Sunday mornings

[Faulkner]

As the temperatures are starting to cool off I enjoy getting up early on Sunday mornings and sitting out on the deck. This morning was particularly enjoyable as we have a pretty prolific flock of ruby throated hummingbirds that are fueling up for the migration south. Here's a short video clip of the activity on the deck this morning.

 

[SAFireman]

Of course Daisy wants to play. Throw the stick man!

Thanks for sharing. It's just plain hot here....104 yesterday, maybe some rain later today. Mattie is hanging inside with the boys, keeping cool in the AC (and annoying the mama)

 

[Puller]

Looks like Daisy is a bit jealous of the attention you're giving the hummingbirds.

 

[Rule3]

Such a nice dog and the Hummers are so cool!

 

[Rudi]

The little hummers are incredible to watch.

 

[Smoke]

Colorado Springs Utilities has a Xeriscape garden at the Mesa Water Treatment plant on Mesa Road in Colorado Springs.

They plant plants native to Colorado that need less water to give people ideas how to landscape their yard without wasting water on Kentucky Bluegrass (Which doesn't do well in Colorado anyway)

They also promote shrubbery that supports native birds.



If you wear a red hat around hummingbirds they will divebomb you.

 

[ZGrand]

I always chuckle about how much energy hummers waste shooing each other away from the feeders. My wife has four on our front porch -- the number of visitors is already starting to diminish.

 

[Faulkner]

I always chuckle about how much energy hummers waste shooing each other away from the feeders. My wife has four on our front porch -- the number of visitors is already starting to diminish.

Reportedly, the adult males migrate first, then the adult females, then the yearlings leave last. I've noticed once the males leave the females seem to settle down and be less aggressive towards one another.

How can you tell the difference between the males and females one might ask. Well, with ruby-throated hummingbirds the females have white tipped tail feathers, the males have black tipped.

 

[mike4sigs]

We have a few every year and we find it enjoyable to watch them.
When i show my wife this thread she said and i get excited when we have 3 or 4 what would i do if we had that many. 

 

[TXBryan]

How do you get them to gather and feed peacefully? Here in Central Texas it's one hummer per feeder as the second to show up initiates a fight almost without fail. They are highly territorial hereabouts. Plenty of room at our large feeders but they aren't very tolerant of one another.

Bryan

 

[Smoke]

How do you get them to gather and feed peacefully? Here in Central Texas it's one hummer per feeder as the second to show up initiates a fight almost without fail. They are highly territorial hereabouts. Plenty of room at our large feeders but they aren't very tolerant of one another.

Bryan

I mean, it's texas. What do you expect?

 

[mike4sigs]

How do you get them to gather and feed peacefully? Here in Central Texas it's one hummer per feeder as the second to show up initiates a fight almost without fail. They are highly territorial hereabouts. Plenty of room at our large feeders but they aren't very tolerant of one another.

Bryan

they don't play well together here in Northeast Indiana either.

 

[ameridaddy]

As the temperatures are starting to cool off I enjoy getting up early on Sunday mornings and sitting out on the deck. This morning was particularly enjoyable as we have a pretty prolific flock of ruby throated hummingbirds that are fueling up for the migration south. Here's a short video clip of the activity on the deck this morning.

I see your hummingbirds don't share either, just like ours, even though there's room on the feeder for four or more

 

[Faulkner]

I see your hummingbirds don't share either, just like ours, even though there's room on the feeder for four or more

Early morning they are pretty wild. As the day wears on they usually settle down.

 

[Faulkner]

A week later and the hummingbirds are still migrating in. The population has at least doubled in the past week and they are hungry as this short clip shows.

 

[Protocall_Design]

That's cool. I've never heard them before. They sound like giant mosquitos!

 

[Bro. Dave]

...they were swarming our feeders here in central Texas this morning. If humming birds were the size of blue jays and carnivorous, humans would be extinct!

 

[Puller]

I saw on the local weather forecast report that tonight is expected to be the largest migration night this season down the Mississippi flyway. Along with hummingbirds we are seeing a lot of seasonal migratory birds the past few days, especially Baltimore Orioles and Ospreys.

 

[Jeff423]

A week later and the hummingbirds are still migrating in. The population has at least doubled in the past week and they are hungry as this short clip shows.

I'm a little north of you and for the past month we've had 3 consistently. Starting last Wednesday it's up to 7-8 most of the day.

 

[Faulkner]

I'm a little north of you and for the past month we've had 3 consistently. Starting last Wednesday it's up to 7-8 most of the day.

I've seen reports matching Puller's post above that biologist anticipate a big migration headed south tonight. Somewhere around half a billion birds moving down the Mississippi byway.

We are certainly seeing a large bump in visitors at our feeders today.