Hi everybody; I was so worried about taking my feeders down, so the hummers would know to take off,for the sunny south, and I just realized I haven't seen one Hummer today. I guess that fall weather is coming for sure.
Linda
Looks like Hummers have left
flowerpot please don't take down your feeders until you haven't seen a hummer in a week or two. The availability of food will NOT make them stay. Although being as far north as you are, they have begun to make their way south :)
For some great info on hummers (this page is specifically for southward migration) check out this great site!
http://www.hummingbirds.net/about.html#when
SB
Thank you Shuttlebunny for the link I printed it off so I can read it carefully. Since I posted they where gone I've noticed I still have two humming around, they must have just left for a day or two.
I haven't seen any for a few days now but my neighbour said they are still around :-)
Glad I could help flowerpot...I still have a few here too!
And I hate the short days and dark nights!!
i still have them here in mid michigan!!! =]
It's been strange here - definitely a change happening. One day I will only see a few hummers, one day I will see none, one day I will see a lot, but not fighting like usual. I think we are having visitors rather than the usual home bunch.
All hummers are migrating southward as of mid July.The birds you had last week are not the same ones you have this week.
They will start migrating as daylength changes and no amount of food will persuade them to stay when they deem it time to scoot. I have hummers here till mid Oct in West KY.
Bob Sargent encourages people to leave up feeders year round,as there are species of hummers that winter east of the Mississippi River that very little is known about.They are not plentiful and very few will have any winter guests.There have been sightings as far North as Boston and lots of species for you all in GA and AL.Some of the birds that might be seen are Roufous(lots of them around) and Anna's. Ruby Throats that remain are usually weak or diseased and while it's heartbreaking to see them,It's better that they don't survive to breed the next spring as they will pass on defective genes to their offspring.
There is a great Hummer Fest here in West KY every 1st Sat.in Aug.Birds are banded and there are lectures by respected experts. You can even hold a hummer and release it after it has been banded. It's heart beats about 250 times a minute,so it sort of 'buzzes' in your hand even when it's still. Really a great day to learn about the little dudes.
melody that makes sense!! So if I do see hummers, it could be they came from somewhere north of me and are paying me a visit before heading off and that 'my hummers' have already departed. Still haven't seen any!! But the geese are still here, she says cheerfully!!
I've had one lonely hummer here,last week during the rain, and the poor thing just sat on the feeder and drank away for quit a while.You're right Cindy they are'nt fighting like they used to. Melody, do you get a lot of birds that winter over from the north, and don't bother going any further south?
I have never seen any 'winter hummers' here at my house,but one can only hope.There have been some recorded within 50 miles of here though. The latest Ruby Throats have been here at my house is Oct 13. And the Roufus have hung around till about the first week of Nov.
Hummers will travel 15 to 25 miles a day south when migrating.They might hang around an especially good food source for 3 or 4 days to 'tank up',but will pretty much keep to an inner schedule. They will arrive on the coast and hang around a little longer to gain weight for the 600 plus mile trek across the Gulf Of Mexico.When the winds are right,they will just 'dissapear'.It takes about 18 to 26 hours,depending on the winds for them to make the flight and many are lost.It is strictly a myth that they ride on the backs of geese to make the crossing.They do it all on their own.
Lots of folk have recorded that 'their' hummers return on close to the same day each spring and for the past 3 years that has been true for me.Mine have shown up on April 4th,6th and 8th the last 3 years.These are again,Migrators.
The permenant ones that nest will show up in May and June for the most part.They travel from Central America to Canada each year to raise their families....Well,the female does.The male is just a 'pretty boy' and is only good for one thing.He just contributes the genetic material for making little hummers and goes on his merry way looking for another lady.The female is a true 'single mom' who builds the nest,hatches the babies,feeds,protects and teaches them to fend for themselves.
Melody; How about Robins, and Red winged blackbirds, grackles, so many more I can't think of off the top of my head. I keep trying to watch and see when they leave and miss it every time. I just all of a sudden realize they're gone.
Can't help much with those...they winter around here! My Robins will dissapear for the very worst weather in Jan.but are usually gone no more than 30 days.The grackles stay in great mobs.We have to shoot loud firecrackers to scare them from their roosting sites. You ask,,,Why are a few balckbirds needing to be driven off??? Well,in the winter they gang up in flocks that number in the hundreds of thousands and their droppings create health hazards in populated areas.The flocks include several species and Redwings and the Great Purple Grackles fly with the common ones.We call the common grackles Country Blackbirds and the much prettier cousins City Blackbirds.
Oh I didn't realize they did that I could shoot the grackles they are such a pest, but I guess I can count my lucky stars we don't have that many, and they leave as early as they do.
I had my little old lady show up last weekend, sat pm and sunday morning, looking at the window for quite a while where the feeder was last year. had to be the same one, she is all nicked up on her chest. had a feeder 15 feet away and she didn't find it, just looking for where it was last year. today i saw one in the yard, i have a ton of flowers in bloom, and saw one fly by the feeder, never saw one at it. i'm in florida, they are definitely heading on. sure was nice to see the same hummer again.
Your hummers may be ignoring the feeders because they are searching for more substantial food. Most folk don't know it,but hummers make a large part of their diet with tiny insects. They collect them in the throats of flowers and catch them on the 'fly'.They are like all of us when provided with sweets.Most times people will choose ice cream over creamed carrots and the birds are doing just that when they use the feeders.
They are instinctively hunting the protien to gain the energy that they need to make the long flight across the Gulf.
The same is true in the spring.That is why you see the birds before you have very many flowers.They are following the insects north.
Don't get me wrong...they absoutely love nectar and will fight relentlessly to protect their source from other hummers,but they eat bugs too.This is a finding that has just been recently discovered and not many people are aware of it as of yet. So little is actually known about them and there are dozens of myths that have been around for many ,many years. If anyone gets a chance to hear a lecture by Bob Sargent,by all means ..go! He is the formost expert in the field and has devoted his life to research on these birds.
He comes to West KY every August and hosts a seminar and Hummer Fest.They band birds , give lectures and he is most gracious to discuss anything with you.
Melody, i still have at least 2, one was eating buts (i guess) off the leland cypress right above the feeder! i thought, these are probably travelers stocking up and hadn't seen feeders? have no idea. but i saw them several times today, they are so sweet, my heart hurts when they leave.
Along the lines of Melody's post...I read somewhere that you should put some fruit (don't remember what kind..bananas?, oranges?) into an old bucket to attract very small insects for the Hummers...how about this Melody?
Last year we had 3 feeders hanging from the porch eaves (hard to take down to fill, too)so that the more aggresive ones couldn't cover all 3 at once. It got so it was causing me to cook up feed every day, as the BATS cleaned them out at night. Since we are only 35 miles from Mexico, I guess they make it to their winter home OK with out my help. Jo