Have your hummingbirds returned?

The first hummingbirds arrived last week.

I see my first hummers about the 15th of March each yr

The hummingbirds should be arriving here any day now.

Hmmm... maybe I should get the feeder ready and set it out - thanks for the reminder.

I saw a Hummer come by 4 days ago, looking for his feeder….Needless to say I very quickly got some nectar into it and hung it right back out. The next evening, about the same time, there he was! Each and every evening like clock work! Love them!

As soon as I put out the feeder, one showed up. No heavy traffic yet, but I expect it shortly.

I may have seen one zip by but don't think so ... they usually come to my window and let me know they are here. I'm getting soooo impatient to see them! ♥

Probably by the end of the month.

I always go here, http://www.hummingbirds.net/map.html, to help me decide when to put feeders out.

I don't usually see them till the middle of summer

I put a feeder out in front of my sink window a couple of days ago. Haven't seen any yet. N o real flowers in that nice red color yet. We have had one day when temp. reached 60 degrees. Today, now at almost noon the temp is 60 degrees. But it is cloudy, so I don't think the temp. will as predicted reach 70 degrees. I still have several kinds of seeds to get planted in the greenhouse and out in the garden area and in the 2 appple bin raised box beds. Finally the hoses are connected and no obvious serious hose leaks. Good SPRING to every one.

Donna

We are fortunate to have 12 species here

http://www.avianweb.com/hummingbirdslouisiana.html

The only time we tried putting up a hummingbird feeder, we just fed a lot of ants! The hummers may well be out in the woods, but we probably won't see any until the weigela blooms.

Our hummers came back on 5 March. We have blackchinned hummers, as well as ruby throat.

We have hummingbirds most of the year and lots are here now. Some types go farther south in the winter but some stay all year.

How do they remember exactly where to go every year? One buzzed by my head this evening when I was on the back porch. I came in and got the feeder ready. They come back to the exact spot I always put the feeders, it amazing.

Hummers here year round. The love the sages, honeysuckles, and trumpet vines. When the pickin's are slim, there are a lot of territorial squabbles. When a hummingbird is feeding, they are quick to chase away any intruders.

I've got them here year around. And I think some are nesting in my lemon tree. Every time I walk over to that part of the yard, one appears in the tree:)

We've had two nests under the eves of our house. Fascinating experience except for one thing...they sling their poop all over the place. Probably a strategy to keep the nest clean, but there are hundereds of tiny black dots all over the walls, floor, windows, etc..

I voted, not yet. Honestly, I don't know. I haven't been watching for them. We do have robins galore.

They are here. Not enough to be fighting but they have arrived. Its so windy they could be in Dallas by now tho..

We have a few that stayed over the mild winter and now there are more moving in and building nests. I got buzzed in the court yard this morning. That means there is a nest being built. I usually have at least 4 nests in the courtyard. They build them in the climbing fig vine.

I noticed the first one on Apr 4 feeding on salvia.
This is the earliest I have ever noticed them in 20 years I have lived here.
I noticed them Apr 16 last year.

Still waiting ... tap ... tap ... tap ... tap ...

I noticed that there are 7 votes for we don't have hummingbirds where I live…Where do you live?

Hummers arrived last week - first one zipping by the window looking for feeder. While waiting for water to boil, feeder was sitting on the counter in front of the window. Next pass got me a look like "doesn't do me much good in there!". While some people at sea level say they have them all year, we're at 1150' so perhaps that's where ours go. But nice to have them back. Also, a few swallows scouting out the barn.

Our neighbor said she saw a hummer this morning, so I immediately put up a feeder. Haven't seen one yet, but now the feeder is up - they will come!

Saw our first hummingbird this morning. Unfortunately, it did not go to our hummingbird feeder nor to any of the blooming plants that it should like but instead went by a dying holly and my window in the den. Hopefully they will figure out this soon. We planted some plants the hummingbirds should like very close to our hummingbird feeder (red nicotania, purple torenia, bleeding heart) and there are also other flowers there which I am not sure if they like or not- begonias and later on, sedum.

I have hummingbirds all over the area. Last Saturday two got in the house. We have a two story home with a wide open area that is very high.

Of course that is where they decided to stay except when they stopped on a high up window sill. I leave the front door open in the spring for fresh air. Had the same problem last year.

They eventually wear themselves out and and slowly float downward. My husband was there to catch them with a sugar mixture which each one started eating and he placed them back in the courtyard. One had a mother waiting for it.

Anyone have a better idea on how to get them to come down. One friend said to bring in the hummingbird feeder.

Not even February, Not even half way through January , and I am impatiently awaiting their return!!!!!

Our little year round HB's are still here, keeping the feeder busy. I think about mid February we will start to see the "scouts" starting to move back before their trek up North again.

Jean, we only get a nesting couple each year and then a few when they migrate. It would be nice to have them year round.

The Ruby throats have begun "staying at home" over the winters and we get Rufous and Calliope species that migrate down here from out west. We see a couple or so almost daily in the winter and then starting in February we seem to be in the flight path of a number of migratory HB's. We started leaving the feeders out a few winters ago and I think that accounts for the numbers we see in winter. They are feisty territorial little beggars...grin

I saw my first one in February last year,real early ,I would imagine it been living in a garage or rooftop apartment,, I see a few during the warm months,
Contrary to lore and the internet we do have three or four species around here every few years. Ruby, Rufous, Bee-Tailed and another I would not even care to guess at,
It is like that already with with the Bee Tailed I get told I am seeing things...lol

Look for bee-tailed hummingbird or Spotted Dove hawk , the hawk is completely white with black circular leopard type spotting, you will not find either using Google or anywhere lately, they were here on the net a few years ago though, so I am sure they are still someplace, I hate it when I lose information, had that on disc on my other computer that this one will not accept Arrgh!!

Never heard of bee tailed hummer or a spotted dove hawk. I know the bee hummingbird. Do you have pictures?

There is a Bumble Bee HB and a Broad-tailed HB....this link is neat as it lists all species of HB found in each state.

http://www.rubythroat.org/checklistsusstatesmain.html

This link names Hawk and kite species in Indiana

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_birds_of_Indiana

Juhur is possibly referring to the Northern Goshawk

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northern_Goshawk

They are not there now , although they were 3 years ago... The Fletchers Dove Hawk I first saw a taxidermed in a library in 1970 that said extinct , Since then those have made a comeback but not a huge one, I saw one three years sgo looked it up on the web ,it was there , not now though,
It might be because they have have black ivory talons that are worth a lot of money, not posting them protects them further, maybe that is why?

I'm getting my feeder prepared to hang out tomorrow. I'd always heard that they didn't start returning until April/May, but with the strange weather we're having, and after reading Moon's post….I'm getting my lazy azz in gear, and getting the food ready!

They are certain to be here when the trumpet vine (Campsis radicans) blooms.some years, if I have nectar-bearing flowers out early, I may see hummers out as early as February. Usually they are females, some rubythroats and some woodstars.

Sorry to say not even Cornell University has info on Fletcher's dove hawk. The closest thing I could find was the American Kestrel (sparrow hawk)

Tim, this little guy was resting in the abelia, guarding the feeder, a couple days ago...we have 4 feeders out and every single HB has claimed it as their own...we have regular "feeder wars" grin