Congratulations!

Claire

The hummingbird i saw was all green. I looked in my ct bird book but could not find it. So what kind was it?

I'm happy to be in the company of such fine, boring people! :)
I haven't seen my little guy since he buzzed me yesterday; hopefully he will be back soon.
It would probably help if I had more flowers blooming in my yard to catch their eye. I'm making a mental note to add more mid-spring bloomers. All I have going on right now is the weedy(yet pretty) lunaria.

Teresa

Hummingbird1234: Hummingbirds in New England are almost always Ruby-throated Hummingbirds. Rufous Hummingbirds are sometimes seen in Vermont and other more northern states (someone on this forum a few years ago reported that she regularly sees rufous hummingbirds). Occasionally a western hummingbird will stray east and excite all the local birders, but ruby-throats are the norm.

Female ruby-throats look all green from the back and that's probably what you saw. Unless you get a good look at the throat, you'll just see green.

Claire

Ok thank you Claire it was a Ruby throated hummingbird now that i think about it. I guess i was so happy to see a hummingbird that i just forgot.

It is funny, because several years ago I had rufus hummingbirds at my feeder often, but for the past 2 or 3 years all I see are ruby-throated hummers.

I have a very weird bird situation on my front porch this year. In addition to the hummingbirds at the feeder, I've always had barn swallows nest in the corner under the eaves. This year a pair of red finches (house finches I guess they are) arrived before the barn swallows and refurbished the old swallow nest.

Shortly after the finches laid claim to the nest, a pair of swallows showed up. I expected a territorial fight but they have been coexisting. I'm not sure if the swallows are waiting for the nest to become vacant (like a timeshare) or what, but they arrive every evening and roost all night next to their old nest, while mama finch sits on the nest. The baby finches have hatched and the finch couple are feeding them. Has anyone ever heard of anything so strange? I'm intrigued and I have a porch full of birds!

Finally! Hummingbirds in southern Connecticut! Male and female at our feeder this morning and at noon. But the wind has picked up this afternoon and so I don't expect they'll be back for dinner.

Molie

That is amazing, spedigrees, and sounds very unlike all the usual territorial strife. Let us know what happens when the finch babies fledge. You have wonderful photos of the swallow nestlings in that nest.

I thought I remembered you were the one who posted about the rufous hummingbirds, but I wasn't sure.

Congratulations, Molie!

Claire

Saw my first Ruby Throat yesterday. Just as some of the Rhody's are beginning to bloom. I'm in Millbury, MA just south of Worcester.

Steve

And congratulations to Steve, too!

Rhododendron/azalea blooming really does seem to be a good indicator. Another one I thought of yesterday is honeysuckle. The wild honeysuckles along the road here (and sneaking into my yard) have been blooming for about a week or two, which coincides with the recent proliferation of hummingbirds. Honeysuckle should have lots of good nectar for hummers - I haven't tried sucking the flowers like we did as kids, although I may yet when I'm sure there's no poison ivy nearby.

Claire

I finally got some pictures of Mama Finch feeding her babies in the old swallow nest on my porch. Later this evening I'll try to get a shot of the amicable barn swallows roosting right next to this nest.

Imagine hummingbirds at the feeder just to the left of the above nest scene, and two barn swallows roosting on the ledge just to the right of the nest, and you have a picture of my front porch in the early evening! I've never seen anything like it! If the swallows take over the nest and raise their own little ones after the baby finches have flown, it will make my summer!

What a wonderful story and great pictures! By the way, that's Papa Finch feeding the kids (Mama Finches don't have any red on the feathers). I hope you get a photo of the barn swallows too, patiently waiting for the homestead to be returned to them.

I just checked the Birds of North America Online site (can't link to it - it's subscription only) and they say that the finch babies fledge at about 16 days, but that there's usually multiple broods in a season. They usually don't reuse the same nest, but then they also usually build the nest themselves. No information on moving into pre-built barn swallow nests. So the barn swallows may have a long wait.

Claire

Thanks for the info Claire. I wonder what will happen when these babes leave the nest. It appears you are correct about the genders. All the online photos plus illustrations in my hard copy of "Birds of North America" do indeed show the females of both House and Purple finches as having no red on their feathers. So I wonder if there are two pairs of red finches about, as there was definitely another finch with more red on it in the tree while the one I photographed was on the nest.

Ha ha, my hubby suggested "Maybe they are a gay pair of finches and they had a surrogate and she's gone now."

