Lots of people posting around Rock Hill and Charlotte that they've been seeing hummingbirds over the last 2 weeks and I finally saw my first today! Probably time to start thinking about putting your feeders up if you're between NC and IN!
Hummingbirds!
- Thread starter kkott
- Start date
Oura are going up this weekend. Spent the week in the Chattanooga area and saw several.
Hummingbird Central's map has them near Seymour.
Hummingbird Central's map has them near Seymour.
This one's coming pretty frequently already. I've also tried to attract bluebirds since I've been in my new house (5 years). I had a box out front and have had 1 pair nest, but theres' just a bit too much traffic, so I added a box in back and a pair has been looking at it, and moving nesting material in, but very slowly. They should have already laid eggs a couple weeks ago, but no eggs... until yesterday and there are 5 in there now!
VanPastorMan
Hall of Famer
Always enjoy seeing them. Haven't seen any in Central PA yet. I have a cousin around Charlotte but am not sure he is a bird watcher.
Hate when they get in my garage and refuse to fly away from the ceiling. Catching them with the pool net is a hell of a cardio workout. 95 percent of the time I get them uninjured.
I have had some success putting a red blanket on the ground near the opening causing them to leave safely.
Any other tips?
I have had some success putting a red blanket on the ground near the opening causing them to leave safely.
Any other tips?
Just put two up today. Still more than a week away from when they usually show up. Hooky says they’re supposed to be around Seymour so they should be rolling in to Brown county soon.
For the # of sightings, I felt like we were a week early. I think mine was 2 days earlier than last year.
What freaks me out about my hummingbird is that the same one comes back each year. I've always put my feeder in the same location underneath an eave next to my porch. About this time of year, I typically see a hummingbird hovering at the same spot and height where the feeder was last used before I took it down during the winter months. The bird knows where the feeder was located the year before, despite having traveled across the Gulf of Mexico in annual migration. How does a bird do this without the use of Google Maps?
I've seen other people report that too, but how do you know it's one particular bird? Couldn't several have visited in years past and then any of those might be the returnee hovering there? I have a neighbor who says something similar (he recognizes individual birds) and I don't see how, unless there's some sort of distinguishing characteristic. I can tell the difference in males/females, but not much beyond that, but he claimed he had the same returnee for several years, and I wouldn't even recognize one returning.
Do you feel like you recognize this individual bird, or just saying that because it's flying to the spot where the feeder used to hang?
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I know what Abraxis is talking about. We had the same one show up first for well over five years. We nicknamed him The Little General. Perched in the same place every day and had the same mannerisms. He was mean and actually tried to kill another hummer who was the next to arrive and invade his territory. He was smaller than the other males and was kinda ruddy looking around his neck. We eventually got to the point where we gradually moved a feeder around the side of the house so he could have his own. He’s been gone for the last four or five years. And no hummers yet for us. They are smart so they must have known this cold snap was coming.
No, I can’t recognize individual birds but the hovering at the exact location of where my feeder was positioned the previous years has happened more than just one year. This tells me it may not be the exact same bird first to show each year but if not, would have to be one from the previous seasons brood, an offspring, that became accustomed to feeding here. It’s not like I have a red object nearby that it is attracted to before my feeder goes back up. It’s amazing these little things can fly across the Gulf of Mexico in migration. Occasionally ill-timed storms will wreak havoc on their numbers. FWIW, the ave. life span of a hummingbird is four years. Save this tidbit of knowledge for your next cocktail party when the silence grows uncomfortable.
Cornell's Ornithology website is fascinating. Oldest banded hummingbird ever recorded was 9 years old. Any bird over 7 years old is practically guaranteed to be female. They migrate in waves over time so a storm in the gulf doesn't wipe out the species.
Even more amazing is that millions of Monarch butterflies make the open waters of the Gulf trek, too. Other Monarchs are more inclined to hug the coastline with terra firma always in mind. I wonder if the latter have a higher survival rate. That might make a nice thesis project for a budding biologist.
I guess you're saying dealing with the whims of a female kills off the male birds earlier?
Well, they are certainly in your vicinity, so you'll be seeing them soon, if you haven't already. I am confident you've seen this, but this is a fun resource too:
2023 Hummingbird Migration Map
I think that's one of those universal truths that the Buddha dude talked about.
Hell, at least it’s not a praying mantis we’re talking about here. I read where the female sometimes bites the head off after he ejaculates. The women we love love to hear that word. The article failed to mention which head as mantis hands were both left raised in prayer. The prayers of one hand praying are those left unanswered as heartfelt requests never heard. Much like the sound of one hand clapping goes the prayers of the one hand praying.
How right you were kkott. The ASSAULT has begun. Woke up this morning and a little male was sitting on top of the metal tree we use to hang our feeders. I saw a short video a few weeks ago where a woman in Southern California was putting out four to five gallons a day while the hummers were waiting for the weather to change to the north. It’ll be interesting to see if we get back to where we were before 2020 where I put out up to three gallons a day. We are supposed to have some cold temperatures in central Indiana this weekend so I’m surprised they’re showing up at this time. I’d imagine they’ll be going into their torpor state to survive the cold. These little creatures are amazing.Well, they are certainly in your vicinity, so you'll be seeing them soon, if you haven't already. I am confident you've seen this, but this is a fun resource too:
2023 Hummingbird Migration Map
www.hummingbirdcentral.com
Still haven't seen any here, but feeder has been out except for Sunday and Monday overnight when it dipped below freezing.
