Hi jean I try not to post here too much but I live in southeast Pa here is a website for 3 rivers area hope that's what you want good luck sarah

Here is a link that might be useful: western pa native plants to attract hummingbirds

Hi Jean...
I wouuld suggest lots of salvias...they've been a great hit with my hummers here! They have loved everything, but the Scarlet Lady and Black & Blues were a hit all summer and the Pineapple sage was great for the fall!!! You can't go wrong with them!

glo

I'm sorry...I just realized you asked for fellow Pittsburgers, but I'm just a little south of you there! Didn't mean to step on toes.

glo

Hi Jean,

What a nice surprise, seeing a fellow Pittsburgher on the hummingbird forum! I am an apartment dweller in the city of Pittsburgh, but I grew up in Green Tree and my mom still lives there. That's not far from Mt. Washington, as the crow (er, hummingbird) flies!

It is at my mom's house in Green Tree that I still maintain a garden. I have grown lots of flowers over the years, and from time to time have seen hummingbirds stopping to take a sip. I've seen them on my white, Casa Blanca lilies, on Ipomopsis, on Nicotiana "Sensation," but they never really hung around until I planted a trumpet vine. It's a native vine that is quite rampant, and puts out tons of flowers. I'm not sure if I can remember the scientific name, but I think it's Campsis radicans. The one I have is the pale orange-flowered one, but I think deep orange to red is more common. I also know someone who lives in Regent Square, near Frick Park, who has a red flowered one that is a hummingbird magnet. I strongly recommend you try this plant--although it is invasive and rather large, it's hard to beat as a hummingbird attraction. it blooms late summer until frost, needs full sun, and the hummers just LOVE it!

Another famous hummer flower is Monarda (also known as Bee Balm, or Oswego Tea). I just planted three plants this fall, and am looking forward to seeing them grow. This native plant grows wild at Raccoon Creek State Park, and also at Jennings Nature Reserve. I've seen hummingbirds visit the wild flowers. I've also planted Aquilegia canadensis (the native red columbine) but will have to see next year if they do well and attract the hummers. The same goes for Mimulus cardinalis, a western native that I ordered from Joy Creek Nursery. It supposedly attracts hummers, but is not often grown, and no one on this forum was able to confirm whether hummers will visit it. Finally, I've never grown Impatiens, but I've heard good things about it and its attractiveness to hummingbirds.

So, in summary, and from personal experience, I highly recommend Trumpet Vine. I have high hopes for the Monarda, especially, and also the Columbine, but feel less certain about the Mimulus. I've heard good things about Impatiens, but have no personal experience with it.

--Kristin

Hey Jean,

Are you still out there, or are we supposed to email you at the possibly nonfunctional night-stalker address?

--Kristin

dear kristen-I sent u an email,did u get it? my email is still night-stalker@comcast.net I just had it blocked at this site for a while due to a nutcase-did u get the mail i sent? I had hit reply & sent it? I had asked about an eagle i saw in greentree on greentree rd & ridgemont ...if not lmk & I can try to resend one...be patient w me-i just got this box in july & sometimes mess up-I have learned so much though since having the internet-its like a whole new world i never knew existed...

Hi Jean,

Sorry, but I have received no email from you. Just in case I missed it, and it got buried, I did a yahoo mail search for night-stalker, and comcast.net, and nothing came up. No problem, really, since we can communicate in this forum.

As for seeing an eagle in Green Tree, while certainly not impossible, it would be a very unusual sighting. When did you see it? Do you think it was a Bald Eagle, or a Golden Eagle? Are you sure it wasn't a Red-tailed Hawk, a common, and rather large eagle-like bird? That would be much more likely, and is often mistaken for an eagle.

I hope my comments about hummingbird flowers (and those from other forum contributors) are useful to you. I don't think you can go wrong with Trumpet vine (definitely a hummer attraction) and Monarda, but there are many other flowers attractive to hummers. Googling subjects like hummingbirds, and hummingbird flowers, etc. should get you some good ideas on what to plant. You can also search this site and read what people are saying. They don't have to be from Pittsburgh to provide useful guidance.

It's also important that your growing conditions be appropriate. You want your plants to thrive and flower well, or you obviously won't have much success. Trumpet vines prefer full sun (although mine gets by on part shade) and Monarda likes some shade and a moist soil (so I hear). I actually installed a pond liner this fall deep below my garden to hold in moisture for the Monarda and Mimulus. Both enjoy moist or even wet conditions. Our soil drains too well, and I have grown tired over the years of having to water parched plants during summer droughts. Unfortunately with all these western Pennsylvania trees that grow like weeds, I don't have enough sun for the true drought-sun lovers, so it's a tough situation. Think about your garden conditions--sun, shade, soil type, find a list of hummer plants, and choose accordingly. Perhaps you'll be able to get the little guys to hang around--or maybe they're all too happy over at the aviary!! (Just kidding.)