Who knows? There are more questions than answers. Funny thing is, several weeks ago I went for a walk with my dogs on a wooded path in a town near here and met a couple who were photographers for the Audubon society out taking pictures. They told me how they had seen an endangered species (some kind of thrush maybe?) and showed me a photo they'd taken of a chickadee nesting in a hollow sapling. It was interesting to meet them then, but what a pity I didn't run into them a few weeks later when I could have picked their brains.

Here is a photo of the swallows. They usually scoot closer together later next to the nest to spend the night, but I can't photograph them after dark without using a flash and I don't want to scare them. I wish there had been a hummingbird at the feeder too, but no takers just now.

And a closer up of the swallows:

I hope this isn't too off-topic. A hummingbird would have helped me if it had cosen to feed while I took the photo.

There here finally at my feeders here in Halifax Ma. Was on patio after work yesterday and all of a sudden they just started showing up. Female and male hummingbirds coming to the backyard feeder all afternoon and evening. Only saw males coming to the front yard feeder chasing each other off sometimes. This morning there still flying in. Hope the same female comes back from last year and nest over my patio again!

First hummer today and on an apple tree not at the feeder.

Wow, that is cool Skippy, that you had hummers nesting over your patio!

spedigrees: I have no problem with posts straying a bit off topic - it's a little bit like watching a garden evolve in its own way, not what you planned, but still interesting and worthwhile.

I like the pic that shows all three bird venues. It gives a really nice feeling for what it's like to sit there with birds to watch and a great woody vista.

Halifax, MA and now Maine; hummingbirds throughout New England.

Claire

I was just wondering how to add some photos to a post to show some off yesterday�s hummingbirds, and to share some of the nest last year?

Thanks.

skippyz71: We have an FAQ on How do I include a photo in my post? This should answer your questions and get you on board (we'd love to see the photos). If you still have questions, just ask.

Claire

I move a hummingbird feeder but i did not like were it was so i move it back So i wanted to know if that will mess up the hummingbirds?

seeing if I added a photo correctly, crossing my fingers

https://picasaweb.google.com/113344713248389925893/May142012?authuser=0amp;authkey=Gv1sRgCI771r7ct_v0Ew&feat=directlink

Nice photo, Skippy! Thanks for posting.

A couple more from Fri. and Sat. when they showed up. One feeder in the backyard and one in the front yard. The new one in front yard is the flat saucer type wich I like because they actually perch on it and sit for awhile.

https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-nOdXD6SLck0/T7I4otCzuUI/AAAAAAAAABg/cF-Alqh149M/s800/IMG_0439.jpg

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-i01XK4Huols/T7I4C8Or3PI/AAAAAAAAAA4/9TcCObcTM_Y/s800/IMG_0341.jpg

sorry, this adding photo's to a post is new to me.

Very nice, Skippy, and you've now mastered the art of inserting photos in a post. You also show two different types of hummingbird feeders. Do you notice any difference in the amount of use? Do the hummers seem to prefer one over the other?

Hummingbird1234: You may have annoyed the hummers slightly, but they'll adjust to the move with no problem at all.

Claire

Hi Claire, I can�t say yet if one is preferred more then the other yet. There are two main differences I can see right away, the bottle type I bought last year they almost always continue to fly while they feed. The main reason that I bought the saucer style feeder this year is that I read that they land while they feed. This has proven true so far as they always stop flying on the saucer style. This has offered two different types of photo opportunities now with the two feeders, flying or sitting still. The second reason I bought a second feeder is that I read somewhere if there is a territorial war over a feeder adding two on separate sides of the property might help, in my case the original in the back yard and the new one in the front yard. Not that I had a problem last year, but incase more came this year they will have an option. Both feeders are busy since this past Friday.

Now to how I started last year and found a nest....
Late spring last year my daughters 6 and 4 1/2 wanted to bird feeders and remembering how much I like the wild birds when I was a kid with my mother feeding them we hung some feeders on a wire between two trees.

Note wire at bottom of picture where seed feeders are hung, also note very center of picture for nest sight later.

Had many types of birds coming before long but after a couple of weeks started having a hummingbird coming and hanging out on the wire at the seed feeders? So next day I bought and hung the hummingbird feeder so it wasn't left out. It started using it right away and I noticed a pattern, it would feed at the feeder then fly to a nearby tree and rest then sometimes to another as if watching if it was being followed. It would then end up going to the branch right over my patio which I looked closely at and couldn't believe what I saw, a camouflaged nest which I would have never saw without watching the hummingbird!

mom at nest..

