yes, I have one hummer visiting my feeder. I kept my feeders up all last year, and never attracted one hummer,during the winter, so I removed feeders in November 2011. Well, my neighbor told me she had a hummer feeing, so I put a feeder back up Dec. 29th. A hummer appeared on Jan. 4th, and she ? has been feeding every morning, between 7:45 am to 8:30. She has a white tip tail, and a few dark feathers on neck. She does not stay long, so I am enjoying this treat. I will try to use binoculars to see if she is banded. A newspaper report this week stated that we have many more hummers this year (Baton Rouge, La)

Nana

You are right Nana - Fred Bassett has been banding large numbers of Rufous, Black-Chinned, and Ruby-throated in the Panhandle of FL and in Alabama in Dec.

Here in my Lakeland yard, I have had my returnee banded female Rufous and an adult male Ruby on the cold days last week. I don't know where they go the other days but they tend to show up together and stay a day or so then disappear. Sunday another Ruby - I'm thinking female showed up and she has had a steady presence since then. She spent most of the day in the Crepe Myrtle tree today, coming down to feed quite often. I still have plenty of flowers and have seen her at them as well. Funny thing - she has buzzed me twice now - the first time I went out on Sunday to get a picture of her and she flew right over my head and I could here her humming and her chatting. Today I went out with a hand feeder and she did the same thing but never came to face me so that she could feed.
I'm thinking someone has hand fed her before so I will keep trying. We are still having so much trouble with bees at the feeders, the hummers just fly off.

Fred Bassett will be here in Lakeland to band next week and I am sure he will go to Steve's house in Valicro. Steve had a Black-chinned and a Rufous during the cold spell and several Rubys.

Hope your hummers hang around!

Mary

yes

Mary how exciting to be getting buzzed while in your yard and at this time of the year too.

I'm curious what flowers you all have still in bloom. The recent frost took out most all of mine and I feel bad that I really don't have anything substantial to offer other than the feeder and a sad looking penta.

I really should hook up with Steve as I am in Valrico as well.

Happy gardening everyone!

Kathy

Kathy - we have more birds that hang around in the winter than we do in the summer. Spring and fall we get those that migrate.

Cape Honeysuckle, Red Shrimp plant, Red Pentas, Plumbago, and all my salvias - including Pineapple Sage, Tropical Salvia, Coral Nymph, Black and Blue Salvia, Purple Firespike, Squirrels Tail.

I don't think my yard got hit as bad as some of my friends who live a mile or two from me. I had a little damage on some plants but not as much as two winters ago or even last winter.

Kathy - have you joined the www.floridahummingbird.net site?
Steve hosts it and there is alot of good info there as well as a number of peopel who share sitings.

I'm pretty much out of flowers, but I still see one or two at the feeders. This one visited today:

Our yard has a lot of Rufous this winter and a Buff-bellied or two. Still have blooms on a lot of plants even though we've had a number of freezes ... abutilon, pineapple sage, Mexican flame vine, russelia, firespike, winter honeysuckle ... and plenty of feeders.

Great capture Mbrowne!

amazing photo!

I live in the Dothan, Alabama area and have 1 ruby throat. Had another a couple days ago and assume it is still here as well really. Only thing blooming in the yard right now is trumpet honeysuckle, and only a few blooms of that. Have some pansy and snaps also but haven't seen them pay any attention. Only know of two other neighbors with feeders up and I really wonder if they ever change the darned things.
Dell

Yes, I still have a hummer feeding. I have 2 close neighbors with feeders out. I saw a hummer at one neighbor's feeder this afternoon. Hers is on a low shephard's hook. I noticed another feeder, red nectar!, but no hummers are feeding as it remains full.

I just wrote a post to update on the banding that Fred did the last 2 days. Definitely more birds out there that people aren't seeing.

How in the world are you able to catch a hummer to band it?

The licensed bander has a cage that sits on a table. He puts the feeder in the cage and lifts the cage door with a fishing line attached to it and stands a good distance away from the cage. It is amazing how quickly some of the hummers will fly up to the cage and just go in. One important thing is that it needs to be the feeder that the one you want to catch uses and it is put right where that feeder would normally be. Plus it has to be normal for the birds to be using the feeder and not just the plants. All other feeders in the yard are removed as well.

