Wild Side Ornithology Club

[freedombecki]

They love honeysuckles, just off the top of my head, Jon. If it smells sweet and has a neck, they probably would be interested as would be other butterflies, hummingbirds, and any critter with a yen for a sweet nectar boost!

I'm glad you mentioned it. I need to plant a honeysuckle, and find one for my area. We are blessed with a lot of hummingbirds, too, and have let the wild orange trumpet vines grow around the house, much to the insurance company's distress. I really need to cut them back because our home was "painted" with propelene siding before we moved here four years ago.

Anyway, I think my mother had honeysuckles in her yard once, and we had them when we lived in cold Wyoming for years. I saw both hummingbirds and hummingbird moths go for them in season. They're truly loved by flying creatures that need a quick energy charge.

thanks for the information

we saw a couple of these moths and at first mistook them as hummingbirds

weird looking hummingbirds

now we want to welcome them to our yard

I found a little bit of information on Hemaris thysbe, the latin name for your hummingbird moth. They certainly do look like hummingbirds, which may protect them from certain predators who are fooled into thinking they are sharp-beaked, no-nonsense wee birds whose bite is much worse than their buzz. I'm putting the entire paragraph of the article on their preferences. Some plants attract certain species of Lepidoptera, and others are the only places where they will lay their eggs. So if you're fastidious about removing the dead greenery in winter, you will also be removing their young. Here's the summary of one observer from ehow dot com:

Day Feeders

• Hummingbird moths (Hemaris thysbe) appear in the daytime. The host plants for this moth include honeysuckle, viburnum shrubs, black cherry and hawthorn and other members of the rose family of plants. Adult moths feed from nectar-producing flowers of plants ranging from honeysuckle to clover, thistle and berry bushes. Moths of the Hemaris genus may be called clearwing sphinx moths or hummingbird moths. In addition to being mistaken for hummingbirds, the snowberry clearwing and hummingbird clearwing have coloring and habits that mimic bumblebees. Snowberry plants and honeysuckle are known hosts of both of these moths.
  
  Read more: What Plant Is a Host for a Hummingbird Moth? | eHow]
  
  

I also found some beautiful examples that show exactly why hummingbird moths could fool anyone due to looking like the hummingbird their apparition mimics:

credits: Hummingbird Clearwing



And another:

credits: Lottie's Homestead

 

[jon_berzerk]

Flying eagle point of view

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=G3QrhdfLCO8#t=19]Flying eagle point of view - YouTube[/ame]

 

[jon_berzerk]

They love honeysuckles, just off the top of my head, Jon. If it smells sweet and has a neck, they probably would be interested as would be other butterflies, hummingbirds, and any critter with a yen for a sweet nectar boost!

I'm glad you mentioned it. I need to plant a honeysuckle, and find one for my area. We are blessed with a lot of hummingbirds, too, and have let the wild orange trumpet vines grow around the house, much to the insurance company's distress. I really need to cut them back because our home was "painted" with propelene siding before we moved here four years ago.

Anyway, I think my mother had honeysuckles in her yard once, and we had them when we lived in cold Wyoming for years. I saw both hummingbirds and hummingbird moths go for them in season. They're truly loved by flying creatures that need a quick energy charge.

thanks for the information

we saw a couple of these moths and at first mistook them as hummingbirds

weird looking hummingbirds

now we want to welcome them to our yard

I found a little bit of information on Hemaris thysbe, the latin name for your hummingbird moth. They certainly do look like hummingbirds, which may protect them from certain predators who are fooled into thinking they are sharp-beaked, no-nonsense wee birds whose bite is much worse than their buzz. I'm putting the entire paragraph of the article on their preferences. Some plants attract certain species of Lepidoptera, and others are the only places where they will lay their eggs. So if you're fastidious about removing the dead greenery in winter, you will also be removing their young. Here's the summary of one observer from ehow dot com:

Day Feeders

• Hummingbird moths (Hemaris thysbe) appear in the daytime. The host plants for this moth include honeysuckle, viburnum shrubs, black cherry and hawthorn and other members of the rose family of plants. Adult moths feed from nectar-producing flowers of plants ranging from honeysuckle to clover, thistle and berry bushes. Moths of the Hemaris genus may be called clearwing sphinx moths or hummingbird moths. In addition to being mistaken for hummingbirds, the snowberry clearwing and hummingbird clearwing have coloring and habits that mimic bumblebees. Snowberry plants and honeysuckle are known hosts of both of these moths.
  
  Read more: What Plant Is a Host for a Hummingbird Moth? | eHow]
  
  

I also found some beautiful examples that show exactly why hummingbird moths could fool anyone due to looking like the hummingbird their apparition mimics:

credits: Hummingbird Clearwing



And another:

credits: Lottie's Homestead

they are pretty amazing

very few critters have mastered the art of hoovering

 

[testarosa]

Yes, Bloodrock, he is thanking you for providing him the kcalories he needs to move those wings so fast they're nearly invisible!

I understand @testarosa has children tending to birds of some kind, and I hope if they ever get any pictures of them, that she will share them.

