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madsquopper

Can't beat getting a springtime hummer!

madsquopper
18 years ago

Saw my first hummingbird of the season this morning. Here in the DC area we put the feeders out every April 15 and the hummingbirds usually show up within a week or two. On the east coast we only get ruby throats, but when I was down in Austin last month I saw a totally different yellow type. There's not a lot of migration research so far, but it's thought that ruby throats may return to near the place they were born, possibly using the same feeders each year. We've had nesting birds in the yard for the past 8 or 9 years and it's very entertaining watching the males try to stake out a feeder and keep watch over it. Fights are common; like little dive bombers.

Larry

Comments (15)

  • alfie_md6
    18 years ago

    Oh my goodness, Larry. For a second, I thought you were saying you can't beat getting a springtime Hummer.

    Adding "put up hummingbird feeder" to her to-do list,
    Alfie

  • JohnnieB
    18 years ago

    Hummingbirds are regular visitors in my garden once the cannas, Lobelia cardinalis and other summer flowers start blooming but for some reason they never show up before June, even though I plant plenty of early-blooming plants to attract them like Aquilegia canadensis and Spigelia marilandica.

  • breezyb
    18 years ago

    Oooh - that must mean that mine aren't far behind - unless they're already here but hiding!!

    Normally I see hummers before I see Barn Swallows, but the Barn Swallows have arrived already.

  • marymd7
    18 years ago

    Saw my first hummingbird of the season just last night. S/he was very busy working the columbine.

  • creatrix
    18 years ago

    Here's a map of how far they've gotten- way up into New Engaland!

    Scroll down a bit to see the US-

    Here is a link that might be useful: Hummingbird Migration Map

  • kimka
    18 years ago

    Thanks for the notice. I'll get my feeder up directly.

  • collectordi
    18 years ago

    One year I saw one on the lilacs. Yup, time to put up the feeder.

  • bengz6westmd
    18 years ago

    Yeah, I didn't see, but certain I heard several hummers chasing each other a couple days ago. Better clean up the feeder...

  • marymd7
    18 years ago

    Do you all use hummmingbird feeders? I have more than 13 birdfeeders in my yard, but don't put up hummingbird feeders because they're such a pain to keep clean. I find that I still have tons of hummers every summer just drawn to my flowers alone.

  • aka_peggy
    18 years ago

    I've heard them but haven't been fast enough to see them yet.

    The feeder is up and ready. It is a pain, especially when it gets warmer out because it has to be changed so often. Like Johnnie, if I don't put up the feeder I don't see them until much later. I love sitting on the front porch and watching them dive bomb each other and then light in the holly tree near by.

    I planted lobelia cardinalis and aquilegia canadensis last yr in my little tiny woodland garden.

  • JohnnieB
    18 years ago

    Well, now I have to eat my words--I just saw a hummingbird in my garden, visiting bleeding hearts and columbine. In five years this is by far the earliest I've ever seen one.

  • bengz6westmd
    18 years ago

    Johnnieb, maybe your observing skills have just gotten better. :)

    Where I used to live in Blacksburg, VA, I'd take a hanging feeder, set it in my lap, and the hummers would, after some hesitation, start sipping from it. While there they'd eye me suspiciously, & one or two would buzz around my head, sorta checking me out. I'd have a hard time keeping from laughing.

  • cynthia_gw
    18 years ago

    Mary, I rely on the plants to draw the hummers too. Haven't seen one yet, but I don't spend a lot of time looking either. As soon as the first bloom appears on the gartenmeister fuschia, they'll be here. Just dragged that out of gh, so it should bloom in a few weeks. Surprised so many of you have columbines blooming already. Dogwoods just fully opened here, and the columbines usually bloom with the azaleas... (I suppose you all have azaleas blooming too, not me :)

  • vladpup
    18 years ago

    G'Day!

    - Humming birds, stuffed from nectar feeders. Must check my cookbooks.

    - Well, at elast i got the first dozen of my faux-gourd bird houses up! They are blindingly white, but if any get used this year, i will paint the rest a tint of green, so they are less of an eyesore. (Too bad the birds prefer such a bright white over subtler tones!)

    - Happy gardening,
    -vlad

  • jennamoondancer
    18 years ago

    I love hummingbirds but if they were any bigger (say the size of chickens) they'd be dangerous LOL! I've two who decided to nest on my deck in one of the birdhouses I place on the railings and they dive bomb me when I go out on the deck to sit. My hair is fairly long and the little male got tangled up in my hair the other day. Frightened the wits out of both of us! i take my morning cofee in the kitchen now since they seem to object to me on the deck so early. Kinda wierd but I'm being tolerant since I put the birdhouses up in the first place. If i didn't want birds nesting on my deck i should have put the houses elsewhere!
    Jenna

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