Ruby-Throated Hummingbirds in Nova Scotia
Here is a video clip done by a friend of mine. It is from a DVD project available on a website called Hummingbird Valley. It features a bird called the Ruby-Throated Hummingbird.
They are magical creatures. We start seeing them in mid-May and they leave for the South in September or October. On the male, the head and back are a jewel-like green. The amazing feature is a patch of iridescent feathers on its throat. This patch can seem to be the darkest black from one angle and then flash to a brilliant red from another. They are tiny, about the size of your thumb. They breed here in Nova Scotia.
There are over 300 species of Hummingbirds known but the Ruby-Throated is the only one normally found here. Most live in the tropics. Here is an interesting thing. The Hummingbird is found nowhere but the Americas or as Robie Tufts puts it, "the New World".
They are magical creatures. We start seeing them in mid-May and they leave for the South in September or October. On the male, the head and back are a jewel-like green. The amazing feature is a patch of iridescent feathers on its throat. This patch can seem to be the darkest black from one angle and then flash to a brilliant red from another. They are tiny, about the size of your thumb. They breed here in Nova Scotia.
There are over 300 species of Hummingbirds known but the Ruby-Throated is the only one normally found here. Most live in the tropics. Here is an interesting thing. The Hummingbird is found nowhere but the Americas or as Robie Tufts puts it, "the New World".
Labels: Humming Bird, Hummingbird, Hummingbird Valley, Robie Tufts, Ruby-Throated Hummingbird
posted by Steve Dobson at
20:08
8 Comments:
lovely!
I've lived in Upstate New York (about 30 miles from the Canadian border), and I don't think I've ever seen any hummingbirds.
Once again, I lose....
Around here people cultivate them Dick, with special feeders and plantings in the garden. Their range is from Alberta to Nova Scotia and down along the Southern States as far as Florida. They are comfortable in urban areas as well as the wilderness, so as long as there are flowers and nectar you will have a pretty good chance to see one.
Cheers,
Steve
Well, that makes me feel aLOT better (you know, not being the only loser in my neighborhood...)
Wow , some people really are soooo rude and sarcastic !!
Anyways , i have a serious love for these hummingbirds , such special and fascinating creatures !!
I live in Nova scotia and I have seen plenty of these hummingbirds , Guess ya just have to live in or visit NS to be lucky enough to see them !
O and thank you for writing this blog !! :-)
We have at least a dozen living here (Pictou County, NS). We are trying to find as many plants and shrubs as we can to feed them as our sugar bill is getting up there. We serve almost 2L of feed a day.
That is awesome. I find them the most fascinating of creatures. I have planted some flowers this year that I found in the Canadian Tire Gardening Centre. It was a package of seeds called Wild Flower Humming Bird Mix. Not sure what is there but the seeds have all germinated and are growing like mad. I'll keep you posted.
Here is a list of shrubs and flowers that Humming birds are attracted to:
Flowers
Cardinal Flower Lobelia cardinalis
Lantana Lantana camara
Columbine Aguilegia spp.
Fuchsias Fuchsia spp.
Impatiens Impatiens spp.
Coral-Bells Heuchera sanguinea
Hollyhocks Althea spp.
Penstemen Penstemen spp.
Petunia Petunia spp.
Flowering Tobacco Nicotania alata
Geranium Pelargonium spp.
Begonia Begonia spp.
Shrubs
Azaleas Rhododendron spp.
Butterfly Bush Buddleia davidii
Flowering Quince Chaenomeles japonica
Honeysuckle Lonicera spp.
Weigela Weigela spp.
Trees
Flowering Crab Malus spp.
Tulip Poplar Liriodendron Tulipifera
Locust Robinia
Eucalyptus Eucalyptus spp.
Vines Honeysuckle Lonicera heckrottii
Morning Glory Ipomea ssp.
Trumpet Creeper Campsis radicans
Trumpet Honeysuckle Lonicera sempervirens
As to your sugar bill; years ago my Dad kept bees as a hobby. He would go to the local Pepsi bottling plant and get sugar that had spilled on the floor around the hoppers and use that to make syrup to feed the hives early in the spring. I wonder if there might be a place like that near you?
Cheers,
Steve
Post a Comment
Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]
<< Home