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Ruby-throated Hummingbirds Waukesha Wisconsin September 4, 2014
By admin | September 4, 2014 - 5:27 pm | September 6, 2014 Bird Categories, Hummingbirds
Some recent images taken in Waukesha Wisconsin of the Ruby-throated Hummingbirds on various plants. Images show a young male and adult female on the flower species Cardinal Flower, Yellow Giant Hyssop and Zinnia's. Images were taken August 24 through September 4, 2014.
Ruby-throated Hummingbird on Cardinal Flower
Binomial name: Archilochus colubris
Category: Hummingbirds
Description: Metallic green feathers on back, grayish-white on underparts. Males have a vibrant red throat which may appear dark in poor lighting. Wings are dark gray, almost black. Long, slender bill is black in color and mostly straight with a slight curve at the tip.
Size: 2.8″-3.5″ long, 3" – 4" wingspan
Weight: 0.071 oz. – 0.21 oz.
Habitat: Broadleaf and pine forests, orchards, meadows, parks, and gardens
Diet: Tree and flower nectar, small insects, and spiders
Nesting: The female provides all parental care, building a nest in a protected tree or shrub on a slightly downward-sloping limb. They favor deciduous trees such as oak, birch, or poplar. The nest is made out of bud scales, lichen, spider silk, and dandelion or thistle down. The same nest may be used year after year with the female making annual repairs. The female will lay 1-3 eggs at a time, laying eggs once or twice per summer. The young remain in the nest for 22-25 days.
Notes: A list of just some of the of native wildflowers we have planted in our yard to attract these exquisite tiny birds are: Red Bee Balm (Monarda didyma), Wild Bergamot (Monarda fistulosa), Cardinal Flower (Lobelia cardinalis), Wild Columbine (Aquilegia canadensis), Royal Catchfly (Silene regia), Butterfly Milkweed (Ascelpias tuberose), Hoary Vervain (Verbena stricta), Nodding Onion (Allium cernuum), Penstemon species, Echinacea species.
Ruby-throated Hummingbird, female on Cardinal Flower
Ruby-throated Hummingbird, female on Zinnia species
Ruby-throated Hummingbird on Zinnia species
Ruby-throated Hummingbird, young male on Zinnia species with flying nectar!
Ruby-throated Hummingbird, female over Zinnia species
Ruby-throated Hummingbird, male on Cardinal Flower
Ruby-throated Hummingbird, young male on Cardinal Flower
Ruby-throated Hummingbird, young male on Zinnia species
Ruby-throated Hummingbird, female on Yellow Giant Hyssop
Ruby-throated Hummingbird, female
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