I really do believe in the birdwatching gods and they shone on the morning group today. I have been photographing birds daily for 6 months straight and this was the first hummingbird that has come close (in fact, as you will see, there were 2). Of course, if I had a red hummingbird feeder in the garden, I would see many.
Ruby-throated Hummingbirds are relatively common in wooded areas and on the edges of wood. This is the only hummingbird common in the east and nearly all migrate to Central America.
Other birds:
Species list: double-crested cormorant, Canada goose, herring gull, red-tailed hawk, turkey vulture, spotted sandpiper, rock pigeon, hairy woodpecker, downy woodpecker, blue jay, American crow, ruby-throated hummingbird, black-capped chickadee, red-breasted nuthatch, white-breasted nuthatch, American robin, ruby-crowned kinglet, red-eyed vireo, yellow-rumped warbler, house sparrow, northern cardinal, American goldfinch, song sparrow. (23 species)
Park and Bluffs views:
Some botany:
Heath and New England Aster hybridize to produce this aster:
Today’s groups:
NATURE POETRY
There are flowers enough in the summertime,
More flowers than I can remember:
But none with the purple, gold, and red
That dyes the flowers of September! – Mary Howitt (1799–1888)
Miles Hearn
Beautiful photos of the humming birds. This summer we saw very few humming birds at our cottage. Finally at the end of August two flew around our flowers on the deck. Maybe we should put up a humming bird feeder next season. It’s amazing the distances they travel on such tiny wings.
This place is beautiful. The Hummingbirds were absolutely precious. The coyote was magnificent. It was all great. Hi everyone!
Great photos, Miles!
At a friend’s home in Haliburton a few wks ago, we saw only female hummingbirds coming to their feeder. It reminded me of a different cottage visit late one summer / early fall, when we saw only females, They were aggressively competing for “possession” of that feeder. I consulted a bird guide and read that males migrate first. The females, of course, were bulking up (hardly?!) for their long trip ahead. I wonder whether males migrate first to establish a bit of feeding territory? I just found this interesting article about the competition rubythroats face from other species of hummingbird cousins down south: https://georgiawildlife.com/out-my-backdoor-winter-home-ruby-throated-hummingbirds