Two baby's!

Enjoy, hope this wasn't too long.

What a wonderful discovery, Skippy! Your daughters must have been ecstatic (not to mention your own reaction). That nest could pass as a gall or maybe a bit of lichen and probably would never be seen.

The hummer knew you were watching - she's keeping an eye on you but probably figures you're too far away and a lousy flyer so the babies are safe.

Your post is definitely not too long.

Claire

I'll second that your post is not too long, Skippy! Those are great photos of the hummingbird nest, and the first pictures of a nest & babies that anyone has posted on these annual hummingbird threads I think. What a delightful surprise it must have been to have these tiny birds raise little ones so near to your house!

Skippy,
How fantastic! Hummingbirds always have two eggs -- about the size of pearls. Isn't that the greatest image? My guys rest on the saucer and also feed while flying. They like to sit on top of the shepherd's crook it hangs on. And it's so close to the house. Teresa, we sit on the porch all summer watching the hummingbirds at play.
lucia

Skippy - I really enjoyed your story. Thank you for sharing that. We had hummers at our feeder tonight and papa kept flying off into the nearby maple tree. It is going to take a lot of self control for me not to get a ladder out and climb into that tree looking for a nest tomorrow.

Hi every one,
It now appears that the saucer type feeder in the front yard is the most active not to say the bottle type out back isn't either. The one out front is all by it's self on a shepherds hook, the one out back is near the seed feeders hanging from a tree? This is my first year starting in the spring and the pattern I�m seeing is male / or males come to the feeders then fly to a nearby tree and watch. If another male comes to the feeder the fight is on! If a female comes some type of show starts. On the saucer I�ve seen a male come and just sit on it and seem to watch the female drink and in between the drinks the female would do some type of body shaking dance. The best was on the bottle type out back Sunday, the male watched from a branch nearby and when the girl came to the feeder he flew down and started this show all around the feeder. Before long they were both in this almost ballet of flight and at one point seemed attached spinning straight up in flight into the tree tops 40ft and falling back down still spinning!
Pixie Lou,
Since I'm new and this is my first year starting in the spring maybe someone with more experience can confirm what I'm seeing above is the mating going on and there might not be nests yet? Last year I started mid July after seeing the female and then found the nest with the babies already hatched and never saw a male at the feeder that I can remember, only the one female. At first you could barely tell there where two babies in the nest but as we watched them grow through the summer they got bigger it was hard to tell how they could both be fitting in the nest. The worst day was in late summer when after work part of the nest looked eaten away and there was only one bird in it. I immediately thought the worst and looked all over the ground for a missing bird and then thought the worst happened, until I noticed mom and a new bird at the feeder. Can only assume this was the baby as it was very unsure and seemed inexperienced as how to feed at the feeder. The next day more of the nest seemed destroyed and it was empty. Now what I assume was mom because she knew what she was doing at the feeder and two unsure birds would always be together and feed together for about a week and a half. After that they would start getting edgy and start chasing each other until they would only come to the feeder one at a time for the rest of the fall.
I'm not sure when the nests are built but I will wait to later in the summer and watch if there is another pattern with a female and hope to see another nest!

Have another special story last summer with these birds. Warning, no song birds or hummers were hurt!

I'm in central Oregon and I haven't seen a single Hummer so far this year.The latest I've ever had them arrive is May 17th of last year. I'm getting worried, anyone know why they are so late??
I've had my feeders up since April 1st.

Skippy: Two hawks, not one, waiting at what they probably considered the hawk feeder. Very considerate of you to give them that comfortable perch. They look like juvenile Cooper's Hawks - I wonder if maybe they were from the same brood - the only time I've seen two Cooper's together was one adult plus a juvenile.

gramma_julie: We in New England barely know anything about lands on the other side of the Hudson River, much less Oregon which is really far past the Hudson. I think you also get different hummingbirds from us.

Maybe somebody here has an answer for you, but you might have better luck posting on the Hummingbird Forum.

You're welcome here anyway, and we'd enjoy hearing what you find out about why you don't see hummers.