I broke skim ice in the bird bath each morning.
I broke skim ice in the bird bath each morning.
Why do you take them down? Just curious, as I left a couple out all winter, but they are plastic so I wasn't worried about shattering or anything.
Mine are glass reservoirs that screw into a plastic bottom. I just didn't want to take the chance of the plastic splitting or cracking if they froze. Probably didn't need to, but didn't want to have to replace them if they did.
Edit: This is in answer to kkott’s question, “Why take them down.” Take them down to be cleaned well at the end of the season. This is best done in the kitchen sink with a soapy bristled brush (or whatever, dishwasher if you prefer). What’s the point of then hanging it back up for the next 5-6 months, exposed to the harmful elements of nature while serving no utilitarian purpose? I don’t consider a hummingbird feeder, especially a dirty one, an attractive ornament for the winter garden.
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We clean ours every couple of weeks. They can get nasty, especially any that get direct sunlight.
Wonder if it was this lady? Think she calls it the hummingbirdspot. I check in on this daily most days! I'm a bird nird!
Live Hummingbird Feeder Cam, Bird Feeder, Studio City, California
Welcome to our live hummingbird feeder cam! Below you can learn more about bird feeding and the birds you may see on this live cam.😊My name is Carole and I ...
www.youtube.com
I understand taking them down to end the season, but he said he took them down during a cold snap and I was trying to think of why for the bird's sake. But he was just concerned about something freezing and cracking/breaking.
I clean mine that I take down to end the season, but for the last 2 winters I've left 1 up in front and 1 in back because supposedly there are a small # of birds they believe overwinter in parts of SC. I've never seen one, but I'd get a kick out of it if I did and a few years ago there was one reported over the winter about an hour away. My sister in WA state had them visit over a winter too, but of course that's a different breed. I was in Raleigh at my girlfriends house and swear she had one visiting a bush that was flowering early, but it was far away and it looked a little larger that the normal ruby throats, but by the way it moved it was a hummer. Just very odd timing, but I'm certain that's what it was. I still clean and replace the nectar weekly when I leave them up over the winter.
For the bluebird fans out there, I checked the box Friday evening and the babies had just hatched! almost no fluff or fur/feathers and barely moving w eyes closed. The parents seem attentive and I'm letting them do their thing but it's cool for me to see that I did draw them in.
Got to the FiL's house out in Cali yesterday. Wife's been here a week+ already and put up a feeder. A semi-steady string of Anna's and the occasional Allen's Hummingbird.
The Eucalyptus trees will start blooming and then this place will be overrun with them.
The Eucalyptus trees will start blooming and then this place will be overrun with them.
Yeah, hummers on the West Coast seem so much more plentiful and they also seem to socialize and feed together better. The only exception I've seen is near Seagrove NC on the pottery trail there was a pottery place out in the woods and he had dozens of feeders and literally thousands of hummingbirds sitting around in the trees while hundreds fed. They still fought a lot, but just with so many, it was amazing to see. I'll try and go back this year and see if I can get a video.
Had a pretty cool bird experience Sunday. I've had Eastern Phoebes nesting on my back deck. Cute little birds and I like their personality, but yuck, man they make a mess! Anyway, Sunday morning I was watching the nest (easy since it's visible from the living and bedroom) and noticed the babies were really testing their wings, and thought they'd be fledging soon. Not more than 10 minutes later I watched the first one fly off, nice and strong with no hesitation. That afternoon I walked out on the deck and that startled the other two into action and they both took off too, so I got to see all 3 fledge!
VanPastorMan
Hall of Famer
Yeah, I'm getting regular visitors daily, but not as many as I guessed at this time of year from year's passed. Hard for me to estimate #s and I have 4 feeders in front and 1 in back, but I'd guess I'm getting a visit every 2-3 minutes. I have had several times where I've had 2-3 visit at one time; sometimes feeding and sometimes fighting. Almost all females. Also usually by this time I think a male has set up a perch and is protecting the feeders as "his" and running off all others if he can. I've seen plenty of battles, but not 1 protecting the feeders for a very extended period.
You're in PA? Probably about a month behind when ours showed up here in NC/SC.
The AOTF side of me wants to say "anything in a 2 piece", but the rational side says that's probably not wise.
VanPastorMan
Hall of Famer
Yes Central PA. I don't really have a two piece. I don't wear them. And if I did you probably wouldn't want to see it. lol
So slow here. We see a couple/day. I'm making a pint at a time and tossing some of it out each week when I clean the feeders.
Believe it or not. HBirds just now prevalent here in the valley. They show up when the plants and cacti bloom. It is hot and the birds fly in when the desert comes alive out toward the very northwestern reaches. So do the rattlers.
Rationale? Either desperate or you discovered a side of you that you have been repressing very hard over the years.
A new genre in pornhub: Crossdressing Pastor.
But just to get you started.... bring out the lube and feast your eyes and ....
