Innehållsförteckning för June - July 2016 från Birds & Blooms

Hummingbirds are captivating creatures. Here’s proof: ® Birds & Blooms reader Dave Katz heard a loud buzzing at a barbecue two years ago, and when he discovered that it was a hummingbird, he was hooked. He read about them, set up several feeders and planted nectar flowers. Dave says his wife, Susan, thought he’d gone off the deep end. All the hard work paid off, though. He now hand-feeds them in his backyard in Randolph, New Jersey. But his newfound hobby doesn’t stop there. In February, he and Susan traveled to Nicaragua to help study and band hummingbirds with an organization called Operation RubyThroat. To go from having no interest in hummingbirds to this level of passion is truly incredible. I hope our annual special issue gets you captivated by…

PICKING PLANTS It’s true: Hummingbirds love the color red. But they love it even more when it comes in the form of a tube-shaped bloom. TOP 10 1 COLUMBINE 2 SAGE 3 CARDINAL FLOWER 4 ANISE HYSSOP 5 BEE BALM 6 SCARLET GILIA 7 WOODLAND PHLOX 8 BEARDTONGUE 9 FRINGED BLEEDING HEART 10 LUPINE If you’re ready to create a hummingbird haven, start with colorful, showy wildflowers that are native to your area. These 10 plant picks will get you started. They perform well in a broad geographic range, bloom at different times and are relatively easy to find. Begin with these, then expand your garden with other native beauties that both you and the hummingbirds will love! Columbine AQUILEGIA CANADENSIS, ZONES 3 TO 8 Bell-shaped, red and yellow blooms…

HOT AND HUMID Bell peppers: Ashe County Pimiento, Doe Hill Golden Bell Collards: Morris Heading Okra: Cajun Jewel Peanuts: Schronce’s Deep Black Pole beans: Louisiana Purple Pod, Selma Zesta Tomatoes: Late-summer planting: Belarusian Heart, Black Prince, Brave General, Emerald Apple, Mushroom Basket, Stupice; spring: Comstock Sauce ’n’ Slice, Costoluto Genovese, Cuor di Bue, Pantano Romanesco; summer: Bonny Best, Cherokee Purple, Eva Purple Ball, Placero Watermelon: Moon & Stars, Strawberry SHORT SEASON Bell peppers: King of the North, Horizon, Oda Bush beans: Contender, Roma II Eggplant: Japanese Pickling, Japanese White Egg, Mitoyo Tomatoes: Glacier, Sub-Arctic Plenty, Tess’s Land Race Currant, and all late-summer varieties from the Hot and Humid list above Watermelon: Blacktail Mountain, Cream of Saskatchewan, Sweet Dakota Rose ARID Beans: Rattlesnake (pole), Provider (bush) Corn: Stowell’s Evergreen, Yuman Yellow…

supplies • Assorted disassembled lamp pieces • 2 tin cans • Snips • Needle-nose pliers • Hole punch • Hammer • Flower stake Alison Auth is a maker from Richmond, Virginia, and is known for her creations from salvaged architectural elements. STEP 1. Play around with the disassembled lamp pieces by arranging them in different ways to see what your final bird might look like. Choose a favorite combination. STEP 2. A lamp rod is what holds everything together. Drill a hole in a finial (the fancy topper) if it doesn’t already have one, and slide it and a few more pieces onto the rod to create the bird’s head. (Don’t forget to leave some extra lamp rod for the rest of the body.) Then, secure a flower stake to…

Create your own hand-held hummingbird feeder with our simple step-by-step instructions. Learn more at birdsandblooms.com/hummerfeeder. There are plenty of videos online of lucky people hand-feeding hummingbirds. It’s incredible to watch, but if you’ve always yearned for the excitement of seeing delicate hummingbirds up close, here’s how you can do it, too. Be part of the scene. The easiest way to get close to the action is to be in the middle of it. Study the traffic at your hummingbird feeder and find out when it’s busiest (usually after dawn and before dusk). If you have multiple nectar feeders, remove all but one. Then, put a bench or lawn chair beside the feeder and sit as still as possible. Do this often enough and eventually your presence will be accepted and…

GETTING THERE No matter where you’re coming from, the trip into Red Rock Country is amazing. Fly into Phoenix, grab a car and enjoy a two-hour scenic trip north through small towns and rolling hills along Interstate 17, then a short drive up State Route 179, the Red Rock Scenic Byway. HUMMINGBIRD HIGHLIGHTS The stars are all here: rufous, broad-tailed, calliope, black-chinned and Anna’s (a year-round resident). The number and variety of the birds in Sedona reach their peak in August. Several hot spots in the area offer up-close, personal views of these birds in large numbers. SECRET SPOT For breathtaking views and incredible sunsets, drive the uphill, winding Airport Road to Sedona Airport. An overlook atop a mesa provides a panoramic view of the city below. A quick hike…

