Wednesday, June 7, 2017

Wildlife Wednesday June 2017

With a series of rainy days on the horizon during May I spent a lot of gardening time dividing and transplanting perennials plus adding plants to fill in holes left by too much rain and winter freezes.  With less time behind the camera I still found fun visitors to feature on Wildlife Wednesday which is hosted by Tina at "My Gardener Says..." on the first Wednesday of each month.

I've always enjoyed and featured on Wildlife Wednesday an abundance of butterflies in the spring garden so one of the big surprises this year was the small number of butterfly visitors.  Whether it was the rain or the plants were slow to bloom I can't be sure so I'll wait for the fall migration to bring them back this way.

Hummingbirds have kept me entertained in the interim.  Interesting to note the variety of plants they like.  



Salvia darcyi or Mexican Salvia with its long-lasting bright red tubular blooms is quite popular.


Aniscanthus wrightii or Flame Acanthus is a well-known Hummingbird favorite.  As a native plant it is easy to grow but you'll need plenty of space or be prepared to remove seedlings and give it a major cutback twice a year.


Melochia tomentosa or Pyramid Bush is another irresistible draw for hummingbirds in the garden.  This local native plant loves hot, dry, rocky slopes so it's ridiculously easy for a plant that sports such striking blooms.

GIF for June, frenetic hummer!


Though I have cut way back on feeding birds, they still find plenty of seeds from spring wildflowers or like this female Tufted Titmouse awaiting ripening grapes from the vines climbing the fence.


I was delighted to find Lesser Goldfinches having a field day in the Zexmenia (Wedelia acapulcensis).  You can just see three of them since the plant is at the far back corner of the garden and getting closer would have meant chasing them away.


Good to see the birds have found plenty to eat in the garden without supplemental food.

From time to time Neal joins in with a contribution from the golf course where he spends quite a bit of time.  His idea of wildlife in the "garden" is this hawk taking water from rain runoff on a fairway.  Probably a Broad Winged hawk which is known to frequent our area.


Only 15 feet away....must really want that water!


Amazing how close he could get to this beautiful bird!


Bucks have been kicked out of the herd during fawn season and band together in "bachelor herds" until mating season comes around again.

Deer herds migrate up and down the neighborhood along the creek  During May a small bachelor herd foraged plants filled out by plenty of rain.

This guy has a flea problem.


Got it!


Again!


A couple more bachelors in the herd that visited during May.


Fenced out of the garden for three years now.  It works for me, not so much for the deer.


That's it for Wildlife Wednesday photos from May.  Be sure to check out other blogger's contributions along with Tina's impressive collection of garden birds this month at her Wildlife Wednesday post.

9 comments:

  1. You have the same hummingbird that I do, only your shots are significantly better than the ones I've taken. Great job! Love the other birds, especially that hawk! Glad you have such a welcoming garden--thanks for joining in

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  2. The same hummingbird? That's quite a distance to travel! Thank you for hosting each month.

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  3. It is not easy to get a shot of a hummingbird so you did well. Antler rubbing again. A nice handy cedar!

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    1. Hummingbirds were plentiful that day. Some photos did turn out fuzzy. They are much easier at the feeder but not as interesting. The deer will be be back rubbing everything in sight very soon so I need to protect the plants out front.

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  4. I always admire your wildlife posts, Shirley, and I'm VERY impressed with the hummingbird shots as my own attempts to capture them in photos have yielded abysmal results. I loved your husband's photos of the hawk too. Red-tailed hawks occasionally land in our mimosa tree but getting anywhere close before they take off is almost impossible.

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  5. Hi Shirley, loved all your photos, especially of the deer and the ones of the hawk from your husband. I'm amazed how close he was able to get! How lucky you are to have the beautiful hummingbird visit your place, we don't have them here in Australia, but I always enjoy watching other people's videos of these little birds at their feeders. And that tufted titmouse is one of the cutest birds I've ever seen!

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  6. Great hummingbird photos! You have lots of wildlife in your garden. We just saw a hawk fly through the backyard this evening while we were eating dinner. I selfishly hoped he was able to grab a rabbit. Cute series on the deer scratching. :)

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  7. Great golf course shots of wildlife, and happenings in Jardin del Zorro.

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    1. Thanks, we haven't seen any Zorros lately though the neighbors have so they're still around.

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