return of the hummies

Becky, that's incredible thank you.

Beautiful pics...they are very cute birds.

I wanna see!
We have had up to 4 hummies at our feeder now........and I think a few more besides. We changed out Brad's feeder for the old one and now the hummies are showing up there too. Guess we were right...they didn't like his new feeder at all.
I have a feeling migration might start sooner this year than last.....weatherman predicts colder than usual weather here starting next month, which isn't that far off. Early winter too.

The little ones are definitely leaving. I'm not going through the syrup nearly as fast. We still have a small swarm, but nothing like it was a couple weeks ago. I guess autumn is really on the way. Some of the trees are changing color, and the crepe myrtles are losing their blossoms. When the crepe myrtles are all done blooming, the hummies will be gone.

We are going through more, so I think the Canadian hummies are here now. They're definitely starting migration early this year.

I saw exactly one bird yesterday. I think the straggling migrators are coming for snacks, but for the most part, hummie season is over. This is probably good since the nasty raccoon babies are beating up the feeders if I don't get them in on time. grrrr

It's been four days now since we last saw a hummie.....but the feeder is still out there just in case we get any stragglers. I think Oct 1 is a good date for us to take it in for the season. I doubt there will be any left further north than us by then.
The geese are gathering in bigger flocks now, and flying all over the place to build up those migratin' muscles!

I have a regular or two, and they still visit daily.

I'll let my mom know that......if you have them we do too. We just must not be looking at the right time to see them out there.

The few left here seem to come less often than the ones at the height of summer. They are afternoon/evening birds.

I was right, we weren't looking at the right time. We spotted quite a few an hour before sundown, and yesterday no sooner did I refill Brads' feeder and a hummie came for a good long drink.   Mom said she saw several taking turns.....so they're still here. The neighbor down the hall said she saw what she first thought was a huge wasp (from the sound, she was sitting on a bench outside) and it was a tiny baby hummie.  

Aww!

I know, they're so small and adorable. VERY fast too. I've seen one a few times this summer at the feeder with mom.  

I'm sure gonna miss these little treasures when they go south next month.

We have some skinny ones showing up for snacks. I think they're in the middle of their long flights. Some are small and some are normal sized, but they are thin compared to the little round ones we get all summer.

Ours are all skinny...but I try to fatten them up!

We're definitely fattening them up here! We see all sizes and shapes of hummies, so definitely our summer hummies are still here and we have migrators too. We also have whole flocks of migrating wrens, finches, and sparrows eating us out of house and home. I'm lucky if the seed feeder lasts 24 hours now!  

Amen to that. We've been going through a lot of seed. The sugar water consumption is slowing, but the hummies are visiting the remaining rose of sharon bushes.

The seed didn't go down as much yesterday as expected...I suspect that flock has moved on. NO worries though, I expect more to show up. Hummie feeder is still going at a steady rate.

I think our little hummies are really gone. The syrup didn't go away at all for the whole week. I saw one bird at the Rose of Sharon bush, but I haven't seen it again. The seed feeders have lots of birds. We'll need to start putting out suet for the woodpeckers. I have a feeling we'll be seeing a lot of other birds through November.

When I was at the lake last week. I saw loads of hummies
but couldn't get a picture. 

The seed feeders are busy. We have to pull them in at night to keep the raccoons from eating all the seed. It takes a while with 6 feeders.

We also have to do a really good cleaning of the syrup feeders. We clean them all summer long, but when we take them down for the season, we bleach them and then do a cleaning with baking soda and vinegar to loosen up any leftover yuck.

Wish I could've seen those hummies!

We still have a few here yet.......and another flock of migrating seed eaters so both feeders are busy here! Bij is glued to the window again watching it all.

I said in Bijoux's topic that our birds seem to have disappeared. I guess they're nesting. I hope some show up soon with the kids. I miss the little ones.

http://www.hummingbirds.net/index.html

Seems about the right time of year for your area for hummies on the nest. You'll be seeing them at the feeders but not as often until they've hatched. I wish I could see your feeders when they start bringing the kids to them later this summer!

I saw a couple of boys today. The moms must be sitting on eggs and eating small bugs to keep up the protein levels.