Photograph by David Young.
Selasphorus platycercus -- broad-tailed hummingbird, Boulder, Colorado, May, 2015.
6 Comments
Henry J · 1 June 2015
But will they ever learn the words!
Mike Elzinga · 1 June 2015
Henry J said:
But will they ever learn the words!
Nah; they provide the music and the mynahs and parrots provide the lyrics. Like George and Ira.
Birds of a feather and all that.
Charley Horse · 4 June 2015
For the second year I am feeding possibly 200+ ruby-throated hummingbirds right now. Before that, it was in late September thru the middle of Oct. that I would be feeding more than 2 or 3. They are consuming 40+ ounces of 3 to 1 mix daily here in West Tenn. If like last year, only one or two will still be around in a week from now.
eric · 5 June 2015
Charley Horse said:
For the second year I am feeding possibly 200+ ruby-throated hummingbirds right now. Before that, it was in late September thru the middle of Oct. that I would be feeding more than 2 or 3. They are consuming 40+ ounces of 3 to 1 mix daily here in West Tenn. If like last year, only one or two will still be around in a week from now.
Here is a map of them moving northward in the Spring. I know very little about them but I'm kinda surprised you say they'll all be gone in a week or two; the map implies that Tennessee is part of their breeding range (which I interpret as: some will stay there until its time to migrate back south). What am I missing here?
Charley Horse · 5 June 2015
I have no explanation for the change in what is happening at my house. The first nine years of feeding them it was only a few birds until the fall migration when a large number fed here. The first hummer showed up on April 1st this year. Same as last year. Only one or two until the middle of May and then 200 to 300 hundred daily, based on my best estimate according to food consumption, showed up last year and this year. I'm noticing today that the consumption is way down. Just like last year. Last fall there was no large number feeding here. That was another change from previous years.
I would love to know how many individual hummers actually stopped by to feed. I have seen only one nest in all the years. That is not surprising to me knowing how difficult it is to find those tiny nests. It was just by accident I saw that one.
https://me.yahoo.com/a/JxVN0eQFqtmgoY7wC1cZM44ET_iAanxHQmLgYgX_Zhn8#57cad · 6 June 2015
eric said:
Charley Horse said:
For the second year I am feeding possibly 200+ ruby-throated hummingbirds right now. Before that, it was in late September thru the middle of Oct. that I would be feeding more than 2 or 3. They are consuming 40+ ounces of 3 to 1 mix daily here in West Tenn. If like last year, only one or two will still be around in a week from now.
Here is a map of them moving northward in the Spring. I know very little about them but I'm kinda surprised you say they'll all be gone in a week or two; the map implies that Tennessee is part of their breeding range (which I interpret as: some will stay there until its time to migrate back south). What am I missing here?
He didn't say they'd all be gone, of course. But a number move on, and then I'm guessing that territorialism kicks in to reduce the numbers further. They're not the sharing types. Yet when migration sets in, territories are probably already in the past, and it would be impossible to defend the territory against all of the migrating birds even if they wanted to do so.
Glen Davidson
6 Comments
Henry J · 1 June 2015
But will they ever learn the words!
Mike Elzinga · 1 June 2015
Charley Horse · 4 June 2015
For the second year I am feeding possibly 200+ ruby-throated hummingbirds right now. Before that, it was in late September thru the middle of Oct. that I would be feeding more than 2 or 3. They are consuming 40+ ounces of 3 to 1 mix daily here in West Tenn. If like last year, only one or two will still be around in a week from now.
eric · 5 June 2015
Charley Horse · 5 June 2015
I have no explanation for the change in what is happening at my house. The first nine years of feeding them it was only a few birds until the fall migration when a large number fed here. The first hummer showed up on April 1st this year. Same as last year. Only one or two until the middle of
May and then 200 to 300 hundred daily, based on my best estimate according to food consumption, showed up last year and this year.
I'm noticing today that the consumption is way down. Just like last year. Last fall there was no large number feeding here. That was another change from previous years.
I would love to know how many individual hummers actually stopped by to feed. I have seen only one nest in all the years. That is not surprising to me knowing how difficult it is to find those tiny nests. It was just by accident I saw that one.
https://me.yahoo.com/a/JxVN0eQFqtmgoY7wC1cZM44ET_iAanxHQmLgYgX_Zhn8#57cad · 6 June 2015