Ruby-throated Hummingbirds Vol.15

Rose, Really great pictures! One of these days I might manage to get as good a picture as you do! Love that first one and the middle one of the 3!

plantladyhou, It must be so neat to have the hummers overwinter there!

Elphaba, I enjoy the photos of the hummers regardless of where they are.. feeders, wire, flowers, branches, ect. .And I enjoyed your photo!

heyitsmejudy, Thanks for the good laugh and story! I would have been sooo excited too if I had seen a PWP above my head "Flinging Mulch!"lol!! If you don't mind me asking...What kind of bowl do you use for your bluebirds...Don't the mealy worms normally crawl out of the bowl? Or are the BB's there so fast that the mealies don't get a chance to? ..( And "Your Welcome!"

Iris.... I just use a dog food bowl... anything with high sides (around 4 inches or so) works... It gives the bluebirds (and wrens, nuthatches, titmice, chickadees, etc.,) an edge to perch on, it's deep enough that the worms can't crawl out, and it's a heavy bowl so the wind doesn't carry it away (I used a tub that butter came in once and quickly learned it wasn't heavy enough to withstand any kind of wind.)


This message was edited Oct 8, 2008 6:16 PM

Hi Rose, Would you like to start the next volume for the Hummingbirds?

heyitsmejudy, Thanks for the update!

I have started a new thread and here is the link http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/910956/ . Thanks for asking Pelle.

Sorry... didn't mean to hijack this one. Should have just emailed. I'll bow out again!

Hey Judy...I love to hear about your birds on any thread especially the BB's (my most favorite)!! I appreciate all the info I read about on these threads and have sure learned a lot from all of you!

I hope yinz will return after the holidays. Or after you're finished doing whatever it is that has you all away. I'm new and I'm looking forward to lots of good advice for next season!

I started a thread "where are all the hummingbird people?" on the butterflies and hummingbirds forum and Mrs_Ed pointed me over here. Thanks, Mrs_Ed!

Hope to hear from lots of you soon!

You are welcome.

Unfortunately, most of us do not have hummingbird pictures to post. But you can certainly ask the questions that you asked in the HB and Butterfly forum. If you're really nice, maybe Dellrose will dig out her picture of a million HBs! Okay, maybe not quite that much.

At Thanksgiving, I saw that the Houston,TX branch of my family still had their feeders up. They said that there were some stragglers showing up still.

There's been a Rufous Hummingbird in Cape May,NJ.

no hummers here until next April or May... :(

Same here! I really miss them! :(

Is it too soon for me to begin complaining that I don't have any hummers in the summer ?? ; )

Thanks Mrs_Ed!
"see" you in season!

I dreamed last night that I saw hummingbirds in december!! lol

This was my favorite photo of the summer of 2008. Yes they are gone but they will be back. The last 6 nests that are still hanging on the creeping fig vine are actually three that were left over from last year and rehabbed by the hummingbirds at the first of spring and three new ones. The fig vine, according to the hummingbirds, LOL. must have hanging vine and be in a protected area, in mostly shade. Maybe because it is in Las Vegas. Anyway I had many nests way above my head off the second story patio. One afternoon, third nesting period, I was working in the courtyard gardening near the front door but well into the courtyard in a protected area. I got tired and went in the house, got a Sobe Lean (no sugar) and came out, sat in a patio chair and started to enjoy my COLD drink. As I was silently sitting there resting because it was 110 degrees and I had got in the garden late, I heard the familiar sound. The wonderful hummingbird song. I assumed the hummingbird was headed up higher. To my amazement, the hummingbird was settling into a half prepared nest directly across from me at about 10 feet. Just under the eves of the courtyard. I was so excited that it was all I could do to sit there and be quiet. ( Ask my DH). Not easy. It was so wonderful that every morning I was out in the courtyard watching the progress. OK, I will stop. There were very many exciting moments but I know you have had enough. After the nest was finished and the babies were born, I got a 10' ladder and was very careful to not disturb the babies or the mother. I made many photos. Here are two. After they fledged the nest they buzzed me in the front gardening every day. They finally disappeared end of October. I will let you know when they come back.. They make their nest out of spider webs, I found that out on Google, so my garden looks like it needs to be swept of webs. Oh well. For the love of Hum,mingbirds. Enjoy.

This is where one was falling out of the nest but I guess that is normal. Hey, I sure it was a male, fell out three days in a row and made it back into the nest. Probably with the help of the female hummingbird saying, "I told you so"!!!!! Enjoy....

Wonderful pics sk!

great shots... so cool

It's a sure sign of spring! The Journey North Ruby-throated Spring Migration has begun.

http://www.learner.org/jnorth/maps/galleries/2009/Humm_Ruby_AnimationSpring2009.html

YAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

YIPPIE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

LOL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :-)

I'm excited too! I was just thinking the other day that it won't be long before April rolls around and I'll see the scouts.

The email I got reads…

Highlights: Amazing Hummers!
Hummingbirds fly backward and forward and eat half their weight in food every day! Most of these tiny wonders are still on their winter grounds south of the U.S. border. Soon they will head north to raise young. Many will arrive at the same location as they did last spring - after flying hundreds, or thousands, of miles alone! When will they get to your schoolyard? How can you help them survive? We're glad you will help track their incredible journey!

Did you notice a few dots (reports) on this week's maps? Most observers say these birds have been hanging around during the winter.
See what some of these citizen scientists had to say (link below).

We don't think we're seeing the start of the migrations. Not yet! But while we're waiting for the first big wave to appear, let's discover some secrets of hummingbird migration.

* Migration Maps and Sightings
http://www.learner.org/jnorth/humm/spring2009/Update020509.html#maps

* Observations from Citizen Scientists (and journal page)
http://www.learner.org/jnorth/humm/spring2009/Sightings020509.html

* Map Question Handout
http://www.learner.org/jnorth/humm/spring2009/Handout020509.html

* Meet Two Hummingbird Species: Which is Which?
http://www.learner.org/jnorth/tm/humm/TwoSpeciesID.html

Hey everyone, pelletory has added a sticky for the 2009 Ruby-throated Hummingbird migration.

Have a look:
http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/956793/