Month: June 2024

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Where Have the Ruby-throated Hummingbirds Gone?

JUNE 9, 2024, UPDATE:  As I was writing this post on June 4th we were starting to see Ruby-throated Hummingbirds trickle back to our feeders.  While sitting on our screened back porch the evening of June 2nd Clay had a female visiting a nearby feeder regularly.  I had both males and females hovering outside my office window (where I normally have a feeder hanging, but hadn’t hung one yet).  On June 5th I hung that feeder and enjoyed a steady procession of hummingbirds (plus their buzzing wings distracted me).  By June 7th some favorite feeders were emptying in two days.  Sure enough, Japanese Honeysuckle was DONE!  The garden is full of bugs for hummingbirds, but June is a relatively quiet time in my garden for hummingbird nectar plants, so feeders are key!  As of June 9th, Coral Honeysuckle is no longer covered in blooms, but  will continue to bloom sparsely until the frost.  Lyre-leaved Sage, Wild Columbine, and Red Buckeye are all done (and in seed).  Foxglove Beardtongue is waning.  I can’t wait until the late June/early July hummingbird favorites bloom: Red Bee Balm, Wild Bergamot, Blazing Star, Trumpet Creeper, and many other nectar-rich & insect-rich natives!

Originally written on June 4, 2024

This past spring was one of our best springs for Ruby-throated Hummingbirds (I’ve peppered this post with photos from spring 2024).  I’ll quantify that in a bit.

I hung our feeders on April 16, 2024, a little later than usual.  That evening at 5:04 p.m. the first one appeared.  In following days and weeks they were daily visitors to our five feeders, which are scattered around the yard so returning females can feed in peace and be more inclined to nest in our yard.  Each day we witnessed chases, and a female came in to drink and bath several times at our fountain.

They were drawn to all the spring-blooming goodies I’ve planted to attract them (Lyre-leaved Sage, Wild Columbine, Coral Honeysuckle, Red Buckeye, Coral Bells, blueberries, and Pinxterbloom Azalea).  Since their diet is also made up of soft-bodied insects (the protein they need), they find those “a plenty” in our half-acre of native plants.

By early May a few of our feeders were being emptied of their 2 ounces in 2 days.  So, after washing these feeders (which I do every 7 days or sooner if the solution turns cloudy), I refilled them with 4 ounces of solution (instead of my normal 2 ounces for slow periods).  Those feeders were also emptied in 2 days.  Hmmmmm!  This was unlike any spring we’ve experienced when 2 ounces per feeder easily lasts a week.  This rather intense and steady Ruby-throated Hummingbird action lasted until the evening of May 18, 2024.  Then they were gone, or so it seemed.

The next day I looked around and, sure enough, Japanese Honeysuckle had just begun to bloom, right on schedule.  Each mid-May through mid-June Ruby-throated Hummingbird sightings drop off abruptly.  Many assume that they’ve left, but in fact they are feeding on blooming Japanese Honeysuckle instead.

Tonight while sitting on our screened porch, Clay witnessed a female Ruby-throated Hummingbird come repeatedly to the feeder hanging from our back porch.  Maybe she has young already.  As I sit here on this cool June 3rd evening, the sweet scent of Japanese Honeysuckle drifts in my open window.  Yes it is highly invasive, and we’ve removed it and are always on the lookout for seedlings in our woods and elsewhere on our property.  But a mass of it covers the chain link fence that surrounds our backyard.  Because it grows up and over the chain link fence from each of our neighbors’ yards (to either side), we let it be.  It is too mighty a task to remove it.

We have a few more weeks of infrequent Ruby-throated Hummingbird sightings.  Why?  Because they will continue to feed instead on Japanese Honeysuckle as long as it is blooming (@ mid-May – mid-June).  As a long-time naturalist and wildlife gardener, I’ve shared this observation/fact in my Hummingbird Fact Sheet for over 30 years now (point 5 under “Feeder Maintainance,”) but still people are caught by surprise when activity drops way off.

But they’ll be back, so be sure to keep your feeders well maintained with fresh solution.  And be sure to provide native nectar plants they are drawn to, like Foxglove Beardtongue, a great native perennial during the quiet bloom period from late May to mid-June.

If any of your neighbors are swayed to hire one of the Mosquito and Tick Removal companies, speak to them about your hummingbirds and share that the sprays used by these companies impact hummingbirds, the insects they need to feed on, and many, many beneficial insects.  Read my post, “Help! A Private Company is Spraying The Neighbor’s Yard for Mosquitoes.” It contains many more details on this topic.  And just today, June 4, 2024, there was an excellent article on this topic (“What are Eco-Friendly Ways to Control Backyard Bugs“) from the New York Times climate desk.

