This is a species of hummingbird that I myself had never heard of before, prior to doing some further research into the subject of hummingbirds.  Have ever heard of this species before?  If so, do you have any additional information that you would like to share about this particular species of hummingbird? Your comments are always welcome.

In most cases, a female hummingbird will lay two eggs.  There are sometimes when the female will only lay one egg.  Here is a surprising fact about the eggs, each of the two eggs will be laid on two different days, but the eggs will hatch on the same day.  That is right, both eggs will hatch on the same day!  How is this?  The answer is because the female hummingbird will not start incubating the eggs until both of them have been laid.

The incubation period for hummingbird last tipically between 16-18 days, but it can last as long as three weeks if the weather at the time is cooler then usual.  The female hummingbird tries to maintain the temperature of the nest at about 96 degrees.  So in general, the gestation period of hummingbird eggs is between two and three weeks, depending on the circumstances which are occuring at the time.

A hummingbird eggs will be white in color and only about the size of a pea or jelly bean.

I hope you have enjoyed disovering a bit about the gestation period of hummingbird eggs.  This is the type of information that I know would have fascinated my mom, and I so wish she was still living for me to be able to share it with her as well as all of you who read this blog.

The first consideration should be the color of the feeder.  It is important to note that the hummingbird feeder you select does not have to be red.  It can be decorative in nature and add to the asstestics and beauty of your yard.  Many of the feeders on the market today will have some red on them, but if the one you select does not you can hang a red ribbon above it to help attract the hummingbirds to it.

The next thing to consider is what size of hummingbird feeder to buy.  If you are just starting out with trying to attract hummingbirds, I would suggest you start out with a smaller sized feeder.  You can not be sure when starting out the number of hummingbirds that will be visiting your yard.  The smaller size of the feeder will helpfully prevent the spoilage of the nectar in the feeder.  If you choose to buy a larger sized hummingbird feeder, only fill it up particially with nectar until the number of birds visiting the feeder increases.

Another consideration is where to place the hummingbird feeder.  The feeder can be placed on tree braches, garden stakes or a metal hook.  If you have multiple feeders, then place the feeders out of site of one another, because male hummingbirds are quite territorial and will try to defend them.  Feeders can be grouped together also, because it will be impossible for the male hummingbird to defend all the feeders, thus more of the hummingbirds will be able to feed at the same time.  You will also want to hang the feeder in a shady area rather then in direct sunlight to try an help prevent the nectar from spoiling as a result of its exposure to direct sunlight.  You can also place the feeders near plants that attract hummingbirds and the birds will find the feeders.

It is important that the feeder be very easy to clean.  You will want to do this each time you refill the feeder or every three or four days in very warm weather.  A clean feeder is the best way to prevent mold and bacteria from forming which can be very harmful to the hummingbirds.

Bees and ants are common pest associated with hummingbird feeders.  How do you solve this problem?  Most feeders on the market today are designed in such a way that will prevent the bees from accessing the nectar reservoir.  To solve the problem of ants, the best solution is to buy a feeder which has an ant mote, which is a device which is hung above the feeder and filled with water.  This device works because ants are unable to swim.

It is my hope that these tips will help all of you who wish to discover how to select a hummingbird feeder. Even if you have heard this information before, it does not hurt to be reminded of it once again because you never know when you might once again have need of it once again.   Maybe now all the various choices which are available on the market today will seem a little bit less overwhelming to each of you.  Here is to many happy hours of hummingbird watching!

Normally, Rose of sharon bushes will be between 8-10 feet tall and have a spread of between 4-6 feet.  However there are some varieties of this bush that will only reach a height of between 5-8 feet tall.  The blooms of this bush can come in a wide variety of colors including:  light blue, lavender, red or white.  The Rose of Sharon often blooms late in the summer as well as leafs out late in the summer, so do not give up if it takes longer then you expect for this to occur.

If you wish to give this bush its desired shape, you can do so by pruning it in the winter of its first two growing seasons.  This will give the bush one main truck, which is why many people tend to refer to this bush as a tree.

The Rose of sharon bush does best when placed in full sun and well drained soil.  If you have an older Rose of sharon bush that is not doing very well, the problem may be caused by fungal damange because the bush has not been placed in an area where there is full sun.

This video excerpt is from The Life of Birds by David Attenborough.  In it you will discover many fascinating things about hummingbird flight, that there are hummingbirds found in the Andes Mountains and so much more. 

Did you know that a hummingbird has a part of its anatomy known as the gizzard?  If so, do you know what particular part of the hummingbird's anatomy is known as the gizzard?  If not, you will have discovered the answer through reading this post.

The gizzard is the term for the hummingbird's stomach.  As you might have figured out by now, this is where the food is digested.  A hummingbird is able to digest nectar quite quickly and effeciently, with nectar being able to pass entirely through a hummingbird's entire digestive system in less then 20 minutes.  That's right, I said in less then 20 minutes!  Don't you wish that the digestive process occured that rapidly whith in us humans?

Most varieties of verbena plants will begin blooming in the summer and will continue to do so until the first frost occurs. The flowers of this plant come in a wide variety of colors including solid and bicolored blooms which include red, purple, white, yellow, orange, and peach with generally white or cream colored eyes.

This plant tends to do quite well in containers or hanging baskets. This plant will tolerate a wide range of soils as long as it is well drained. This plant usually does best in areas that are sunny but verbena can also tolerate partial shade as well.

Verbena is a plant which requires very little maintenance other than periodic watering and occasional pruning in order to help maintain its shape if the gardener wants bushier, less trailing growth. In order to encourage the plant to continue to bloom, you should deadhead and prune the plant back.

Here below you will find some of the many fascinating discoveries that I made about the Bahama Woodstar Hummingbird.  I hope you will enjoy making them as I myself did.  This is the type of information that I am sure my mom would have loved to have also discovered and that I would have enjoyed discussing with her.

The Bahama Woodstar Hummingbird is considered to be a medium sized hummingbird, even though it is only between 3 and 5 inches in length.  It is the most common species of hummingbird found in the Bahama Islands.  Although very rare, this species of hummingbird has been known to occassionally be seen in south Florida and it usually will be found around gradens located there.  Lastly, the Bahama Woodstar Hummingbird is known to nest all year round and does not migrate.

The White-eared Hummingbird is known to winter in the mountains of Mexico.Although quite rare, this species of hummingbird has been observed in the following states:Arizona,Michigan,Mississippi,New Mexico,and Texas.

If you think you have seen a White-eared Hummingbird here is a brief description of what both the adult male and female looks like.Hopefully, this should help you with the identification process of the particular hummingbird you have just seen.

The adult male has an emerald green back and breast, purple crown, iridescent blue-green chin, prominent white ear stripe, red bill with black tip.

The adult female can be described as having the following: a green back and crown, white breast and sides with green streaks, prominent white ear stripe, and a red bill with black tip.

I do not know about you but I find it to be quite amazing that such a very tiny bird can fly well over a thousand miles each way during migration and the are still able to find the exact location where they spent the summer.  Talk about having a very precise internal radar or GPS system for lack of a better term.  This is just yet another of the many astounding facts about these birds that truly amazes me. 

I think that this is something about hummingbirds that my mom would have enjoyed discovering. Every time I make such a discovery I think of my mom and our shared love of hummingbirds and wish she were still alive today for me to inform her of the latestest discovery about hummingbirds that that I have made.   It is my hope that this will also enjoy making this discovery about hummingbirds.