I plan to check in again with this forum, and let people know how I did with my Mimulus cardinalis, Monarda didyma, and Aquilegia canadensis. That won't be until spring and summer of 2006, and all that depending on whether the plants survive their first winter and bloom.

You can try to email me again, or feel free to respond to this forum. I'll try to take a peek every now and then.

dera kristen,The bird I saw in greentree (i also saw one in my yard ) was huge-Id been to our avairy once & seen a bald eagle-it wasnt that big!!but it was not a red tail hawk,or a peragrine falcon-Im familar w those from living in Pgh almost my whole life-Ive never seen a bird like this,but saw it twice when i was pregnant w my son who is now 18 months old(i bought a digital cam in case it returns too)It was two or three times the size of our falcons it could have easily taken my 15 lb (fat) cat who was outside staring at it ,as it ate a rat in a tree,it had a predator brak(looked very sharp ripping up a rat) silvery chest feathers & golden shoulders(i could only see its front)& it stood about 3 ft high-ive never seen a pic of a golden eagle,but it was definately an eagle of some sort-it was magnificent!!!-we first saw one while driving to parkway center mall(on a dead tree that sticks out of the woods on greentree rd & ridgemont),& saw one the same fall in my yard,in a tree,I was supposed to be on total bedrest w my pregnancy,but Pat helped carry me outside,so that I wouldnt miss this unbelivable bird!we even bought a camera in case we ever see it again,I checked pics of falcons in case,but as i thought ,it was much to big to have been a falcon-whatever it was,we havent had a pigeon problem since:) we used to be plauged w pigeons clogging our feeder-maybe thats what attracted it to my yard?Anyway that year our pigeon problem disappeared.I would love to know what that bird was,I really believe it was some kind of an eagle,if i ever see it again I will get pics,as this was a most unusual sighting of an unusual feathered friend!I will google for a pic of a golden eagle as im not familiar w them,maybe thats the bird? I can check for a pic & will let you know,I still look for it every weekend,when we drive my son to the yugio tournament at parkway center mall-we cant keep our camera in the car anymore(our car got stolen last year w 2 cameras in it) but I would drive home & get it if i see it again this year.PS does your monarda get powdery mildew ? mine have it so bad Ive pulled most of it up-i only had pink & purple too-maybe the hummingbirds dont like it?this year,Im planning a strategy,Im getting more salvias from TX(i missed bringing mine in & they froze!!),planted agastaches,lobelias(red & blue) planted penstemons,& am having red cypress vine seeds & red glads to go w the perennial foxgloves that i brought from moms house(SHE GOT HUMMINGBIRDS!!) ,I also planted delphenium(may have to replace if they dont make it,i planted so late)& texas red star hibiscus-& Im also adding red trumpet vine.if i dont get hummingbirds this year I will be upset,where should i place my feeders? Pat said they need shade,but if i plant them under my tree,the hummers wont see them,will they? He also said to move the feeders further from the house-mine is about 10 ft from my kitchen door,does placement matter?Im really willing to do or grow anything to get these birds-I saw some at my neighbors torch lily when i moved here,i planted torch lily-nothing!!!maybe I should visit the avairy!!!We all went once & the birds there are amazing!!I never realised the size of the bald eagles!!massive!!!A lady i knew had a job there feeding them-she said they eat on fine china?true or not? she was such an idiot that she lost that great job,so i didnt know if i should believe her or not?well thanks again for your informative response..I will check for a golden eagle pic,as that might be my mystery bird!!...jean

Since it is a boring day at work -- with no work -- and the weather is blowing snow, thunder and lightning -- I've been scouting the forums here at garden web for something to do.

I live in upstate New York right on Lake Ontario.

I too plant flowers to attract hummingbirds. I've found they particurlary like the Mexican sunflower plant which I started planting by seed several years ago and continued planting each spring with saved seed. The plant can get very tall and might need staking (wind). The plant is very attractive to butterflies also.

The hummingbirds also like my Bee Balm -- also known as Oswego Tea -- and cardinal flowers. I have actually seen hummingbirds fight over my hummingbird feeder.

Along with the hummingbirds my plants attract the hummingbird moth -- quite an interesting bug.

Jean,

I'm going to have to hit the books and see about your raptor. I'm puzzled by your size description. A bird 3x the size of a peregrine would definitely be bald eagle sized or larger, and a 3ft tall bird indicates eagle size. However, you said it wasn't as large as an eagle, so I'm confused. Was it red-tailed hawk size? I wouldn't necessarily rule out Red-tailed hawk, because they can occur in some pretty strange and unusual color morphs. Also, I can't think of something with golden shoulders and silvery chest feathers. Some rare options would be Rough-legged hawk (immatures have light colored chests), or Ferruginous hawks, which are mostly white below. Raptors are quite variable, however, even within a species, so it's hard to say. What time of year have you seen this bird? It's important we nail down the size of this guy, I'm assuming bigger than a peregrine, but smaller than an eagle. That would put it around 20 some inches long. That's consistent with a red-tail or other medium buteo type hawk. Golden eagles are pretty much the same size as a bald eagle. Another important thing to point out is that females can be quite a bit larger than the males, so there's quite a bit of size variation in hawks and eagles.

