Innholdsfortegnelse for July 2025 i Birds and Blooms Extra

It’s finally summer. And that means flowers are in full bloom, with bees making quick work of pollination. New fledglings are learning how to eat at feeders and forage for bugs. Butterflies are gracefully flitting from flower to flower. And my personal favorite: Hummingbird moths are grabbing my attention with the whir of their wings as they sip nectar from my blooms. I hope your landscape is a flurry of activity the way mine is. But if not—or if you can’t get enough birds, blooms and butterflies—soak up all of summer’s most cherished fliers and flowers in this issue. Learn all about beloved and friendly black-capped chickadees in “The Cutest Birds Ever” on page 6. And let us introduce you to a few flycatchers that you likely won’t see at…

1 Butterfly weed ASCLEPIAS TUBEROSA, ZONES 3 TO 9 With a broad range, growing in 43 states, butterfly weed glows in warm golds and oranges. Its flat-topped clusters are showy all the way from May through September. Besides monarchs, butterfly weed is a host plant for gray hairstreak and queen caterpillars. Why we love it: Well-behaved and fairly compact at only 1 to 2 feet tall, butterfly weed easily fits into any sunny, well-draining garden. 2 Whorled milkweed ASCLEPIAS VERTICILLATA, ZONES 3 TO 9 This milkweed’s fine-textured, needlelike leaves and pale cream summer flowers lend a refined air to this 2-by-2-foot prairie plant. This is one of the types of milkweed that prefers dry sunny conditions. But it will tolerate part shade. Why we love it: Flowering well into September,…

I wanted to capture a broad-tailed hummingbird in flight and knew that my delphinium would make a nice background. After thinking about how to make it happen and spending some time on it, this photo was the result. Tony Attanasio PINETOP, AZ LISTEN UP! When male broad-tailed hummingbirds are in flight, their wings have a loud, notable trill. Online sources describe it as “insectlike,” “cricketlike” and “metallic.” The cutest chipping sparrow landed perfectly on a perch near where it was building a nest. It seemed to stop and say “hi” before flying away. It was a magical moment. Sean Pursley BOISE, ID NEST INVADERS Chipping sparrow nests, which are typically built by the females in a conifer tree, are known to be parasitized by brown-headed cowbirds. A female cowbird sneaks…

I prepare my spring gardens with a good layer of mulch to help keep the ground moist after watering. I get up early to water my plants and concentrate on the base and roots of the plant. Jennifer Broadstreet Hess MARION, KS Follow watering instructions for each plant faithfully. Consult trusted resources if you’re unsure. Joanne Thomas BAYONNE, NJ If you have the space, get a rain barrel. Irma Boucher PRINCE FREDERICK, MD My favorite tool to water small pots or add water to flower arrangements is a turkey baster. It’s easy to control, see the volume and keep foliage dry. Nancy Hook CAZENOVIA, NY I keep some of my houseplants in the bathroom. They love the humidity, and when it’s time to water them, I put them in the…

Find the Hummingbird In each issue, we hide a hummingbird like the one above left. Enter to win at birdsandblooms.com/contests if you find it. Winners get a one-year subscription to Birds & Blooms. In the February issue, we hid it on page 30. HIDDEN OBJECT GUIDELINESNo purchase necessary to enter to win. Purchase will not improve your chances of winning. Sweepstakes is open to legal residents age 18 years or older of the U.S., its territories and possessions, or of Canada (excluding the Province of Quebec). Sweepstakes begins on June 16, 2025, and ends on Aug. 18, 2025. Visit birdsandblooms.com/contests for official rules. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED. Sweepstakes sponsored by RDA Enthusiast Brands, LLC. Contact Us! CUSTOMER CAREFor subscriptions, renewals, gifts, payments, account info and inquiries:Email: customercare@birdsandblooms.comVisit: birdsandblooms.com/customercareWrite:BIRDS & BLOOMS CUSTOMER…

Purple Coneflower Echinacea purpurea, Zones 3 to 9 Continuous purple blooms, minimal maintenance and resistance to deer and drought (once established) make purple coneflowers true backyard rockstars. These beloved perennials are perfect for cutting gardens, but they do well in borders and beds too. Attracts: Light needs: Full sun. Size: 2 to 5 feet tall and 1 to 2 feet wide. Grown for: A long bloom season from midsummer through frost. Growing advice: Although drought tolerant, water weekly in the first year. Bird tip: In fall, leave seed heads be. Birds love them. CONSTANT COLOR Coneflowers are low maintenance, but to keep their blooms going, it’s best to deadhead (remove spent blooms) during the summer months.…

