Date: 6/8/26 6:39 am From: Bill Fontenot via groups.io <williamrodneyfontenot...> Subject: Re: [labird] For Hummer Gardeners
And job well done Nan! Most young’uns have no idea what goes into banding a hummingbird. Your old student Dave Patton used to show a picture of a penny with 16 hummer bands sitting on it — and there was still room for more!
Paul, it’s so good to know you’re continuing Dennis’ work, especially with new Salvia hybrids. Here in Lafayette Paul Conover and others are trying newly available Mexican and South American species. You may want to make a trip down here with your cap tubes…
Bill Fontenot
500 Saint Catherine St.
Lafayette, LA 70506
> On Jun 8, 2026, at 8:12 AM, Nancy L Newfield <nancy...> wrote:
>
> Well, Bill, some folks really don't know when to quit . . . some years ago,
> I retired from organizing tours and from public speaking, but on the 1st of
> August I will celebrate the initiation of my 49th year of banding
> hummingbirds. So, a 5-year project, begun in 1979, has grown into a
> legitimate OBSESSION!
>
> NLN
>
>> On Mon, Jun 8, 2026 at 7:29 AM bill fontenot <
>> <williamrodneyfontenot...> wrote:
>>
>> Paul, Nancy, et al —
>>
>> Had no idea y’all were carrying on this important work!
>>
>> As climate continues to change, it’s hummingbird movements across the U.S.
>> and Mexico have widespread and gradually morphing into new patterns that
>> we’ve begun detecting thanks to the efforts of banders and our. winter
>> census work. Ebbird has also been helpful re: not only U.S. winter records
>> but also those post-breeding (?) Mexican species that are wandering here in
>> summer.
>>
>> Hummer gardeners can assist by continuing to trial nectar plants to see
>> which may become useful as time rolls on.
>>
>> Bill Fontenot
>> 500 Saint Catherine St.
>> Lafayette, LA 70506
>>
>>> On Jun 7, 2026, at 2:33 PM, Paul Dicksonaa <Paul...>
>> wrote:
>>>
>>> This sounds like a humnet revival. I sure hope so.
>>> I have the stoloniferous, actually tuberiferous, species as well. I also
>> have planted all of the recent well marketed hybrids with a variety of
>> trade names borrowing from the Roman Empire to Elvis. The new hybrids are
>> beautiful and strong plants that are easy to grow. The flowers hold for
>> days. Hummingbirds are not so impressed as garden consumers are. They
>> produce standard salvia nectar which is 26% unless sun evaporated to
>> higher values. I suspect that the reason I see the hummers using the
>> species and older hybrids more is because of length of time the new hybrids
>> hold their blooms, perhaps longer than they produce nectar. I am a
>> Demcheck nectar student too and still add to my 20 year old spreadsheet
>> which has been through a lot versions of excel by now. Sometimes when I
>> stick a glass pipette into the new hybrids, I get nothing. I always get 10
>> microliters or more from the species so long as I’m not behind a
>> hummingbird. (Yes, it is possible to get ahead of a hummingbird.) So what
>> Bill is offering out is the good stuff, as usual.
>>> Paul Dickson
>>>
>>>
>>> From: <labird...> <labird...> On Behalf Of Nancy L Newfield
>> via groups.io
>>> Sent: Sunday, June 7, 2026 10:07 AM
>>> To: <williamrodneyfontenot...>
>>> Cc: Labird <labird...>
>>> Subject: Re: [labird] For Hummer Gardeners
>>>
>>> Bill,
>>>
>>> I've grown this plant since the early 1980s and when you offered, I was
>>> tempted because I thought that I had lost my original stock. HOWEVER, I
>>> just noticed one blooming in one of my less tended garden areas. My
>>> original plant came from the late Rich Dufresne.
>>>
>>> Dennis's nectar study fascinated me, so I 'borrowed' the concept and have
>>> compiled about 10 single-spaced pages of data.
>>>
>>> NLN
>>>
>>>> On Wed, May 20, 2026 at 11:21 AM Bill Fontenot via groups.io<
>> http://groups.io> >>>> <williamrodneyfontenot...><mailto:williamrodneyfontenot >> =<gmail.com...>> wrote:
>>>>
>>>> I’ve got the old-school cultivar of anise sage (Salvia guaranitica) for
>>>> anyone who would like some. Just contact me via email and let me know
>> when
>>>> you’ll be around. This cultivar (might actually be the straight species)
>>>> blooms all spring and summer into the fall. It grows 30-36” tall. This
>> one
>>>> runs via stolons to form sizable colonies (up to 10-12’ if allowed).
>>>>
>>>> Years ago Dennis Demchek did a sugar content study of all LA hummer
>>>> plants. At 30% sugar content, anise sage blew away all other plants —
>> most
>>>> of which ranged between 12-20%.!Drought and flood tolerant, blooms
>> nicely
>>>> in sun or shade, and completely winter-hardy up through zone 6.
>>>>
>>>> Bill Fontenot
>>>> 500 Saint Catherine St.
>>>> Lafayette, LA 70506
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>
>>> --
>>> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
>>> Nancy L Newfield
>>> Casa Colibrí
>>> Metairie, Louisiana USA
>>> <nancy...><mailto:<nancy...> >>> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>
>
>
> --
> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
> Nancy L Newfield
> Casa Colibrí
> Metairie, Louisiana USA
> <nancy...>
> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
>
>
>
>
>
