Wildlife Wednesday

You will often find him sitting in the Crape Myrtle tree. Sometimes he's hard to see, but he's there. It's just that he blends in so well with the leaves.

From his perch he has a clear view of his territory and will reveal his presence suddenly and with gusto if another of his kind dares to enter.

When he's hungry he has several choices in the garden. Wendy's Wish salvia which grows just below his perch is one of his favorites right now, but he likes the other salvias, too, and just wait until the Turk's Cap blooms. He won't be able to resist its sweet nectar, no hummingbird in our garden ever has.

Look here he comes...

A male Ruby-throated Hummingbird flies from his perch in the Crape Myrtle (background) to the feeder.

Yes, you guessed it. We have a hummingbird visitor in our garden.

Hummingbird Nectar: 4 parts water, 1 part pure cane sugar, no red dye.

Mr. Ruby-throated Hummingbird has been hanging out with us for a few weeks, which is unusual in the spring. Normally our spring hummingbird visitors only stay for a day or two and then continue on their journey northward to their nesting grounds. The cool weather we've been having must agree with him this year.

And, he's not the only hummingbird visitor in the garden...

A female Ruby-throated Hummingbird at the feeder keeps a wary eye on the photographer.

There's a Ms. Ruby-throated Hummingbird, also. She doesn't get to the feeder as often as she would like, because Mr. Ruby won't let her. But when he's away from his perch, she can sometimes sneak in for a nice long drink.

I'd love to be able to follow her to know where she's hanging out. Maybe she has a nest! Hummingbirds don't usually nest around here (Needville, Texas), but it's so unusual for them to linger this long, I suppose anything is possible. Finding a thimble-sized nest, perhaps camouflaged with lichen, lined with plant down, and held together with strands of spiderweb silk would be a thrill, wouldn't it?

Mr. Ruby-throated Hummingbird showing off his bright red gorget.

It's likely Mr. and Ms. Ruby will leave as soon as it becomes consistently hot around here, but until then, I'm going to enjoy their extra long visit.

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Today's post is my contribution to Wildlife Wednesday—a meme, hosted by Tina at My Gardener Says..., that celebrates wildlife in the garden on the first Wednesday of every month. This is my first time to participate.