Be sure to read my other Hummingbird POSTS:

Ruby-throated Hummingbird — Part One — SPRING ARRIVAL
Ruby-throated Hummingbirds: How to Attract Them

Happy Wildlife Gardening,
Pat

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Landscape Design With Birds and Pollinators in Mind

Hi Gang,

This summer I am teaching a “Landscape Design With Birds & Pollinators in Mind” class twice in Avalon. These 2-hour indoor classes are co-sponsored by the Avalon Environmental Commission and the Avalon Free Public Library. The classes are FREE but registration is required. Details follow:

June 14 (Friday), 2:30-4:30 p.m.
(same class offered Fri., August 16, but at a different location)
“Landscape Design with Birds and Pollinators in Mind”
by Pat Sutton
Registration required; Space limited to 20
Where: Avalon at the Tennis Building, 250 39th St, Avalon, NJ 08202

August 16 (Friday), 2:30-4:30 p.m.
(same 2-hr class offered Friday, June 14, but at a different location)
“Landscape Design with Birds and Pollinators in Mind”
by Pat Sutton
Registration required; Space limited to 20
Where: Avalon Free Public Library, 235 32nd St, Avalon, NJ 08202

DETAILS ABOUT THESE CLASSES:

Registration is required.

For the June 14th CLASS Avalon property owners began registering May 17. Registration opened up to others on May 31.

For the August 16th CLASS Avalon property owners may register beginning July 19. All others may register beginning August 2.

To register, please call the Avalon Library at 609-967-7155 or stop by their circulation desk at 235 32nd St, Avalon, NJ 08202.  At registration, participants will receive Pat Sutton’s handout, “Landscape Design with Pollinators and Birds in Mind,” which includes instructions on creating a sketch of their property required for the class. Be sure to read this handout over prior to the class so that you get as much as possible out of the class.

The property sketch should be emailed to Pat 3 days prior to the class (so by the end of the day on Tuesday, June 11th for the June 14th class and by the end of the day on Tuesday, August 13 for the August 16th class). The property sketch should have the registrant’s name in large, bold letters on the sketch in a spot that will be included when it is photographed or copied and sent to Pat.  Photograph the property sketch (so that your name on the sketch shows up), and e-mail the jpg or pdf scan to Pat Sutton (Pat’s e-mail is at the top of her Landscape Design HANDOUT received upon registration). In the e-mail subject line registrants should enter: “Landscape Design – June 14 or August 16 (whichever day/class they signed up for) – their full name.”  If you feel more comfortable sending Pat a few photos of the area you would like to transform into a native plant habitat, by all means send photos instead, but please don’t crash her computer with many HUGE photos. If you have any questions, reach out to Pat (but hopefully everything is explained in her handout and these instructions).

The first half of the class will cover resources and a slide program about the topic. During the second half of the class the group will brainstorm the projected images of each participant’s rough sketch. This brainstorming session should result in participants heading home with ideas and plans to enhance each of their properties for pollinators and birds.

Happy Wildlife Gardening,
Pat

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Doug Tallamy in Avalon, NJ, on Mon., August 26, 2024 (7 pm)

Hi Gang,

Doug Tallamy is returning to Avalon, NJ, this August to present a brand new program.  I’m intrigued and looking forward to hearing it.  Like me, he gets e-mails, calls, and requests to answer questions folks have.  Often, these requests are from folks who have read his 4 excellent books, heard him speak, jumped in to planting native plants, but they want and need more information.  Well, Doug Tallamy plans to include many of those questions and his answers in this new program.  Mark your calendar and don’t miss it!

Monday, August 26, 2024
7:00 p.m.
Doug Tallamy presents:
“I Know You’re Very Busy but  …
I want to learn more about nature gardening”
WHERE: Avalon Community Center
3001 Avalon Avenue
Avalon, NJ 08202
FREE, no preregistration needed

ABOUT THIS PROGRAM in Doug Tallamy’s words:  Nearly every day I get emails from people who have read my books and heard my talks and yet still have questions about ecological landscaping. These are good, thoughtful questions about ecology and evolution, biodiversity, invasive species, insect declines, native and non-native plants, conservation and restoration, residential and city landscapes, urban issues, oak biology, keystone plants, Homegrown National Park, monarchs, supporting wildlife at home, and more. In this talk I address as many of these queries as I can with hope that my answers will further motivate people to help restore ecosystem function where they live, work, play, worship, and farm.

Doug Tallamy is the T. A. Baker Professor of Agriculture in the Department of Entomology and Wildlife Ecology at the University of Delaware, where he has authored 111 research publications and has taught insect-related courses for 41 years. Chief among his research goals is to better understand the many ways insects interact with plants and how such interactions determine the diversity of animal communities. His books include Bringing Nature Home, The Living Landscape, co-authored with Rick Darke, Nature’s Best Hope, a New York Times Best Seller and The Nature of Oaks, which won the American Horticultural Society’s 2022 award. In 2021 he cofounded Homegrown National Park with Michelle Alfandari. His awards include recognition from The Garden Writer’s Association, Audubon, The National Wildlife Federation, Allegheny College, Ecoforesters, The Garden Club of America and The American Horticultural Association.

This program is sponsored by the Avalon Environmental Commission and the Avalon Free Public Library.

Change the course of dwindling bird, butterfly, and moth numbers by gardening for LIFE with native plants.  Learn from the guru who has taught so many so much, Doug Tallamy: Entomologist, professor at the University of Delaware, and author of four  highly educational, eye-opening, and award-winning books.

Don’t miss this opportunity to hear Doug Tallamy speak.  Too, please spread the word.  Let’s grow our numbers!    Bring your friends, family, neighbors, co-workers, and your landscaper (so you can speak the same language)!

Pat