It's A Hummer! A Bumble Bee? No! A SPHINX MOTH!
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- Naomi_Mathews
- Red
- jerrib
- Treeman
- jerrib
- Naomi_Mathews
- Naomi_Mathews
- Naomi_Mathews
- Treeman
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» Naomi_Mathews - Hummers Galore!
I can't believe how many hummingbirds we've seen this afternoon and evening! They have been visiting the feeder that's hung at the arbor, then whizzing up into the white birch tree that's at the south end of our back yard. I'm thinking there must surely have been a nest in this tree, as one of the hummers is larger than two of the others!!This evening when we were eating dinner on the back deck, the larger hummer perched for the longest time way up on a high branch of the birch tree. I dashed in and got the binoculars to get a better look at "her." She was actually sitting there "preening" and using her long needle-like beak to smooth down her feathers. She has some green feathers, and the rest are grayish colored.
AND -- we also had our FIRST Monarch sighting today! It was on the buddleia blossoms along with some little sulphurs and cabbage whites, a small orange fritillary, and later what looked like another Monarch, but much smaller. Not sure what that one was. Oh, and a Mourning Cloak came too! We were thrilled!
To top it all off, we had mourning doves on the telephone wires behind our house, a pair of California Quail visiting, and the usual wrens and sparrows. All were singing and chirping their favorite songs -- we thought they were just entertaining us for dinner! And the truly did!!
-- posted by Naomi_Mathews
» Red - Re: Hummers Galore!
In response to message posted by Naomi_Mathews:
Naomi, this is a fantastic article. You are blessed to have Nature's Garden right in your backyard.
I have seen numerous Monarchs this year and also the little ones that look like Monarchs. I assumed they were baby Monarchs but I am no butterfly expert.
There have been many more butterflies visit us this year. I have been pleasantly surprised. But the last 2 weeks, they have been hiding out. Can't say as I blame them with the high temperatures we've been having here. Finally today, we have some relief.
Those photos are great. I loved sitting on the bench with you and strolling through your garden. Thanks for inviting me in.
Take care and keep your eyes out for more of nature's beautiful creatures.
-- posted by Red
» Treeman - Hey all,
Just wanted to let you know Naomi has quietly slipped off on vacation...camping along the coast I believe. So if you don't see her around don't get discouraged. I have no doubt she'll return with some wonderful butterfly tales. In the meantime, I know she'd be pleased if we kept the place looking lived in. So feel free to post and add comments to her.-- posted by Treeman
» Naomi_Mathews - Re: Hey all,
In response to message posted by Treeman:Hello, Wes --
A GREAT BIG THANK YOU for minding my "butterfly and hummer" garden in my absence. I really appreciate it!
We did "sneak away" for a couple of weeks at the Oregon beaches. I must say, it was a good time to leave our area when we did as there were several devastating forest fires both north and west of us in our absence, which filled our area with clouds of smoke for days and days. It was very sad that we again lost so many of our beautiful evergreen trees and many others as well -- not to mention the destruction of much wildlife in the forested areas. The loss of four very young firefighters before we left on our trip was the most tragic of all.
On a brighter note -- we did have a nice respite in Oregon, including much cooler weather. Whilst the temps here were stuck in the 100-degree range for days -- we were enjoying the cool ocean air that was usually in the 65-70's! We do so love the ocean and beaches and it was a much needed vacation for both hubby and me.
We didn't see very many butterflies -- and not any hummers. However, we did have one very friendly "seagull" that visited us daily on the balcony of 2nd floor motel room that overlooks the Pacific. I got some fabulous digital pictures of him -- perhaps I'll place one here in my disussion thread when I get time. The sunsets were gorgeous and the beaches as lovely as always.
We haunted many antique and old book stores that are favorites of ours, and managed to find some really "cool" items! Since I'm a devoted "bookworm" -- that's a diversion I really enjoyed.
Again, many thanks for minding my gardens, Wes! Hope your summer has been good to you.
Naomi ~~
-- posted by Naomi_Mathews
» Naomi_Mathews - Re: Re: Hummers Galore!
In response to message posted by Red:Hi, Mary --
Thanks for your comments about this article -- sorry for the delay in answering due to our vacation absence. I always appreciate your comments and contributions here in my discussion area. Thanks for visiting so faithfully!
I know we are really blessed to have so many of God's "little creatures" in our backyard! I'm sure our hummers were here while we were gone -- their feeder was completely empty, but they did have some flowers to dine on as well. AND, although we didn't see any for a few days after our return, lo and behold, as soon as the feeder went back up -- it wasn't long until the we saw a hummer there again! Yeah!
I'm glad you're seeing some butterfly activity, Mary. They're so fun to have visiting, and not nearly so easily spooked as the hummers. We've seen a couple of Monarchs, the usual Swallotwails which I love, and also the faithful sulphurs and cabbage whites. AND, we saw the tiniest little "blue" butterfly the other evening at the butterfly bush!
Take care, and I hope your summer has been fun! Seems fall will be here all too soon -- and my summer has gotten away from me this year. It was a long time a-coming -- that's why it seems so short! (-;
-- posted by Naomi_Mathews
» Naomi_Mathews - Re: Glorious sightings, Naomi
In response to message posted by jerrib:Hi, Jerri!
Thanks for your earlier visit -- sorry for the delay in responding due to our absence for a much-needed vacation respite!
About those hummers -- is the first year I've been able to see one actually "perch" on a tree branch and stay there long enough to watch him with binoculars!! I was thrilled to be able to do that. Just wish our camera had a better ZOOM lens. I'm glad they seem to feel safe in our backyard. We do have one neighbor's cat that hangs out a lot when we're not looking. I just hope it hasn't made meals of too many of our other birds -- but I guess that's part of Nature's way, right? No matter what we do, this Siamese cat insists on lurking right below our bird feeders!! )-;
Jerri, you are so right about summer. It has almost totally escaped me this year. Our spring was a long time getting here and I wasn't out in the yard nearly as much as in years gone by. However, we usually do have a nice Indian summer here -- so perhaps I can still redeem some of the warm sunshine and pleasant days.
I very much appreciate your faithful visits here, Jerri. I'll be in touch soon.
Naomi ~~
-- posted by Naomi_Mathews
» Treeman - Hey Naomi,
Good to have you back. Sounds like a great time. I'm with you on the loss of your firefighters. I was responsible for wildfire supression activities here in my neck of the woods for 20 years, so I know the issues and dangers involved.Just thought I'd let you know, we have a hummer who was visiting the monarda drift outside our kitchen door while it was in its glory. We've actually had him/her for several years. Used to love the mimosa before it fell over. Now he checks out the butterfly bush regularly, but doesn't seem to get too excited over it. The spinx moths do tho.
Good to have you back with us.
Wes
-- posted by Treeman
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