Now some birds won't have anything to do with going near the cage while others will get caught - and then be released only to be willing to go back in the same cage the same day!

I will try to put some of my pictures in Photobucket and then put them here. So amazing to hold a hummer!

Here are the pictures of the banding

Bander always offers sugar water as soon as possible once
bird is caught.

b

Bander measures tail, wings, weighs the bird and checks overall health. Puts band on right leg. Band has a number that is recorded and sent to a lab where info is kept.

You can see al little gorget on this bird that tells the bander that its a first season male, meaning that it was born last summer. Its an immature male Ruby-throated.

I could feel the heart beating so fast while holding it. This little guy didn't make a sound but I have held a Rufous that fussed the entire time.

Paint is put in its head so that if more birds are banded then this one won't be caught again. Paint will wear off as bird molts. The bird actually sat there a few seconds and the bander nodged my hand to get it to fly off. I didn't see it the remainder of the day and not till the next afternoon did I see it in the tree. Guess he was pouting!
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MBoston, what wonderful photos and thank you for enlightening us on the procedures the bander uses to capture the hummers; I often wondered how.

I have signed up on the floridahummingbird.net. I looked around at first but haven't returned for a while. This reminds me to head over there and see what's happening.

I'm not sure if I am having any activity anymore. My feeders are out just in case but I don't have anything blooming for them.

Mboston, you appear to have a keen eye for the hummers. I find them very elusive and am often startled when I see one in the yard. Once I was standing under the feeder and happened to look up and see a hummer hovering, waiting for me to move away. Often I have no idea I have been having a regular visitor until I happen to observe one and then I really have to focus to see it again. They sure do add a touch of magic to the yard.

Kltampa - its called "alot of time sitting and watching feeders!". This season has been rather disappointing in that I have not had a hummer that actually hangs around in the yard all day long as I have had in the past two winters. I am guessing it is due to the mild weather and the fact that there are still so many flowers in bloom, not only in my yard but others as well. I do have a neighbor two doors down who has some feeders out and I know we share the birds. I feel better knowing that the birds are safe and still around but jealous at the same time cause they are "my birds!" HA! With all that being said, I do know I have had more birds stop and visit for a few days then move on than I have ever had. I keep a log of sightings and # of days seen in my yard. You would be surprised at the individual behaviors you can spot in each bird.

Right now I know I have an adult male Ruby hanging around. Just saw him this morning. Yesterday I think I saw my elusive female Rufous. If it is her, I hadn't seen her since Jan. 3. Couldn't see the band but from the poor shots I got of her, it was definitely a Rufous. The banded bird has shown itself in his favorite perching spot a few times since the banding and I could see the painted pink spot making a topnotch on its head. Have not seen him at a feeder. Guess he is still pouting. At least I know my neighbor has feeders for him.

I think the key is to have the feeders where you can see them the most. I have two in view from my computer room and two from where we sit to eat. Binoculars stay in both places and I need a second camera sinsce mine is never where the bird is!

Hope your birds are still around.

Mary

I have one feeder out. I usually see one hummer daily, am and pm. He does not sip long, but I am glad he hangs around. I think he belongs to my neighbor, but checks out my feeder daily.

mboston

Thanks for sharing the wonderfull banding shots. I didnt know they offered sugar water at once after capturing. It would be exciting I think to be present at an actual banding. These shots really show the comparison of size between a persons hand and the hummer. Truly enjoyable to see this.

Thanks, Steve. I think this guy weighed 3.3 grams. He didn't come around the feeders for a couple weeks but I would see him in the trees. I switched out the feeder where he was caught and put a different style feeder there and on the next cloudy/rainy day he started using the feeder again. I'm attaching a shot of him - you can still see the pink on its head. I am assuming it is him - it could be another one that was banded locally but my gues would be he's mine. He certainly is going through a heavy molt now and looks kinda ragged.