Brooksville area has hummers in the winter as well. That is one of the towns that Fred Bassett stops in to band when he is headed to Lakeland. That is usually in Jan. or Feb. I have had a female that has been around now for a couple of weeks. Throughout the winter, I have had numerous birds - they seem to hang for a week or so then would leave, often just after another would arrive. I had at least 3 immature Rufous and my adult female visited but didn't stay. I use Journey North to post my hummers. I like that you can use the map and the sighting page where you can give description of what you saw. If you go to www.learner.org it will get you there. Check it out, there is a picture of one of my birds on the discussion page.(an immature male Ruby that Fred banded in Jan.) I have posted my winter sightings there but will wait till a different bird shows up to post for "First Sighting". Joe, here in Lakeland had 6 adult males, a female, an immature male , all Ruby-throated and an immature Black-chinned. stay the winter with him. Last time I spoke with him, he still had 4 males and the female. he thought he had a migrating male show up that day. Tom, do you use Steve Backes floridahummingbird site? It is quite good for a forum to chat back and forth with others and it keeps us posted about when people start seeing birds in migration locally. The Great Backyard Bird Count was a couple weekends ago. Lakeland had the most hummers reported in the state, although, we know that the Pandhandle was having a record number of them being banded earlier this winter.

It seems we have a male sticking around, He has very vibrant color. He usually doesn't perch at the feeder or stay very long. but I have seen him many times a day for the past week. There is also another hummer hanging around that my wife says is a female. These hummers won't let me get real close to them, so I can't tell. So far I have only seen a male(s). I was working in the yard yesterday and two of them buzzed right by my head, they were zooming all around the house. I am so glad they are back, hopefully we get some more soon.

Sheri, If you're interested in seeds for a dwarf ponciana, send me an email ( susannahnesmith(at)yahoo.com) They germinate easily. I get a little evangelical about this plant, but it is really showy, constantly has monarchs on it, and has never been watered (beyond rain water) or fertilized. And, to add to my love of it, now it got a hummer in the yard, even if he didn't stick around. I meant to bring seeds to the swap, but forgot, but I can toss some in the mail if you'd like to try it. I've got mine trained as a small tree, but it can also be a big bush. Loves sun. Mine is blasted all day long, no shade whatsoever, and is happy as can be. Susannah

I also just moved into a new house and am starting from scratch on my garden. I was also intereted in a hummingbird garden. I think everything I'm naming is hardy to zone 4. This is what I've planted so far: *Catawbiense Rhododdendron 'Bourseault' (closest I could find to the species plant, I got mine at Home Depot) *Aquilegia canadensis Wild Columbine *Campsis radicans Trumpet Creeper *Lonicera sempervirens Coral Honeysuckle *Aesculus pavia Red Buckeye (It is hardy to zone 4 even though the linked website says 6) *Spigelia marilandica Indian Pink *Lobelia cardinalis Cardinal Flower *Monarda didyma Oswega Tea *Monarda didyma 'Jacob Cline' Lilium michiganense Turk's Cap Lily (more known is *L. canadense) Liatris pycnostachya Prairie Blazing Star Silene virginica Fiery Campion Dicentra eximia Wild Bleeding Heart Astilbe 'Larissa' Crocosmia Montbretia 'Fire King' Phlox paniculata 'Tenor' Tricyrtis hirta Toad Lily Among others (I don't want to exhaust you!) The ones with stars are recommended as the top 10 hummingbird plants. The only one I don't have is spotted jewelweed, only because I think it is weedy looking. I see it growing naturally around here. The others are things I liked and read in various websites, catalogs or forums that people found to attract hummingbirds. I try to select species plants because they are thought to have more nectar than hybrids. Although the hybrids I planted, I planted because they are much easier to find! This website along with the link I entered, I found quite helpful. Copy and paste http://www.hummingbirds.net/attract.html I started a journal on daves garden. If you interested in looking at it let me know. Here is a link that might be useful: Top Ten