Hi all, was just looking @ the posts here for info on bats/hummer feeders. I'm a fellow bat lover & have them here in MN starting late May-late Oct. when they go south to migrate. They hang in a space outside our screen porch, but we can see them as there is a small section of screen on opposite side looking in. We have racoon troubles also but recently have had just one particular hummer feeder cleanly emptied each nite. I have 7 feeders but this hummzinger is the only one emptied with no mess each nite. I welcome my bat friends & hummer friends! Don't care for the racoons as much, as they are very messy & have destroyed suet cages, feeders of all sorts& tore screens.

Claire is correct - it's the timing. Excerpt from hummingbirds.net "Where did my hummers go? You watched the migration maps and hung your feeder in time to attract the first migrants. You kept the feeder clean and the syrup fresh, and were rewarded by lots of visits from migrants, then the activity settled down to regular appearances by the resident birds. Pretty cool hobby, eh? Then, perhaps in early May (depending on your latitude)... NO MORE HUMMERS! Where'd they all go? This didn't happen last year! Or did it? Welcome to the nesting season, folks. I'll discuss Ruby-throats in particular, but similar principles probably apply to most other species. Shortly after arriving, the females establish a nesting territory. Ruby-throats prefer secluded wetlands for nesting, if available, and proximity to your feeder is not an issue; in fact, females don't like to build nests in a male's feeding territory, and your feeder is probably part of one. Visits to distant feeders take too much time away from the eggs. When the chicks hatch, they need protein to grow, not sugar, so their mother spends most of her time catching small insects and spiders for them. During this period, I personally still see a male or two at my feeders, but typically only early or late in the day. I suspect that once their breeding duties are over, males tend to abandon territories and forage more widely to fatten up for migration. After the chicks fledge (leave the nest), expect the number of hummers at your feeder to be double what it was before the "disappearance." As summer progresses, there will be fewer natural hummingbird food sources available in many parts of the continent; feeders can have a real positive impact on the number of birds that survive, especially in the dry Midwestern U.S., so please keep them clean and fresh. And keep notes on your tiny visitors, if you like, so you can verify for yourself that this is a normal, annual process." I checked my photo library and all of my backyard hummers were photographed in July, August, and Sept. Been a long spring. Thank you, Claire. Kindly, Jane Here is a link that might be useful: hummingbirds.net

Hi Claire...Great shots of those Hummers! At last they have arrived...whew! It looks like you have some tired but happy Hummers. I counted Herring this morning. I saw 8 during my 10 minute count time. The sun was bright, water was clear and the gulls were happy. We have found that Herring like to run when the water temps reach 13C. Last year we recorded the largest number of Herring making the final run into the Mill Pond between May 11th & 18th. Interesting little tid-bit...when the adult Herring return to the sea, they do so tail first...facing upstream. They allow themselves to be swept backwards with the current. In 2003 the herring run in Bournedale River in Buzzards Bay numbered approximately 200,000 herring. The herring in that run are/were counted using an electronic counting tube...a camera. I find it all very interesting. I need to get out and walk around the yard today. If the Hummers are here, I should find a lot of new growth, buds and hope for color to come...or not. I've seen some hanging baskets of impatients on houses already. It seems a little early to see such color. Nice, but early. Our nights are still cold. Soon it will be time to get my house plants outside...the start of summer camp. sooey

Country_bumpkin, I think that what plastic ring thingy was on there to connect them to a cardboard base they were on in the store. I just forgot to cut it off. I'll have to be sure and do that. mboston, I'll keep an eye out for bands for sure. How cool would that be to find out your hummers were summering here!?! jannie, I always think that too, about them sounding like a bug. But I usually think bumble bee. Now, after being around the hummers more, I'm wondering if I've been buzzed by a lot more of them than I ever realized, and only thought it was a bee! Susan, I used to see them at the oriole feeders too, back in MN. They say we don't get orioles here in the MI U.P. so I haven't put any out. Lydia, I'll try that with putting my fingers out for them to stand on. Funny how you said their toes are like little threads, because that's exactly the way I was describing the way they looked to my husband yesterday. Thanks everyone for the nice complements on the photos. I did get some really nice shots. Keeping in mind, of course, that these were the 'keepers' out of probably 200-300 hummingbird pictures that I took over the weekend :-) Isn't digital photography great? It gives you soooo many chances to get a good photo!