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Hummingbird Garden

When does migration start?

18 years ago

I've been seeing the word "migration" pop up in postings lately...is it that time yet? When will the hummers that have gone up North start their trek south? Since I'm in Louisiana, I figure a few of them will have to pass through my yard, right? All I've seen here are the ruby-throats...at least I think so. Maybe I should start paying closer attention!

--Jane in BR, LA

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Comments (7)

Birdlegs
18 years ago
Jap,
No dirty words allowed in August. It hurts my eyes to see the M word. Last year I had them till then end of Sept. You will probly see them later than that.
ccroulet
18 years ago
In the west, Rufous, Allen's (subspecies sasin), Calliope & Black-chin are already in migration.
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Totally awesome photos, Mark-I'll go prepare to roll out the red carpet! I know it's started; I was sitting in the woods this morning trying to get a clear shot of an Eastern Towhee male, when a first year female Blackpoll Warbler came by to see what I was From April 2009
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Thank you for asking. In the fall it is when the snakes begin traveling back to their winter dens from parts far away (and in the spring, of course, it is when the snakes leave their dens and begin traveling to parts far away). Snakes overwinter in the same den year after year and some of them will travel several miles in the fall to return to their dens. Migrations mostly happen in central states like Missouri, Illinois, Arkansas, and Kentucky and places farther north where snakes spend their winters in large communal dens in bluff. Farther south snakes can den almost anywhere (a stump, a rodent hole, etc.) and thus they don't den in large concentrations. In some places if you are between a denning bluff on one side and good habitat on the other you can walk along and actually see the snakes migrating. The snakes will all be coming from the flats and heading to the bluffs and all will be on the move in the same direction. On a good day during peak migration you might see as many as 50 to 60 different snakes in a three hour walk. On a more typical day during the peak migration you might see from 12 to 25 snakes in three hours. At the early and late ends of the migration (which lasts for about 2 months) you might see just 4 or 5 snakes. It's really a neat thing to observe!
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Comments (17)
IMO, cucumbers and summer squash should nearly always be direct seeded. They grow very quickly, and will produce well - even planted late - in all but the coldest climates. Those vegetables are harvested immature... but growing those same vegetables to seed maturity is another matter. In areas with short summers (like mine) transplants are sometimes necessary, to give winter squashes time to ripen fully, and if growing any cucurbit for seed. I start cucurbits in peat pots, usually right after I've put tomatoes & peppers out to harden off. They quickly become leggy under artificial light (or even in partial sunlight, as in most windows) so immediately after germinating them indoors, they go into full sunlight. The primary advantage is faster germination, compared to direct seeding in cool soil. As a rule, I try to transplant the seedlings when they have their first true leaf; this is generally about 10-14 days after planting. Much beyond that, and the plants will quickly become stunted. Between the faster germination & time gained by planting early, I gain about 2-3 weeks over direct seeding, which can be a world of difference if saving seed.
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king_cupheaphea
18 years ago
Well, somebody has to say it....

TOO SOON!

I'm with Birdlegs, watch those 9 letter words! ;)
roberta_nc
18 years ago
I had to smile after reading these posts. My first reaction to the M word was similar to everyone else's--I winced.
jardines1
18 years ago
I can already see an increase in hummers around here--lots of turf wars occuring. I have noticed Allen's and Rufous mixed in with the resident Anna's. Everyone is causing quite a stir. Even my DH is interested in all the "action".

So I had a brilliant idea (yeah, right) of hanging a new feeder in a different location---on the OTHER side of all the fighting and chasing. No sooner did that occur, when a whole new turf war began. Can't win for losing. I'm convinced if I hung one feeder for every hummer I saw, it STILL wouldn't be enough to satisfy the power-hungry hummers that want to hog all the goodies!! LOL!!
catwhiskas
18 years ago
I did EXACTLY the same thing yesterday afternoon. I hung a new feeder around the other side of the house to eliminate the fighting. No sooner than I hung it they were arguing who it belongs to!
Janis_G
18 years ago
Usually the males start coming back through my area
the second week in July.
This year has been rather strange.
About the middle of June I had so many males
I had to start putting out my larger migration feeders.
That went on for several weeks.

Along about the first week in July the females started arriving.
There are a few mature males mixed in but mostly
females and juvie males.
My numbers are down from previous years but there are still lots of birds.
I didn't put out as many feeders this year as in the past.

Jan

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