Claire

He's here! And using the glass feeder. Same behavior pattern as last year - using the same branch to rest on after eating.
Jane :)

Jane: Good that he's back, but I wonder about why your saucer type feeder wasn't used as well. You mentioned on another thread that "The top of the flat, round feeder is totally paled out." That happened to my second feeder which was advertised as a "classic" feeder and was on sale.

After a year the top faded to a pale pinkish color while the underside was still red. I saw hummers fly up and down apparently looking at the red underside and trying to figure out how to get to it. Eventually they learned, having little choice if they wanted the nectar.

When I took the feeder down for the winter I took some red nail polish and painted the little ports. I was careful to let it dry well (all winter) and washed it thoroughly. They've been using it this year without problems.

I'm not seeing any females now at either feeder and just an occasional male who flies in, takes a quick chug, and flies off. The females are probably feeding insects to their young and will be back later. The males may be feeding at the rhododendrons in bloom everywhere around here (but not in view of my window).

Claire

Perfect! Excellent idea and thanks for the picture. The other hummer watcher here is now copying your idea as I write this. Two feeders will be hung up this year! Thank you for taking the photo and posting it. Jane :)

I finally have *proof* that hummers have visited my feeder! They usually show up in the early evening or the crack of dawn - both times when I'm not about to go running out with my camera!

I think we all believed you, pixie_lou, but it's good to see the proof (pictures are always welcome).

Claire

Our First Ever Hummingbird.

On the way to the Kitchen tonight I saw a tiny bird fly in and land on our hummingbird feeder. About the only detail I saw looked like a flash of yellow. As I crept closer to the French doors that open onto the deck, the tiny thing saw me and darted away. Wings were a blur but it could certainly move fast. I suspect that it will get used to us eventually.

We had figured they hadn't found us yet but there it was. I should have changed the food two days ago so I got out there right away and change it out for some fresh food. At least the food is no longer just going to waste as we empty it out.

But it was quite exciting to get our very first ever hummingbird. The feeder was a bit low on solution, too so I think that perhaps they have been working on it for a few days and we didn't realize it. It's cleaned out and fresh now so I'll be tracking it over the next few days to see if they drain it down.

At some point I'll set up a film camera on a tripod with a remote release and try to get a close up photograph of one on the feeder.

Congratulations, StephenStephen! The first hummer is very exciting, and so are all of the ones to come. There's just something thrilling about seeing those little bitty birds at your feeder. They should get used to you being around so it will be easier to get photos.

Claire

We saw a second one just a few minutes ago. This one seemed smaller and it did not land. It hovered out there with wings flapping and then moved in to feed.

I didn't think to grab the binoculars but I could see a tiny very bright red patch on it's front in the chest or throat area.

So that means we now have at least two of them that have located us. Pretty cool. Which reminds me I need to make more food as we are out now.

For some reason I've always thought of people who were getting hummingbirds in as having some special gardening skill or talent or something I couldn't do. But this really wasn't difficult at all. They eventually did find our feeder.

Probably the biggest hassle is the frequent changing of the food to make sure the feeder does not become contaminated and sicken the birds.

Has anyone been seeing a lot of hummingbird? I have not seen as many as i did in the begain. I have nice fresh neator in the feeders. So where are the hummingbirds?

For the last month I'd been seeing much fewer hummingbirds than usual, only an occasional male. The females stay away during nesting time, feeding the babies insects, but they should have been past that by now.

A few days ago, they came back and the last few days I've been seeing them regularly at the feeders. A female flew up to the kitchen window, checking me out, and they've been at both feeders. I wonder if for some reason the first brood failed and the hummers went through a second round of nesting and concentrated on catching insects for the babies. I saw one hummer exploring a feeder as if it had never seen one before; maybe a newly hatched hummer.

I'd say to stay patient and keep the nectar fresh. they'll probably come back.

Claire

I see a male at my feeder around 8 every morning and around 7 every evening.

Also keep in mind that there are so many flowers in bloom right now, so many additional food sources available for the hummers.

I live in CT and wanted to know when the hummingbird migert south for the the winter?

I can't say for sure, being in MA not CT, but usually hummingbirds head south from New England in mid September and early October, depending on the weather and location.

It's heartily recommended that you leave a feeder up for at least a few weeks after you see the last hummer. That way you'll feed any migrants coming through that got a late start or are coming from farther away. I keep a feeder filled until around November 1, just in case.

Did your hummingbirds come back this summer?

Claire

Yes my hummingbirds came back to my feeder some time in july. The feeder has been very busy.