Fountain Plant

The Fountain  Plant or Russelia equsetiformis is the one!   It is also commonly called the Firecracker plant also. Its brilliant red flowers appear on 12-inch long sprays throughout the warm season.  The blooms are 3/4 “to 1” in length and are narrowly tubular, making them ideally suited for the long, slender bills of hummingbirds.

Other common names for this plant are coral fountain, firecracker plant, rain of fire, and coral blow.  With its cascading fronds and red blooms planted in a tall slender red pot, it will be a great focus plant!  I love containers as you can vary the forms and colors you select and they can be moved to show them off when in full bloom, then retired to less prominent

Flowers of Fountain Plant

locations when not at their peak of glory.

The Fountain Plant can reach 3 to 6 feet high and 4 feet wide.  If that is a bit large for you, just limit the width of the container but keep good height to the container as the branches take root easily and may  have a tendency to be invasive.  Or, to simplify, just plant it in a hanging pot!

This is an unique bird feeder that is incredibly easy to fill and maintain. The feeder slides up and down the center pole eliminating reaching and bending. No more reaching up and taking the bird feeder off its hanger and sitting down to fill it. Just slide the hi-capacity feeder down the pole to you to fill it up. A free standing, heavy duty base allows you to locate your bird feeder just about anywhere in your patio,yard or garden.

Manufactures Suggested Retail Price $ 155.94

Special Sale Price Until March 31, 2010 $ 93.99

Click Here to Order Your Effortless Birdfeeder Now!

Effortless Birdfeeder

Click Here to Order Your Effortless Birdfeeder

As we were eating a late breakfast on our day off in late January, we experienced a special treat.  A male and

Male Northern Flicker

female Northern Flicker were eagerly eating at the suet feeder.  You know, the male is the one with a large red tear drop shape pattern on his cheeks the female does not have the red markings.  When they fly up and away from you, the tail feathers are spread and the underside is orange.

Before this pair finished feeding, the male and female Yellow Shafted Flickers arrived.  The male has a large red V shape on the back of its head and the female lacks the red marking.  The other distinguishing marking is the underside of their tail is yellow.  The Yellow Shafted Flicker is not as common in our area as the Northern  Flicker.

Yellow Shafted Flicker

It is especially helpful when both the male and female of the same species feed together.

There must have been a sense of safety and power as the male Northern Flicker actually forced a European Starling away from the feeder.  Flickers are usually rather timid and the Starlings are certainly aggressive.

As the two pairs of Flickers continued to feed, two of their cousins waited their turn in a nearby tree, the Pileated Woodpecker (I haven’t yet learned how to tell a male and female apart) and a male Downy.

What an exciting time to observe the woodpeckers!

Two winters ago, I had a Red-breasted Sapsucker.  Now that I am paying closer attention to detail, I am

Male Downy Woodpecker

confident that the Hairy Woodpecker has frequented my feeders as it is larger than the Downy.  Male and female Downy’s are at my suet feeders throughout the day.  The female Downy lets me get very close, within six feet.

Red Breasted Sapsucker

Bird Watchers are invited to take part in the 13^th annual Great Backyard Bird Count (GBBC), Friday February 12, through Monday, February 15, 2010. Participants in the free event will join tens of thousands of volunteers of all levels of birding experience to count birds in their own backyards, local parks or wildlife refuges.

Taking part in the GBBC is a great way to get outside with family and friends, have fun and help count birds – all at the same time. Anyone who can identify even a few species can provide important information.

Participants count birds for as little as 15 minutes (or as long as they wish) on one or more days of the event and report their sighting on at www.birdcount.org.

Bird populations are always shifting and changing. For example, 2009 GBBC date highlighted a huge southern invasion of Pine Siskins across much of the eastern United States. Participants counted 279,469 Pine Siskins on 18,528 checklists, as compared to a the previous high of 38,977 birds on 4,069 checklists in 2005. Failure of seed crops father north caused the Siskins to move south to find their favorite food.

On the www.birdcount.org website, participants can get more information and explore real-time maps and charts that show what others are reporting during the count. The site has tips to help identify birds and special material for educators. Participants may also enter the GBBC photo contest by uploading images taken during the count. Many images will be featured in the GBBC website’s photo gallery. All participants are entered in a drawing for prizes that include bird feeders, binoculars, books, CD’s, and many other great birding projects.

Why Count Birds?

Blackburnian Warbler

Scientist and bird enthusiasts can learn a lot by knowing where the birds are. Bird populations are dynamic; they are constantly in flux. No single scientist or team of scientists could hope to document the complex distribution and movements of so many species in such a short time.

The Great Backyard Bird Count needs your help. Make sure that birds from your area are well represented in the count. It doesn’t matter whether you report the 5 species coming to your backyard feeder or the 75 species you see during a day’s outing to as wildlife refuge. Your counts can help to answer many questions.

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Click Here to Order Now