One of our favourite lens friends to watch in the garden are the ruby throated hummingbirds. These amazing little birds arrive during April and stay till towards the end of September or beginning of October.
The buzzing tells you they are arriving at the feeders and you have to be quick and patient to capture photos of them. We have two different feeders which I keep filled with a mixture of 1 part sugar and 4 parts water. One of the feeders hangs on the railing of the gazebo so we can get amazing views of the hummers as they come to this feeder and into the hanging baskets of flowers.
These hummingbirds belong to the family Trochilidae. This is the smallest bird that breeds in Eastern Canada. They measure 7 to 9 cm long and have a wingspan of 8 to 11 cm. For non metric folks that is 2.8 to 3.5 inches long and a 3.1 to 4.3 in wingspan. The male weighs just over 3 grams (.12 ounce) and is slightly less than the female.
They are metallic green on their upper body and a greyish white on their tummy. The male is the more brightly coloured bird with a ruby red coloured band around its throat.
The other feeder is on a feeder pole along with an oriole feeder and it is set among the flowers.
They love nectar from flowers and I try to have hummingbird friendly flowers in the garden. Here the female is checking out the blooms on the obedient plants. They also love cosmos, red canna, and monarda. I’ve also seen them checking out the red blooms on the scarlet runner beans.
It’s time for ABC Wednesday and letter of the week is H. H for hummingbirds.
I’m also sharing with Wild Bird Wednesday, Nature Notes, I’d Rather B Birdin’ and Saturday’s Critters.
lots more lens friends