Becki! I got the mention and the thread title threw me for a loop until I got here. Whew! My daughter and her friends are raising some monarch caterpillars. I'll post up some pics later in that thread.

However..... I do have a black pecker head family living in the maple tree and I'd love to partipate in this thread!

<you must spread some reputation around before giving some to Testarosa again>

Girl! You found us!

I'm looking forward to seeing your pics when I get back this afternoon or evening!

They're sitting in my inbox but if I boot the computer over the weekend I get sucked into working

I'm getting there!

 

[testarosa]

Flying eagle point of view

Flying eagle point of view - YouTube

This is awesome.

 

[testarosa]

Ok, now I'm in the pecker thread instead of the butterfly kisses thread, but here's what we have so far for monarchs:

Caterpillar eggs on the milkweed:

And new baby caterpillars!

 

[freedombecki]

[ame=http://youtu.be/SppSK4fxPFA]Ruby Red Throated Hummingbirds - YouTube[/ame]

 

[freedombecki]

[ame="http://youtu.be/8bG3i-JsZS0"]Hummingbird Moth (Clearwing) Up Close! - YouTube[/ame]

The author claims these creatures only live in warm climates, but we had a couple on our honeysuckle vines when they bloomed in Casper, Wyoming, for 25 years. Maybe it was the other kind. I'm not certain. But they looked like hummingbirds, except they were definitely not birds if you watched them long enough. We had hummingbirds for a couple of years, but then, I went into a business that took me away from my home for 60 and 80 hour weeks for over 20 years. *sigh*

I'm enjoying retirement and getting to see lots of birds at home.

This morning, I'm not sure what kind of bird I saw, but it was dark brown and waddled around like some kind of beautiful wild hen, looking for a place to nest. I just watched her from my bay window. She really didn't want attention.

 

[freedombecki]

Ok, now I'm in the pecker thread instead of the butterfly kisses thread, but here's what we have so far for monarchs:

Caterpillar eggs on the milkweed:

And new baby caterpillars!

Thanks for sharing your pictures of your childrens' science project, testarosa. They're standup kids for helping nurture monarch butterflies along! Please give them a hug for me.

 

[freedombecki]

September is Sandhill Crane migration time! And heeeeeeerrrreeeee they go!

[ame=http://youtu.be/REYHy8xovZk]Homer's Sandhill Crane Migration--September 2009 - YouTube[/ame]

 

[testarosa]

September is Sandhill Crane migration time! And heeeeeeerrrreeeee they go!

Homer's Sandhill Crane Migration--September 2009 - YouTube

LOLOLOL

We have these guys. They're a hoot.

The mating ritual fight is a little scary though. Stand back!

 

[freedombecki]

And more (Love the music and aesthetic photography of the beauty of the cranes on this one):

[ame=http://youtu.be/dvC6xsacncA]Nebraska's Great Sandhill Crane Migration - YouTube[/ame]

 

[testarosa]

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LHsa3QQBkXI]Sandhill Crane Mating Dance,Clearwater, Fl. by Boo - YouTube[/ame]

 

[testarosa]

And more (Love the music and aesthetic photography of the beauty of the cranes on this one):

Nebraska's Great Sandhill Crane Migration - YouTube

^^

That was awesome! Thanks for sharing.

 

[freedombecki]

September is Sandhill Crane migration time! And heeeeeeerrrreeeee they go!

Homer's Sandhill Crane Migration--September 2009 - YouTube

LOLOLOL

We have these guys. They're a hoot.

The mating ritual fight is a little scary though. Stand back!

You have Sandhill Cranes? Wow! I've seen very few of them, but they're like no other birds. That red area around the head is a quick identifier, and I love seeing videos of them. The only other times I've seen a lot of them was driving through Nebraska, from a distance. It's not the same, I'm sure of having the joy of getting to look outside and see one or a group foraging, flying around, or playing.

 

[Spoonman]

so i covered my pond for the fall. i need to keep all the leaves from falling in it. since it is a man made pond and the water source only recycles with a pump and is not feed by new fresh water from a stream, when it ices over, leaves will decay creating a gas that will kill the fish. so now everyday the heron shows up looking at it trying to figure out how to get in

 

[freedombecki]

I hope you used a metal plate, Spoonman. Those little twits have the worlds' second sharpest beaks, bested only by their condescending relatives, the Great White egrets who've been known to melt human hearts in less than a heartbeat, so watch out!!!

 

[freedombecki]

And more (Love the music and aesthetic photography of the beauty of the cranes on this one):

Nebraska's Great Sandhill Crane Migration - YouTube

^^

That was awesome! Thanks for sharing.

Thanks, testarosa. But my kind of awesome is all vicarious. You have the true path to their charming attractiveness and antics if they are around and frequent visitors!

 

[Spoonman]

I hope you used a metal plate, Spoonman. Those little twits have the worlds' second sharpest beaks, bested only by their condescending relatives, the Great White egrets who've been known to melt human hearts in less than a heartbeat, so watch out!!!

just bird netting over a pvc frame.

 

[Spoonman]