Hummingbirds can distinguish many more colors than humans. Not just ultraviolet, but ultraviolet+green, ultraviolet+red, and ultraviolet+yellow. Researchers spent three summers deploying sugar of various hues to discover this. We are “color-blind compared to birds” according to one of the scientists. And, according to me, it’s good to clean out the hummingbird feeder before it gets moldy.

/in , /by
You might also like
Brooks that often dry up in late summer around here have dried up. It is getting closer to late summer than I like to acknowledge,and it has been abnormally droughty.
We’re a little nervous today, as we just sent out our first mass emailing, designed to let the world know we exist. Our existence depends on pre-buys and donations. If you enjoy this content, please support us. And please reach out to us with questions, story ideas, or simply to introduce yourself.
It seems impolite to mention it, but it’s not inexpensive to keep our fleet of little birdfeeder birds fed.
Most wild plants can be encountered on an every-day walk, but usually not showy ladies slippers. The time is now for a pilgrimage, to a place where they are in masses among lesser – but also beautiful – bog plants.
Jefferson salamanders are the earliest vernal pool visitors, arriving even when there’s lots of ice.
The year’s first chanterelles should be glowing brightly on the forest floor.
All the other spring ephemerals are flowering. Among the loveliest are Dutchman’s breeches, trout lily, toothwort. I could go on, they all are lovely.
As of 11 a.m. this morning, the storm has dumped 26 inches of snow in Dorset.