae to defend in their nests. The rest of North America’s 14,500 wasp species are shy, solitary types like mud daubers, sand wasps and cicada killers. What surprises most people about wasps is that, just like bees and butterflies, they’re pollinators, too. For example, pollen wasps actively gather pollen from penstemon west of the Rocky Mountains. And although plenty of wasps visit flowers merely seeking nectar to fuel their flight,…

Find the Hummingbird In each issue, we hide a hummingbird like the one above left. In the April/May issue, we hid it on page 16. If you find it, enter at birdsandblooms.com/contests. We’ll draw winners to receive Birds & Blooms seeds. HIDDEN OBJECT GUIDELINES No purchase necessary to enter to win. Purchase will not improve your chances of winning. Sweepstakes is open to legal residents age 18 years or older of the U.S., its territories and possessions, or of Canada (excluding the Province of Quebec). Sweepstakes begins on May 3, 2017, and ends on June 30, 2017. Find official rules at birdsandblooms.com/contests. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED. Sweepstakes sponsored by RDA Enthusiast Brands, LLC. Contact Us! CUSTOMER CARE For subscriptions, renewals, gifts, payments, account info and inquiries: Email: customercare@birdsandblooms.com Visit: birdsandblooms.com/customercare Write: BIRDS &…