Date: Sat, 4 Aug 2001 07:49:13 -0400 Reply-To: Maryland Birds & Birding Sender: Maryland Birds & Birding From: Carol Jelich Subject: Annapolis backyard report MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Hi, Ospreyers, A Carolina wren nested in our front porch wreath this spring (first for me) and 3 young fledged on July 28. We used the side door for the week before as we knew they would be going any time. It was fun to watch Mom (Dad?) calling to them from a nearby feeder, "Ummm, tasty, come try it..." We were surprised how quiet the nestlings were even when parents brought food; is this an adaptive behvavior since they nest in the relative open? Or that they knew we were nearby? Once out of the nest they have been plenty noisy. July 29 was fledgling day here in Annapolis. An overcast, mostly rainy day didn't prevent the wren family from zipping around, not to mention a similar batch of 3 chickadees and 4 hummingbirds. I hadn't put up a hummingbird feeder this year because my trumpet honeysuckle (the native one, Lonicera sempervirens) has been in full bloom since June, and you can always find a hummer on it. Some folks have had trouble with aphids and mildew with this plant in our region, but mine grew out of the aphids and so far no mildew. Non fragrant but covered with the red blossoms that attract these birds, and will bloom till the first killing frost (one year until January). Also a well behaved vine compared to the Japanese honeysuckle that takes over woodland and roadside edges. I highly recommend trying it to attract the hummingbirds and for its lovely blossoms. Yesterday I read an article in a waiting room magazine about the voracious appetite of hummingbirds, came right home and put up the feeder; used within 2 hours :) Good birding, Carol Jelich Annpolis, Maryland jrj_csj@mindspring.com ======================================================================= To leave the MDOsprey list, send e-mail to listserv@home.ease.lsoft.com with the following message in line 1: signoff mdosprey ======================================================================= =========================================================================