About fine china and aviary eagles, I used to work at the aviary, but it was before the bald eagles. We never fed any of the birds on fine china, and there was no reason to do so. We mostly used plastic flower pot saucers of different sizes, and also heavy glazed yellow crocks for some of the larger birds. We also used stainless steel trays and bowls of different sorts. If they were feeding them on fine china, that makes no sense at all and would probably get broken by these big birds. I think your friend probably was teasing you.

As for feeders, I'm certainly not the most expert person around here for feeder advice. I think putting them in the shade is a good idea, because it would keep them cooler, and reduce fermentation and souring of the sugar water mixture. Of course, the feeders should be cleaned frequently, especially during hot weather. Putting them in the shade seems like a good idea to me, and I don't think the hummers should have any trouble finding them, as long as you don't tuck them into some remote, dense thicket. I don't think the feeders need to be far from the house, as hummingbirds are rather fearless birds, and what's the point of feeding them far away from the house if you can't get a good look at them? My single feeder is only a couple of feet from our dining room window, and I enjoy watching the little guys feed while I eat my breakfast, lunch and dinner. My feeder isn't even fancy. It's just a home made contraption made from a sample sized liquor bottle, plugged with a red cork and a sculpy clay fake flower I put around the opening. It's suspended from wire at a slight angle, and dispenses the sugar water much better than the stupid commercial feeder I bought. Whenever I need to clean it, I just toss it in a pot of boiling water and let it sanitize for a half hour or so. No problem.

It sounds like you have all the right ideas about flower selection. If you don't get hummers, I don't know what else to tell you. I only just planted my Monardas this fall, so can't say whether mildew will be a problem for me. I think some varieties are supposed to be less susceptible than others, and growing conditions might matter, too.

--Kristin

dear kristen,I asked my husband about the mystery bird-as he has a sharper eye for detail than i do-it was about 3ft tall& had a silvery/lt goldish chest-lighter than its wing which was a tan/goldish brown(much like a sparrow color)-it was not a red tail as Im from here & grew up watching red tails -it had a raptor beak & sharp looking claws-the one in my neighbors tree in my yard tore up a rat -stripped it clean in minutes-i believe the legs were whitish-lighter than the chest-Im going to google all of the names you mentioned tonight & see if i can find a pic-pat said he did get a pic of the bird w our old camera,but that he doesnt know what happened to it since we got the computer-probably in our old pics put away somewhere- if i ever run across it-& i plan to look this winter,as i have alot of old pics to scan into my computer,i will post it-till then i will google all of the eagle varities you mentioned & see if i find it-it was perched on a bare dead tree going up greentree rd-if youve ever driven up greentree rd you cant miss the dead tree as it is an ivory colored bare dead tree,that is right off the road to your left when driving up the hill & the bird was happily perched atop it-the one in my yard was also in a tall tree & both birds were sighted in early spring if that helps at all-I remember that i a medical crisis during my last pregnancy & was supposed to be on total flat back bedrest,but pat carried me out to the patio & helped me walk slowly up the yard to see that one-there were no leaves on my trees yet-or we would have never seen the birds-the bare trees,made them obvious,& since i was in the hospital in Feb & delivered in may this had to be early march or beginning april? if that matters-i will check your suggestions & look at some pics with Pat on the web later,after my baby goes to bed-hes a happy healthy 18month old now-so i never have time to surf the web in daytime,Ill let u know if we find it...thanks again ...jean

dear kirsten-i copied & pasted the names of birds into my browser & found my bird i think-I will have pat look to be sure-but the light chest & golden wingtips match it looks like it was the
Ferruginous hawk- i have to read more about them as it sure looks like thats what we saw both birds had the light chest-the others were way to dark -i put a pic of one like i saw on my desktop-maybe pat can figure out how to help me post it-I just got a computer in july & still find simple things that i cant do on it yet...Ill have him figure out how later tonight,if he agrees that thats the bird-the others wernt even close though-chests were all too dark..gtg baby is up...thanks alot for info-i think u id my mystery bird...jean ps keep looking at the dead tree on greentree rd-u may just see it yourself-i havent seen it since that year though-Im always checking for it again as it was so beautiful-i admit Im worried for my cats though-good thing theres lots of rats & pigeons for it to eat cause it looked huge compared to my cats!!-thanks again...jean