New Hummer-friendly Purchases!

In another last-ditch attempt to get even a single Hummer into my yard for longer that 3 seconds, I headed to the local nursery to 'finally' get some hummer-friendly plants. I was going to wait until spring since my planter isn't ready yet, but I bought a few perennials that I need to get into the ground before too long. I've been browsing on a Hummingbird Forum and discovered there's a wealth of knowledge there about Hummingbird gardening!
Here's what I came home with for starters:

And just because I couldn't resist, I bought a third feeder with a slightly different look from the other two, hoping it will be accepted by those hummers once they get here:

The full set-up (minus the new feeder since I'm thinking of putting it in a separate location):
Watch this space...

Still trying for Hummers!

If you remember from my post last spring, I was on a mission to attract Hummers. I first put a feeder out in mid April to get them but had no luck so I finally took my feeder down early July. About two weeks ago my local bird store said the hummers were coming down from the mountains and being seen in record numbers. I put my feeder back up but this time I moved it to my front yard ( that faces west) by my Zinnias and petunias.   Well a few days later, I was in my backyard and a hummer showed up for about 2 seconds to investigate the red rim of my basketball hoop then headed toward my front yard. I quickly ran to look out my front window and the hummer was nowhere to be found and my feeder was swarming with bees. I did some research and found that hummers won't visit a feeder with all the bees so I decided to move the feeder farther away from the flowers while the bees weren't looking  to see if that would help and it didn't. Next day, I was in my backyard again and once more a hummer flew near a colorful umbrella I have very close to the basketball hoop. I also have a pot with some zinnias there too but only a few. Once again, the visit was so brief like 5 seconds or less. So, I decided to go to the bird feeding store and buy a new hummer feeder that is less attractive to bees...

I moved it to the backyard near the location the hummer has been visiting. I made a fresh new batch of sugar water, hung the feeder and waited. On the fourth day, a hummer came right up to the feeder and hovered above it for about 3 seconds ( not drinking from it) and flew away. The next morning, I changed to sugar water thinking 4 days may have been too long but the hummer has not been seen again and that was 3 days ago. Here is a photo of the current location of the feeder now in my backyard where he has been spotted...

American Robin with Cherries!

I have a Nanking Cherry shrub in my yard and this year it was loaded with cherries. We picked a bunch to eat (very sour!) and left the rest for the birds!

The Chickadees Have Fledged!

Within a day or two of leaving the nest at the beginning of June, the whole family showed up to my feeders for food! I didn't realize baby Chickadees look just like adult Chickadees until I saw them together. They sure make their presence known when they come to the feeders with those demanding babies! I think there are 4 but it's hard to count these fast-moving critters!!

Black-capped Chickadees Building a Nest!

My neighbor has had this birdhouse hanging in their tree for a few years and this spring the Chickadees have decided to use it! I really enjoyed watching them bringing nesting material and getting it all ready! I wish I could see the entrance from my yard but this will have to do!

I'm on a mission...

...to attract hummingbirds to my yard!

I hung this feeder in mid April to try and get the migrating ones on their way up to the mountains just West of me but no such luck and now it's June.  I hear they will start heading down from the mountains to my area again in August so I will try again. We are doing some landscaping in our front yard and I'm hoping to plant some Hummingbird-friendly plants there, soon!

Hawks!

This, I'm taking a guess and calling it a Red-tailed Hawk (please correct me if I'm wrong), was flying over my house when I was returning from a walk.

It appears the Cooper's Hawks are nesting in the same spot as last year. Their nest didn't last through the winter so they had to build a new one! I'm keeping my distance from them this year so this will likely be the only photos I post :)

American Robin

Still, my all-time favorite bird!

Red-winged Blackbirds!

The Mr. and Mrs. !

My Squirrel

We have an understanding. As long as he doesn't destroy my feeders and eat all the food...

then he and his wife and children can stay in my yard...

and I'll even let you drink from the birdbath :)