Whether it’s the eastern or the western version, orioles, hummingbirds and bluebirds are favorites from coast to coast. And if you happen to be in the Great Plains, where many of their ranges overlap, there are twice as many iconic birds to see. Some of the species separations came about during a glacial period. Other genetic shifts happened earlier. Whatever the cause, these changes challenge us to compare eastern and western birdlife. Baltimore and Bullock’s Orioles Formerly one species, the northern oriole is now known in the east as the Baltimore oriole and in the west as Bullock’s oriole. Males of both species are brilliant orange and readily feed from orange halves, enjoy grape jelly and occasionally taste hummingbird nectar. An adult male Baltimore has a fully black head, but…

DID YOU KNOW In downpours, hummingbirds will shake their heads and bodies to dry off, similar to the way dogs do. One rainy Saturday morning, my husband and I noticed a ruby-throated hummingbird relishing the rain. These birds are usually in motion, so it was a peaceful sight to see this hummingbird perched contentedly, neck stretched with its head to the sky, truly enjoying the moment. I snapped this photo through our kitchen window. I love the idea that this little bird was stopping to enjoy the cool rain! Mary Meyer EYOTA, MINNESOTA The sun was peeking over the tree line, and I stood with a cup of coffee watching God’s creation unfold. The bloom on the orchid cactus my sister gave me was opening, so I wanted a picture…

Submission Guidelines We love hearing from readers—in fact, we couldn’t publish this magazine without you! To make sharing your photos and stories even easier, we’ve created an online submission form at birdsandblooms.com/submit-your-story. Each reader whose story, photo or short item is published will receive a Birds & Blooms lip balm made with help from Wisconsin bees! Because of the volume of submissions, our small staff can’t acknowledge receipt of submissions, but we’ll always let you know if they’re published. By submitting material to us, you grant RDA Enthusiast Brands, LLC, its affiliates, partners and licensees worldwide use of the material without time limitation, and the right to include your name and city/state in connection with any such use. We may modify, reproduce and distribute your material in any medium and…

Last summer, I started spending 15 minutes each day standing as motionless as possible next to my hummingbird feeder. My daily visitors quickly got used to my presence. One hummingbird was bold enough to buzz around my head so close I could feel the wind from its wings against my hair. My brother-in-law gave me a handheld feeder for my birthday, and within five minutes a hummingbird was eating out of my hand! The hummingbird moved back and forth between the feeders, seemingly in no hurry to leave. This is one birding experience that will stay with me for many years to come. GREENSBURG, PENNSYLVANIA…

1 Handmade wooden earring studs in a funky pattern, $15, micapeet.etsy.com 2 Sterling silver stacking ring, $27, sarahluciejewellery.etsy.com 3 Tempered glass coasters in pop art style, $37 for set of 4, laurenehuntdesigns.com 4 Cheerful wrapping paper with hummingbird print, $8 per roll, papersource.com 5 Hummingbird tumbler, perfect for hot or cold drinks, $17 for 16 oz. size, target.com 6 Metal hummingbird welcome wall sign, $20, imaginemetalarts.weebly.com have you seen a terrific product we should know about? Send us a note via our Submission Guidelines on page 64. We’re always looking for suggestions! we love this!…

Q & A After watching hummingbirds at my feeders, I noticed that males put their bills farther into the sugar water than females. Do females have longer bills? Pat Comack HAZELWOOD, MISSOURI Kenn and Kimberly: That’s an interesting observation! Female ruby-throated hummingbirds do have a slightly longer bill, on average, than males. The difference is so minor—less than one-tenth of an inch— that most people would never notice. The females also average slightly larger bills overall. I found this nest about a foot off the ground in an elm sapling in a grassy area. What kind of bird built it? Cris Nichols MAYETTA, KANSAS Kenn and Kimberly: It’s a challenge to identify nests. Many kinds of birds build similar ones, and appearances vary depending on the materials available. Eggs are…

59 There are 59 national parks in the U.S. 84 The National Parks cover more than 84 million acres. .02 The smallest national park is Thaddeus Kosciuszko National Memorial in Pennsylvania at .02 acres. 22,000 The National Park Service employs 22,000 people and has 221,000 volunteers. 405At 405 miles, Mammoth Cave National Park in Kentucky is the longest known cave system in the world. 1872 Before there was an official National Park Service, Ulysses S. Grant signed off on what would become the first national park, Yellowstone, in 1872. 28 The 28th president, Woodrow Wilson, signed the National Park Service Organic Act on Aug. 25, 1916, making the National Park Service a part of the federal government. We’re celebrating the National Park Service centennial companywide! Look for more stories and…