Perennials: Does anyone grow Big Red Sage (Salvia penstemonoides)?, 1 by SusanLouise

SusanLouise wrote:
Tabasco,
I'm sure the increase #'s are many factors working all together at the same time. Each of the 3 years I did add more plants and HB feeders. It will be interesting how fast the #'s increase from this year forward considering we have "maxed" out with plants/gardens and HB feeders (15 during the fall migration and they surround our house so as any HB passes by our home, if they don't see a plant, they can't miss the feeders...LOL).
Other factors I'm sure are the babies/immature/offspring which are likely to travel close to the same path as their parents...even though the mature males leave 1st. Variations of coarse will be based upon the weather/winds many times too. For instance...maybe some years. due to the weather/winds we have more that pass through from Alberta, Canada/Montana and other years from Manitoba/Ontario, Canada/Minnesota. I'm also a believer of the same hummingbirds passing through each year since they learned of a "spot" to fatten up for the long trip south...those that survive from year to year that is. Some live to be as old as 5-8 years! I don't think the HB tell their friends because they travel alone...not in flocks...and when they "speak" it's always territorial...nothing friendly...especially when it comes to feeding time! They don't like to share unless there is nothing else close for them to use nearby.
Here are some pics. The 1st 6 pics will show you all of the various feeders around our property/gardens. The rest will show you how close we can take pics of the hummers to be able to detect the differences...even the slight variations between them.
Here's a pic of our porch...

This message was edited May 11, 2010 8:17 PM