I'm pretty certain the dominant adult male hummer is still around because he
had a preferred perching spot in one particular area of crabapple tree.
There are several females, at least two other adult males in different
molting stages, and juveniles, including one male that has two prominent
dots on his throat.
Last summer I decided to cluster planters containing Hot Lips, Coral Nymph
and Pineapple Sage on the back deck instead of planting in ground. The
salvia guarantia is planted in ground below deck and near hummer feeder so
activity is constant with most of the hummers feeding from the flowers vs.
the sugar water. With the unusually persistent warm summer, the hummer
feeders are cleaned no more than two days apart and filled with 1/3 cup.
That way there's not much left over that gets thrown out. You can make a
larger batch and refrigerate the unused portion.
For several years we have been getting good numbers of hummers at our
feeders average peak migration (September).
Brenda
Brenda Tekin, Stuarts Draft, VA - www.birdsofvirginia.com
BlueMountains Nature Photography, including Birds of Virginia
brenda@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx / Cell: (434) 962-4936
"Leave behind what you find; if you must take something, take pictures."
-----Original Message-----
From: MARLENECONDON@xxxxxxx [mailto:MARLENECONDON@xxxxxxx] ;
Sent: Friday, August 10, 2012 9:17 AM
To: va-bird@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [Va-bird] male hummers migrating early?
Hi,
Has anyone noticed that their male hummers left early? Mine was gone by
the end of July.
Then on Aug. 3 a male showed up that I feel positive was migrating and not
the resident male. He seemed unfamiliar with the feeder and the juveniles
easily chased him off and were obviously the dominant birds here. Usually
the resident male is the dominant one.
This has been a really strange season animal-wise as well as weather-wise.
Insects have started singing and plants have bloomed a few weeks ahead of
schedule; the natural world seems to be out of sync with its usual order of
activity. Needless to say, what's happening with insects and plants can
affect the lives and activity of birds.
I'd be interested in hearing of anyone's observations along these lines.
Thanks so much!
Sincerely,
Marlene
Marlene A. Condon (Author/Photographer, The Nature-friendly Garden:
Creating A Backyard Haven for Plants, Wildlife, and People [Stackpole
Books]) Naturalist and Writer/Photographer/Speaker Crozet, VA 22932-2204
E-mail: MARLENECONDON@xxxxxxx
_www.MARLENECONDON.com_ (http://www.marlenecondon.com/)
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