Thank you ladies for the birthday wishes! The tree is a Nyssa sylvatica (aka Black Gum, Sour Gum or Tupelo). I have 9 of them growing on my property that were here when I bought the land. Many smaller ones have popped up since. Only a few of the big ones bear fruit. They like wet or dry woodland soil, will create groves over time, and are native to E. North America. They get non-messy blue fruit in late summer/early fall, neon red or orange fall foilage that stops you in your tracks, need no pruning unless you want to, summer leaves are deep green and glossy, and they are pest free. Down side, you never see them for sale in garden centers, but I've seen them available on-line (mostly native sites) as seedlings. You can start them from seed. (OK, does anybody want seed - if I can get it before the birds do - or maybe a small seedling, as I find them?) They are bird magnets in fruit and bee/hummingbird/nectar insect magnets in bloom. They do not grow exceptionally fast, but the wildlife value is high as a food source, if they turn out to be female trees. FTM - hope you get some great photo ops when the ice closes in - I'm excited for you (and us)! Brenda - lucky you - getting regular visits from a friendly RCKinglet! They are so pretty and like many little birds have a personality, or so it seems. Jean - those holes are huge. I've not seen them before - thanks for posting them. I wonder if any will become nest sites or are they drilling for insects and sap only? I have a pair of RBW that have drilled their nest site into the top of a broken off trunk, of what was once a double trunked oak. The big oak was hit by a small tornado or something that whipped through here a few years back and it wiped out one of the two trunks. A real big tree and so high up I can see their nest hole from afar. P.S. FTM - Yes, I agree - next poster please start a Bird Sightings 3 so it will be easier for Brenda to open quicker until the broadband fairy visits her home! I wanted to put my reply post here, rather than have it look out of context as a first post on a new thread, since I added no new photos. CT

I'm a Hummingbird newbie. I live just north of Buchanan, MI along the St. Joe river (Berrien County). We moved here May 18, 2009. Although there were no flowers of any type or a feeder, we had them coming up to our porch daily, from the first day. Guessing the lady who had our trailer before us, had feeders. It also looks like she may have had some planters. We went and got a feeder and within a few hours, we began seeing them steadily. They begin feeding around 7 am and continue until after 9 pm. I'd say we see one at our LONE feeder every 4 to 10 minutes, depending on the time of day. All we're giving them, so far, is a pre-mixed 'red' nectar, made by Garden Treasures, that we bought with the feeder that we attached to our trailer window. We're totally captivated by them, and have begun to put in plants we've read that they like, and are going to add more feeders, just as soon as we can afford them (We're on a limited budget). Our biggest problem is that we don't know what we're seeing. Seems we have two different types, and several of each. We can only judge by their size and length of their bills. Some are very tiny and have what appears to be a black cap. Sometimes we think we see red at their necks, but when we move it goes away, leaving us feeling it's just a reflection from the red feeder, or red nectar in the feeder. The others appear to be pretty much gray; a little lighter on their chests, although sometimes we think we see some green on their backs. Some of their bills are very short, and some quite long. I have been looking at all the sites on the web, and none seem to look like ours. Ours don't seem to have the color of those I find pics of. I'm wondering could that be due to the fact the feeder is in the shade? All I know, is we never have to wait too long to see one, and we LOVE them! Our Camera quit working, but as soon as I can get my hands on another, I will be taking some pics. Would love to know where others, especially locals, gather to discuss their little 'loved ones' and any website we can get more info on local sightings. We can't afford to go out and buy books. Getting all our plants through 'Freecycle'. Any info would be greatly appreciated, and, of course, used to benefit our 'babies'!

I love this thread. Thanks for the list, Linda. I really should have read the whole thread carefully, and then I would have known, but I was in a hurry. POF? I'm ROFL! I guess I have a PIG--horrible pieces I cut out for a Stack n whack and found that that particular material won't look good in that pattern--but it's not in a bag. In fact, I don't know where I put it. Then there is my fish batik Slideshow quilt--still a M2M ("mean to make"). I have all the material for it, but have gotten sidetracked. A stack n whack I started with a material that does look good has been a UFO for some time, but now I have bought the material I wanted for the background and it will be a WIP again in a few days. And, of course, a Sylvia's Bridal Sampler, a WIP that is probably going to be around as such for a loooong time!

I love it........and when I got to the picture of the backing, that nailed it. Perfect. Laughing, because the baby quilt I made the latest g'child is still folded up in the closet. I don't think he has ever seen it and he's now 2-1/2. I'm not offended, because I heard her utter something like 'Oh it's too nice to really use' when she opened it. Yeah, I had washed it as well. One of these days when I'm babysitting, maybe I'll hunt for it and let him decide if he wants to use it, instead of saving it for one of his kids. LOL.