good luck?

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Not as towering or dominant as yellow buckeye, the red buckeye is a small tree that likes limy soil, often near water. The leathery fruits are thin-walled capsules containing one to three poisonous seeds that look very much like chestnuts, shiny and mahogany-like. They look much like the fruit of yellow buckeyes, shiny and hard, the size of chocolate-covered cherries.

In the 1770s, naturalist and writer William Bartram noted red buckeye as one of the trees he discovered on his four-year journey through the south.

The native Cherokee once carried the seeds for good luck, although considering the tragic events that lead up to and included the infamous Trail of Tears, their powers to bring good fortune is much overrated.

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buckeye on schedule

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After I cleaned and hung my hummingbird feeder in its customary location yesterday, I checked the two red buckeyes planted in my yard. And as I suspected would be true, they were both blooming.

The ruby-throated hummingbird migration northward every spring follows the flowering of this native tree. And as you can see, they have red tubular blossoms to lure the fast-flying hummers. The flowers are narrow, their sweet nectar tucked away deep inside so that only the long-billed birds can partake. Zipping about—a sip here, a sip there—benefits the buckeyes by spreading the sticky pollen from tree to tree.

This relationship was forged long before man-made sugar-water feeders were invented. Could the hummers survive without the buckeyes? Probably, the ruby-throats would just migrate later when other plants with tubular flowers bloomed. Could the buckeyes exist without the hummers? Perhaps not. But yet, for the tiny birds, pollinating the plants with blossoms especially designed for their bills, is their raison d'être.

And we all need a reason to exist.

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closer

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With each passing day, the red buckeyes get closer to blooming. And with that, the arrival of the hummingbirds, back from their winter migration.

In fact, if you go to hummingbird migration map for 2011, you'll see that at least one has already been spotted in my region.


Happy Birthday Mom!

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the dude abides

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OK. It's March. Finally the third month as Whitman might scribe. Awake my calloused heart, my passion. Time to start looking for early signs of spring: the reawakening, the rebirth, the reverberation.

Go ahead. It's out there. Venture forth.

I have two red buckeye trees planted in my yard. I put them there; they're invited guests. I've lived in this house for over twenty years and kept waiting for one to arrive on its own accord, or camary, but it never did. So they came in a 19-year-old saturn. (The real, ringed one is much older.)

Why did I want red buckeyes? Because they bloom early and attract ruby-throated hummingbirds. In fact, studies have shown that as the native buckeyes with the dangling red flowers bloom each spring, farther and farther north with each passing day, the spirited hummers follow.

This past weekend I discovered that my buckeyes are starting to put out their tender new leaves, poking their toes into the lake to test the proverbial waters, so to speak. If they find it to their liking, their flowers will not be far behind.

Yes, it's that time. The dude abides.

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hummer time

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Now that red buckeye is blooming, the hummingbirds should be back. Has anyone seen one?

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hummmmm

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It's April Fool's Day! Here in the Tennessee Valley, it's time to put out the hummingbird feeders. The ruby-throats are returning.

According to my friend Chris Mahoney, the basic rule of thumb for maintaining your nectar feeders is "crazy day to crazy day" or April Fool's Day to Halloween. Chris lives in Chattanooga and will often see her first ruby-throated hummingbird of the season this early. I think the earliest I have seen one in my yard is the second week of April, but Knoxville is farther north and they certainly can be around my county days before I happen to spy one.

The thing to watch is red buckeye, a good tree to plant in your yard because of the hummer's affinity for it. The tiny birds seem to follow the blooming of this native tree north every spring.

(The photo shows a female but the adult males are the first to arrive.)

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hummer's arrive

Spring comes on like gangbusters. So much so that it’s hard to take note of it all. Sometime during the past few days while I was out of town, red buckeyes began to bloom in Knoxville. At the same time ruby-throated hummingbirds turned up as well. When I settled back into my home and looked out at the feeder—Saturday late—there perched a hummer. A coincidence? Dare I say not!

Studies have shown that the diminutive little birds weighing 1/10 of an ounce—about the same as two dimes—follow the blooming buckeyes north. As the native tree with red tubular flowers blooms in any given area, the hummingbirds soon appear.

It's a lovely piece of natural synchronicity.

synchronicity

They’re on their way! After spending the winter in Central America, the first migrating ruby-throated hummingbirds have been sighted as far north as Macon, Georgia.

Depending on flying conditions, research has shown that the dynamic little birds advance roughly 70 miles a day. Studies also suggest that the small hummers follow the emergence of red buckeye. As soon as this native tree blooms in any given locale, the ruby-throats appear. The adult males are generally the first to arrive. It’s a lovely sort of natural synchronicity.