Yep,a zinnia. Just surprising to me, as, of all the seedlings I've found sprouting about, I've never had a border type annual: marigold, pansy, zinnia...till now. Had to be from a bird. I love it. Marti

Claire is correct - it's the timing. Excerpt from hummingbirds.net "Where did my hummers go? You watched the migration maps and hung your feeder in time to attract the first migrants. You kept the feeder clean and the syrup fresh, and were rewarded by lots of visits from migrants, then the activity settled down to regular appearances by the resident birds. Pretty cool hobby, eh? Then, perhaps in early May (depending on your latitude)... NO MORE HUMMERS! Where'd they all go? This didn't happen last year! Or did it? Welcome to the nesting season, folks. I'll discuss Ruby-throats in particular, but similar principles probably apply to most other species. Shortly after arriving, the females establish a nesting territory. Ruby-throats prefer secluded wetlands for nesting, if available, and proximity to your feeder is not an issue; in fact, females don't like to build nests in a male's feeding territory, and your feeder is probably part of one. Visits to distant feeders take too much time away from the eggs. When the chicks hatch, they need protein to grow, not sugar, so their mother spends most of her time catching small insects and spiders for them. During this period, I personally still see a male or two at my feeders, but typically only early or late in the day. I suspect that once their breeding duties are over, males tend to abandon territories and forage more widely to fatten up for migration. After the chicks fledge (leave the nest), expect the number of hummers at your feeder to be double what it was before the "disappearance." As summer progresses, there will be fewer natural hummingbird food sources available in many parts of the continent; feeders can have a real positive impact on the number of birds that survive, especially in the dry Midwestern U.S., so please keep them clean and fresh. And keep notes on your tiny visitors, if you like, so you can verify for yourself that this is a normal, annual process." I checked my photo library and all of my backyard hummers were photographed in July, August, and Sept. Been a long spring. Thank you, Claire. Kindly, Jane Here is a link that might be useful: hummingbirds.net

I have the same question too. I live in Virginia and hundreds of earthworms migrate from my lawn to the sidewalk. This has been going on for the last two weeks. I have not placed any chemicals at all in my yard. Now.... what's really weird about this phenomenon is that I live in a subdivision and have neighbors all around me. Guess what? I'm the only one with this problem. I've checked everybody elses sidewalk and they are clear. I'm glad to see that I'm not the only person with this problem. Does anyone know, please? I'm very curious to find out why this is happening. Thanks.

That's interesting, Martha! I've never studied monarchs, know next to nothing about their migration. I just assumed since I get fall monarch cats so often and spring ones almost never, that they were on their way back to Mexico. I HAVE read about south Florida having their own population of monarchs - maybe some actually move out of Florida for a while, then return to Florida, making my area a part of their northern territory? I live in southeast Mississippi, about 35 miles north of the Gulf in the part that was once West Florida, which was geographically the panhandle extended to the Mississippi River in Louisiana, hence the 'Florida Parishes' in that state. Or maybe there are indeed some that don't go far north, just stay in the Deep South generally. I need to study monarch migration! Sherry