Ants in your garden can be frustrating, but their activity can provide surprising benefits. Like beavers, ants are considered ecosystem engineers. As they build their nests, ants excavate soil from underground, improving aeration and drainage. Underground chambers maintain stable humidity and temperature, creating ideal homes for beneficial soil-dwelling creatures like millipedes, beetles, springtails and even butterflies. Beyond their landscaping skills, ants help keep your garden tidy by removing food scraps, dead insects and other decaying matter, making your space less inviting to pests like mice. Some species also help control garden pests by preying on insect eggs and caterpillars. However, not all ants are beneficial—several are known to farm aphids, protecting them in exchange for their sugary honeydew. These ants can become aggressive if you attempt to remove the infestation.…

Q We have a very active birdbath, and we are puzzled by fresh grass that appears and reappears in the birdbath. The strands are up to 4 inches long, which seems too big to be tracked in on their feet. We clean it out every day, and most days, it comes back. What could be putting grass in our birdbath? Virginia Satterfield TALLAHASSEE, FL Kenn and Kimberly: That’s an intriguing mystery, and we don’t have a definite answer. But at least during spring and summer, it could be that birds are accidentally dropping nest material that they’ve gathered. Many birds that breed in your area, from orchard orioles to brown thrashers, use strands of grass in their nests. There are some species in which the male helps gather nest material…

Meet the black-capped chickadee, a beginner backyard birder’s dream. The small songbirds are considerably curious about humans and comfortable in our presence, which makes them some of the first birds people learn about. They are often first to find a feeder, and once they identify a regular food supply, they will be frequent guests. Steve Kolbe, an avian ecologist at the Natural Resources Research Institute, which is part of the University of Minnesota Duluth, describes black-capped chickadees as curious, bold, resourceful and tough. “They’re always in motion and busy,” he says. Year-Round Locals Black-capped chickadees do not migrate, instead opting for a territory where flocks are residents year-round. While different chickadee species can be found throughout most of this country, you can spot black-capped ones in the northern half of…

RED BLOOMS Hummingbirds find salvias and eastern columbines irresistible, and butterflies swarm to red bee balm. Bees can barely see red, but they still visit some red flowers. GREEN BLOOMS Green blooms often support smaller insects like flies, beetles and ants. Amaranthus attracts bees, butterflies and moths, while green milkweed hosts monarchs. ORANGE BLOOMS Plant orange milkweed as a nectar source and host for monarch butterflies. Bees and butterflies adore perennial helenium and annual tithonia and cosmos. BLUE BLOOMS Bees see blues and violets the best, says National Wildlife Federation expert Mary Phillips. For blues in your yard, try agastache, aster, basil and rosemary. YELLOW BLOOMS Goldfinches, siskins and many insects like gold and yellow tones. Bees and butterflies are drawn to brassica flowers, coreopsis, achillea and rudbeckia. PURPLE BLOOMS…

There are thousands of native bee species buzzing about our continent, tending to our gardens and ecosystems. Some are obvious, like chunky bumblebees. Others are harder to spot, like tiny fairy bees. “Native bees come in all shapes, sizes and lifestyles,” says Francisco Garcia Bulle Bueno, a bee researcher and Director of Research and Conservation at the Butterfly Pavilion in Westminster, Colorado. “Some are solitary, others highly social; some nest in the ground and others in hollow stems or even inside snail shells.” There are around 4,000 native bee species in the U.S., but surprisingly honeybees are not one of them. Here are a few native species to keep an eye out for. Long-horned bees (squash bees): “They take coolness to another level with their ridiculously long, elegant antennae,” Francisco…

Red admirals don’t usually frequent my yard, so I was delighted when this one visited. The bright red and black markings really stood out against the background of white coneflowers. Deborah Billings WATKINSVILLE, GA Last April while watching birds, I noticed a flurry of butterfly activity on my apricot tree. I had never seen so many early spring butterflies before, and never on one tree. We have been adding native plants and trees, and letting the leaves be in the fall. It seems to have paid off! Jennifer Sigmon OGDENSBURG, NY I found a Paradise apple tree in full bloom with lots of insects on it, including this red admiral butterfly. Debbie Parker MEDINA, OH Red admiral butterfly WINGSPAN 1³/4 to 3 inches. MARKINGS The forewing is dark with a…

38 While the lifespan of a wild bald eagle is typically 15 to 25 years, the oldest banded eagle was 38 when it died in 2015. 2024 Though the bald eagle has been the symbol of the United States since 1782, it was not the country’s official national bird until 2024. 100 When attacking prey, bald eagles can dive through the air at up to 100 mph. 20 The largest known bald eagle nest, in St. Petersburg, Florida, was 20 feet tall and 91/2 feet wide. 10,000 These mighty raptors can soar 10,000 feet above the ground, leveraging thermal air currents to conserve energy and glide. 14 Bald eagles are among North America’s largest raptors, weighing up to 14 pounds, with a 7-to-8-foot wingspan. 5 Bald eagles take up to…