Monday, July 30, 2007

Hummingbird visits

In summer, hummingbirds visit the feeders and flowers in the garden. Coral honeysuckle and Salvia coccinea are favorites; each coral honeysuckle flower seems to produce nectar for a number of days, at least they're visited frequently. A female hummingbird investigated the Bolivian begonia in the hanging basket outside my study window this morning. She kept looking for the nectar in the flowers; adapted for hummingbird pollination, this begonia is one of the Andean species that relies on deception, not nectar to attract hummingbirds. Check out this link for some interesting information on hummingbirds. http://nationalzoo.si.edu/conservationandscience/migratorybirds/webcam/hummingbirds.cfm