misswired
Absent Comrade
Some yankee big ones have arrived..today
Nj
Nj
Hummingbirds
- Thread starter misswired
- Start date
75Vette
Member
They're all fattened up getting ready for the long haul back home to Central America. They've been real busy in my yard lately.
LVSteve
Member
I'm expecting the rush to start any minute.
Have a feeder hanging about 8 ft from where I am sitting, there has been a steady stream of the little guy’s hitting it all day.
BigBill
Absent Comrade
They seemed to have left here at my feeders. Summer is over.
The barnswallows, bluebirds are gone too.
The barnswallows, bluebirds are gone too.
Ματθιας
Member
Last week, I saw a tan hummingbird mixed in with the regular Broad Tailed hummingbirds sitting on an old clothes line. I've never seen that before. It looked like the subdued desert camo version!
I went inside to grab my camera, but it took off chasing each other around. when I came back out. Bummer.
I went inside to grab my camera, but it took off chasing each other around. when I came back out. Bummer.
Sounds like a Rufous Hummingbird, assuming you are in the west.
Rufous Hummingbird Overview, All About Birds, Cornell Lab of Ornithology
Rufous Hummingbird Overview, All About Birds, Cornell Lab of Ornithology
OLDSTER
Member
Our Sedum bushes are just starting to bloom. We'll have migrating Humming Birds pretty soon
Even if your hummingbirds have left, keep your feeders out for another month or so. Stragglers can pass through and they may really need the boost. There is a false belief that leaving feeders out will keep them from migrating, but that is not true.
soFlaNative
Member
Is this a "Best Caliber" for Yankees thread
?My Wife said I was stupid to plant Honeysuckle plants so close to the House but now She loves it when the Humming Birds pay us a visit. Those have to be the most interesting and beutiful birds ever.
ParadiseRoad
Member
...our regulars left a couple of weeks ago...
...now the migraters are passing through two or three at a time...
...it's fall here...aspens are changing colors rapidly...
...had some serious rain a few days ago...weather map showed snow on the divide although I didn't see any the next morning...
...another summer about shot...had too much fun...didn't get enough done...
...now the migraters are passing through two or three at a time...
...it's fall here...aspens are changing colors rapidly...
...had some serious rain a few days ago...weather map showed snow on the divide although I didn't see any the next morning...
...another summer about shot...had too much fun...didn't get enough done...
500SNW
Member
Still have them here in the Ohio Valley. I have two fighting over my feeder all day...which is usually a sign they are gassing up for the journey. I expect that one morning I'll get up and they'll be gone. Usual departure time at my residence in southern Kentucky is first week of October.
Cool map app here...but it only covers Spring migration reports and patterns. Spring 2018 Migration of Ruby-throated Hummingbirds
Cool map app here...but it only covers Spring migration reports and patterns. Spring 2018 Migration of Ruby-throated Hummingbirds
Last edited:
BigBill
Absent Comrade
Looks like the hummingbirds are gone, so are the barn swallows, blue birds too.
500SNW
Member
Mine disappeared yesterday. Wednesday they were here in numbers from dawn till dusk...now, there is nothing
I suspect their departure has something to do with length of the day. When the days get shorter, they move on. It's still plenty warm here with plenty of food around, but still they left. EDIT I still see Chimney Swifts in the sky overhead.
I suspect their departure has something to do with length of the day. When the days get shorter, they move on. It's still plenty warm here with plenty of food around, but still they left. EDIT I still see Chimney Swifts in the sky overhead.
Last edited:
Gaffer
Member
Still have the young ones around here in southern Maine near the ocean. They are late in leaving this year it seems.
Jeff423
US Veteran
We have 3-4 continuously now but I imagine they will be gone soon.
ParadiseRoad
Member
...my theory is our regulars leave when the constellation Orion becomes visible in the morning before dawn...just my observation...the little guys are pretty savvy...
OLDNAVYMCPO
US Veteran, Absent Comrade
I'm now down to three Hummers that I'm sure of. Had about ten on a regular basis until last week. These three are super active, constantly fighting. I go thru 12 oz of liquid about every six days. We can identify our birds by body type and behavior. We have named them accordingly, Nervous Nelly, Fat Boy, Tiny, etc... They have sure provided us with entertainment. We started the summer with three occasional Finches, bought a feeder for them, now we have about twenty constant residents.
We feed about 200 white wing doves all summer, in the winter we get down to about twenty. We have two Turtle doves that are full time residents. Had three, but one must have died. They like to feed under the finch feeder, eating the seed that is dropped. They are too small to compete with the White Wing Doves.
We feed about 200 white wing doves all summer, in the winter we get down to about twenty. We have two Turtle doves that are full time residents. Had three, but one must have died. They like to feed under the finch feeder, eating the seed that is dropped. They are too small to compete with the White Wing Doves.
500SNW
Member
Not impossible at all. Back when I was a kid and duck hunting with my father, we'd hear flights of ducks and geese overhead well after dark. My father told me the theory was that they used the stars for navigation in the dark.
Not every year, but most years you can mark the calendar when the first one will arrive within a day or two. The fall migration is impossible to document due to arriving yankee birds..I'd almost bet that my main resident guy will arrive at his central America location on que'... who knows where and how long he hangs out at feeders along the return trip. In my opinion, the constellation alignment is as plausible as any.
PS: I'm taking care of y'alls yankee birds.
I read awhile back that the only reason hummingbirds are surviving, WE North Americans are recreationally feeding them. Logging is wiping out their southern habits.
PS: I'm taking care of y'alls yankee birds.
I read awhile back that the only reason hummingbirds are surviving, WE North Americans are recreationally feeding them. Logging is wiping out their southern habits.
My wife has about 10 small feeders out. There are about 15 or 20 zooming around, especially at dawn and dusk. She has to refill the feeders 2 or 3 times a day. We are in a wooded neighborhood in N Texas. They are a hoot to watch.
brigeton
Member
I had a guy at work convinced that they migrated by burying themselves into the feathers of Canada Geese because they are too little to fly that far.
vonn
US Veteran
Really enjoy watching them,they sure can be aggressive for such little things!
500SNW
Member
I always question the source when it comes to environmental matters. Let's face it, there are some militant environmentalists out there, some whose activity borders on terrorism. According to those types of people, no human should be allowed to set foot in the Rainforest, or our National Parks etc. Environmentalists tend to be alarmists...just look at any 1970's era ecology book where the experts were predicting our doom well before 2020. As someone from a family who owns quite a few acres of land in the Appalachian foothills, I can say from experience that recently logged forest supports way more critters per acre, or even square foot than more mature "open" forest. My family acquired the land in the late 1940's shortly after it had been logged. There were snakes everywhere, a large bird and insect population, and chorus of night insects was deafening. I remember that as a kid...I remember all the toads, turtles and lizards we could catch (and release) back in the 1970's. Today, the trees have become very tall, the undergrowth has in recent years died off...it's a proper forest which is both shady and more empty feeling...and we just don't have the number and diversity of critters any more. There is less dense vegetation - meaning less cover, less habitat, less food - for one thing.
Last edited:
