Second hummingbird favorite in bloom at Ijams

Now that red buckeye’s flowering season is beginning to fade, another hummingbird favorite is starting to appear: crossvine (Bignonia capreolata), a native semi-evergreen, woody vine. It’s a climber generally found growing up a supportive tree.

Like most plants that use hummingbirds as pollinators, crossvine has tubular flowers that range from red to orange to tangerine in color. Also known as quartervine, the plant gets its name from its cross-shaped pith. If you cut a stem, you’ll discover it has four chambers that form an “x” pattern.

Crossvine flowers are also noted for their curious fragrance, most often described as “mocha-like" which I imagine might serve to attract cappuccino-loving insects with extra long tongues. (Hummingbirds are lured by color not scent.)

Look for crossvine growing high in the trees or there is a low-growing vine on the east entrance to the Universal Trail near the Visitor Center.

Make sure you take a sniff.

- Text and photo by Stephen Lyn Bales

Tree swallows have taken up residence at Ijams

Jennifer and Emily report that Tree swallows, (Tachycineta bicolor), are nesting in the artificial gourds near the TVA-KUB solar panels on the Universal Trail.

Tree swallows are migratory, spending their winters in Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean, but historically they nested in the western part of this country. Tree swallow nesting in the Tennessee Valley, and even our state, is a fairly recent occurrence.

According to Chuck Nicholson, author of the Atlas of Breeding Bird of Tennessee, published by UT Press, the first recorded tree swallow nest in Tennessee was discovered in 1918 at Reelfoot Lake. It wasn’t until 1968 that other nests were documented, this time in Anderson and Maury Counties. After that, nests have been reported every year and since the late 1980s, the nesting population has increased dramatically. Today, they’re fairly common throughout the state.

Tree swallows nest in empty cavities, hollow trees, bluebird boxes or even empty round gourds. Unlike their cousins, the colony-loving purple martins, the dark metallic blue backed tree swallows prefer to build their nests isolated from other swallows.

- Text and photo by Stephen Lyn Bales