Design

There are at least three, maybe four, hummingbirds whizzing around the garden right now. They're all females, but they still fuss over the feeders and delight us with their chirps and buzzes. They'll probably be around a bit longer, and their brethren will be coming through until early October. Nectar is an important part of their diet, but equally important are the small insects they glean. The leaves of the old Southern red oaks near the house, which harbor lots of such insects, are a favorite foraging ground. Ruby-throated hummingbird and Campsis flowers Campsis radicans (featured in yesterday's post) is a particularly important source of nectar here in the Eastern U.S. Perfectly adapted to its primary pollinator, it depends on frequent visitation (by ruby-throated hummingbirds) for pollination and good seed set.

Trumpet creeper ( Campsis radicans ) is a great native vine with beautiful tubular orange flowers, but often disparaged because of its strong vining habit (read fast-growing). A venerable ~100 year specimen at Biltmore Estate, in Asheville, NC has been carefully trained to cover a large arbor to the left of the house. Much to our delight, a female hummingbird well-used to human visitors, was busily foraging in open flowers, close enough to get some nice shots with the help of the 18-200 lens. (Click on the photos for a better look!)