It is truly a wonder to be able to watch my Ruby-Throated Hummingbirds (Archilochus colubris)all season long, although it is primarily the adult female I watch day-in, day-out, manically nectaring mainly on my Beebalm (Monarda) in the early part of the season, then going back and forth between the Beebalm and the Firecracker plant when it flowers. Of course, as the season goes by, and the Beebalm withers, I break out the feeder, which now seems to be their focus as they get ready to migrate. I say “they” because not only does the male occasionally zip through, but the one juvenile of this season (also a female) has been very busy now, feeding, feeding and more feeding, then generally just ha
WHY WAGHKONK? I should explain to the occasional reader why I call these missives Waghkonk Notes. I started writing these as the Comeau Newsletter, way back when I was the volunteer trail-keeper at Comeau. I decided to expand my horizon (literally) to include all of the Woodstock Valley, which runs from Bearsville to northern Zena, following the middle stretch of the Sawkill, going from the foothills of the Catskills to the western edge of the Hudson Valley itself. I settled on Waghkonk because that (as well as the versions, Awaghkonk and Wachkunk) is the oldest name for this area found on the earliest maps of the region from the 1600’s and 1700’s. Evan Pritchard, noted regional Native Ameri
