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Hummingbirds and bees


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#1 WjColdWater

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Posted 29 April 2020 - 10:50 PM

First hummingbird showed up here on Tuesday. We set the feeders out on Monday so glad to see them back. We use our American Plums in bloom to estimate their arrival. Our neighbor is a bee keeper and our plums are the first flowering shrubs to attract them. I took a few pics on my plot walk while extracting invasive shrubs from the forb plot. Soon the plums will be finished and early forb blooms will feed the bees. Our plots bloom from now until October with various species blooming. Bumble bees also visit by the thousands to feed on blooms. The hummingbirds also are attracted the he flowering forbs for summer food. The males are the first to arrive now and the first to bail in the fall. 
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Neighbors honey bees loading up. 
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Plenty of food for pollinators. 

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Bumblebees sharing the habitat. Our neighbor shares a few jars of honey to pay for her trespassing bees. I always tell her the rent needs to go up.  :D

 

 


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#2 Casa Escarlata Robles Too

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Posted 29 April 2020 - 10:57 PM

What is Bumblebee honey like?

Frank


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#3 ski3pin

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Posted 29 April 2020 - 11:06 PM

It is so nice to see your success with your native plot. :)


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#4 WjColdWater

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Posted 29 April 2020 - 11:32 PM

What is Bumblebee honey like?

Frank

Frank, I’m not a bee expert but, I think the bumblebees are ground nesters. Our neighbor has several standard honey bee hives that she harvests honey from. Her honey is lighter in color and thinner than store purchased. Also a field next to us has red clover for commercial hay that her bees forage on. In three weeks when the foxglove beard tongue is in bloom it will be a muti-species bee party here. Bumble bees look intimidating but will not sting you unless you disturb their ground nest. When I walk the plot slowly the bumblebees just move to the next plant. No aggression at all.  


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#5 WjColdWater

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Posted 29 April 2020 - 11:33 PM

It is so nice to see your success with your native plot. :)

Thanks! It’s a labor of love. 


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#6 Casa Escarlata Robles Too

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Posted 30 April 2020 - 12:27 AM

Thanks.I have noticed that I get Bumblebees in my birdhouses sometimes.

I am a meanie and get rid of them. The birds need the homes first.

The honey sounds yummy.

Stay safe.

Frank


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#7 pvstoy

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Posted 30 April 2020 - 02:43 AM

I've seen bumblebees hunker down on a plant they are feeding on for the night quite often in my yard.


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#8 allanb

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Posted 30 April 2020 - 04:01 AM

Very cool WJ. Here in western wa, we have Annas year round. Rufous move in about mid March. Annas have one brood, and then decamp (for higher ground, go north?) about mid May. Returning for the winter about October, as the rufous are heading south.

I've heard of Annas spending the winter as far north, as north end of Vancouver Island


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#9 WjColdWater

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Posted 30 April 2020 - 02:11 PM

Very cool WJ. Here in western wa, we have Annas year round. Rufous move in about mid March. Annas have one brood, and then decamp (for higher ground, go north?) about mid May. Returning for the winter about October, as the rufous are heading south.

I've heard of Annas spending the winter as far north, as north end of Vancouver Island

Thanks! Here we only see Ruby throated. Here being close to the Mississippi River we get migratory birds of many species though out the seasons. We enjoy the sightings!


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#10 Mighty Dodge Ram

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Posted 30 April 2020 - 04:09 PM

One nest on the back patio, one near the front door, two eggs each. I don’t think our hummers migrate, they seem to hang around here in Ventura County. No idea which type but they are VERY territorial, it’s fun to watch the aerial dogfights around the feeder. 


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