Category: Dear Mom

Spring and Hummingbirds

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It is supposed to be officially spring now, but you would not know it from the extremely cool temperatures we have still been experiencing thus far. Regardless of the cooler temperatures, this time of year always makes me think of my mom and hummingbirds. Why is this you may ask? Well, that is what the rest of this post will explain.

I live within walking distance of a local home improvement center, and the garden center has out all types of brightly colored hanging baskets with all types of flowers that would attract hummingbirds. My mom’s yard was full of hanging baskets each year that would successfully entice the hummingbirds to our yard, so each time I think of spring and see those hanging baskets I am reminded of my mom and our shared love of hummingbirds.

There are numerous plants that you could place in hanging baskets, but it is best to select plants which are known to thrive in hanging baskets. Some possible choices include: penstemon, salvia and petunia, because the hummingbirds can easily access the nectar due to their long, narrow bills and tongues.

You will want the plants you select for your hanging baskets to offer a wide variety of color. Red colored flowers are ones which hummingbirds can see from a great distance, so offering flowers that are nectar-rich and come in various shades of red should always attract their attention. However, flowers of almost any color, including orange, pink, purple, white and yellow will also attract hummingbirds and cause them to feed from these nectar-rich plants.

It is important to select plants with different bloom times. Choosing plants that have a long bloom time will help provide the hummingbirds with a source of nectar for an extended length of time. Another way to ensure that the hummingbirds will always have a source of nectar is to select plants that have staggered bloom times.

Hanging baskets are a simple, effective and space-saving way for anyone to attract hummingbirds to their yard, and they are also something that will forever remind me of my mom, spring and hummingbirds. So, it must only be a short time ahead before I see my first hummingbird of the season.

Dear Mom Hummingbirds

Little is Known About Hummingbird Evolution

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Today’s post, which is on the evolution of the hummingbird, makes me think of my mom because I am absolutely certain that she would have enjoyed this subject and I hope you will as well. In my mind’s eye, I can vividly imagine the two of us watching a show on the subject of hummingbird evolution on one of the various cable channels and then talking about all that we had just viewed.

The information contained in this post comes from Wikipedia. I have been quite curious about all things relating to hummingbirds for several years now, so I find this subject to be quite interesting myself and I hope you will also.

The evolutionary history is actually quite difficult to accurately document, due to the fact that the bones of the hummingbird are hollow and quite fragile which makes fossilization of the bones extremely difficult. Scientist have theorized many things though. They believe that the hummingbird originated in South America, because this is where there is the greatest amount of diversity among the various species of hummingbirds. Also, scientist believe that possible ancestors of hummingbird species still in existence today may have lived in Europe all the way to what is today known as southern Russia.

In 2004, two 30-million year old hummingbird fossils were identified by Dr. Gerald Mayr, who had his results published in Nature. The remains had been in a drawer of a musemum in Stuttgart, Germany and no one knew what they were until Dr. Mayr took a look at them. The reason no one had identified them properly is because people assumed that hummingbirds never occurred outside the Americas. While hummingbirds may only be found in the Americas today, apparently this was not always the case.

Hummingbirds are such truly fascinating creatures and they never cease to amaze me. Discovering a bit about the hummingbird’s evolutionary history has been no different. I hope you have also enjoyed making this discovery as well. Are you, like me, amazed to discover that two hummingbird fossils are known to be 30-million years old?

Dear Mom

Bahama Woodstar Hummingbird

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When I think of the Bahamas, sun sand and vacation come to mind but not hummingbirds. I just discovered that there is indeed a species of hummingbird found there. It is known as the Bahama Woodstar and it is a commonly seen in Nassau. Here is some information which will help you identify this hummingbird if you are ever lucky enough to see one for yourself.

The male Bahama Woodstar hummingbird is mostly green in color. They are known to have a deeply forked tail that is colored black and rufous, with their gorget being a rddish violet color and their chest being white in color and the posterior underparts being refuscent.

The female of this species differs from the male of this species because they have rounded tails and both the throat and chest are white.

Are you, like me, surprised to discover that there is a species of hummingbird found in the Bahamas? I feel that my mom would have enjoyed discovering this fact also. If you are ever in the Bahamas, maybe you will have the good fortune to see this particular species of hummingbird for yourself.

Dear Mom

Why is Red Attractive to Hummingbirds?

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If you have ever watched a hummingbird before for any length of time, you are probably aware that red is a color known to attract hummingbirds. While red is far from the only color which will attact the hummingbirds, there seems to be something that draws these birds to red quite strongly. Have you ever wondered just why this seems to occur. Well, if you are like my mom and so many others, I am sure you have wondered about this but did not have any explainations for this occurance. Well, the wait is now over, because this post will offer some possible explainations as to why hummingbirds are so drawn to the color red.

The Hummingbird Society offers the following as possible reasons why hummingbirds seem to find the color red so very attractive. One possible explaination is that, during migration, red blooms are far more easily seen against all the other green of the environment then flowers of other colors. Another possible explaination may be due to the fact that insects also have the ability to see nectar, thus making them a competator with the hummingbird for the food source. Most insects do not have the ability to see well at the red end of the color spectrum, so this gives the hummingbird the advantage of not having to compete for this food source with the insects. Also, a red bloom may appear nearly black and therefore unattractive to some insects, so it is far less likely that the insect has taken nectar from a red flower.

I hope that you now have a better understanding of what makes the color red so very attractive to hummingbirds.

Dear Mom

The Land of the Hummingbird

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Hummingbirds seem to symbolize or represent many different things to many dufferent cultures. The nation of Trinidad and Tabago is no different. The nation of Trinidad and Tabago is referred to as "The land of the hummingbird." You will see a hummingbrd on that nation’s coat of arms, their one cent coin and even the country’s national airline, Caribean Airlines.

The facts listed above are suprising uses of the hummingbird as a symbol that I find fascinating to discover. I am a person who enjoys discovering a wide variety of little known facts on a wide variety of topics, particularly about hummingburds though. This is something that my mom and I both shared and I am certain she would have enjoyed the information contained in this post and I hope you will also.