Couldn't get a good pic, but this really looked like a hummer in our yard Sunday. It kept hovering in one place going up and down and occasionally landing on the grass. I quickly ran in the house and set up our feeder but he never visited it. It stayed in one area for quite a while which I thought was unusual.

Landing on the grass and staying in one area for a long time sounds like an exhausted bird. Do you have any rhododendrons or azaleas blooming that it could nectar on? Hopefully it will rest a bit and then find your feeder.

It's really important to get the feeders up now.

Claire

rich_manure: Did your hummer come back?

I didn't mean to criticize you for not having your feeder up. I just worry about those irrationally exuberant hummingbirds that get tricked by warm weather and head north before there are flowers and bugs for them to eat. I know that they've survived for thousands of years without human intervention, but many individuals have likely died when the gamble didn't pay off. Nature isn't always forgiving.

I'm seeing rhododendrons in bloom a mile or so inland, but they're still not blooming on my street. I'm hoping that the hummers will be enticed here when the rhododendron mountains up the street start blooming (huge old rhodies).

Claire

When we first spotted it I ran in the house and set up one feeder, but as I said he/she never visited it. And no I haven't seen it since Sunday, but I haven't really been out enough so who know. Nothing blooming here yet so the feeder is the only source for now.

There have been insects flying here, at least during the warmer days, so the hummers may be able to find food there as well as the feeder. I've heard that insects are high in fat as well as protein so that's something. I guess that's why insectivorous birds like suet in the winter - ersatz bugs.

I hope your hummer comes back.

Claire

Claire, do you know if the feeders must be hung or can I place one of them on my deck rail? I wonder if they will feed from it there. Perhaps they are normally hung to keep away from the hummer's predators. Two are hanging now and I have a third to put out.

I don't know from experience, but I'd bet the deck rail would be OK so long as you're not having a party out there. Hummers are pretty bold and they feed from shrubs and low flowers. A deck rail wouldn't be too unusual for them.

Three feeders is a fine buffet.

Claire

I'm starting to feel like I didn't get invited to the party! Hummingbirds are way north of me in Maine, and no signs here!

This is the third year I've been following the migration online, and each year the reports have shown hummers nearby and much farther north but not here. I hear your pain (I wish I could hear hummers).

I wonder how many of the early sightings are males heading north by the easiest path, sort of following the bird equivalent of an interstate with big, well-serviced rest areas.

Maybe the later sightings are male hummers that were born around here and expect to stake out breeding territories here. This migration may be timed closer to the migration of the females which always arrive later.

Just guessing, or maybe trying to rationalize the feeling of being snubbed.

Claire

Well the deck rail is NOT a good place for hummer feeders after all but it's great place for feeding ANTS. It lasted on the deck for a couple of days but I had it move it because them.

Since we're talking about variations on classic hummingbird feeding stations (such as the deck rail AKA ant feeder), someone in the hummingbird forum asked if hummers would drink from a bowl.

In response, this huge bowl was posted.

Claire

WOW!!! That's amazing! I've never seen that many hummers together at once!! Great video.

my feeder apparently had a crack, because the nectar dripped out over the course of a day or so. I just got up the new one...with my red front door and red patio cushions/umbrella, I'm hoping my yard is a beacon for them. :-)

Okay, it's official: I've been snubbed.
Azaleas, lilacs, some rhododendrons, Virginia Bluebells, Red Chokeberry, violas, et al, everything blooming too early, but these guys go to Canada and skip me? Must be the economy.

Have pictures of backyard bird antics, alas, no thread on which to post them. Anyone there?

Jane

We seem to be in a "no-fly" zone so far, as well! Feeders have been up for weeks, bleeding hearts (which I've seen them feed on in the past) in full bloom right under one of the feeders... but no takers.

As for your bird antics, check out the various bird forums under "Nature Forums" -- I know there's a birdwatching one, another one for bird photography (might be a good one for you?) You have a beautiful camera, as I recall... so please post and let us know where!

Jane: I'll set up the Birds and other Mobile Features sequel in a day or two - just got some other things I need to do right now.

Claire

Well, I didn't get his picture - yet - but it seems that Downy Woodpeckers like sugar water and that is who has been sipping. I noticed the liquid going down, but no hummers in sight. A friend just commented today that she has woodpeckers flocking to her hummingbird feeder, but no hummingbirds! Did not know this until today!

Thanks, Claire, whenever you wish, I just think you started a fun thread about mobiles in the garden. :)

Here is a link that might be useful: Woody on Hummer Feeder

Woodpeckers sipping from a hummingbird feeder? That's new to me too! I haven't seen it here, but I still have suet out so maybe they prefer suet. I'll watch for it (as if I wasn't watching that feeder enough already).

Claire

WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN!!! I've been WORRIED SICK about you!!!! I dreamed you were lying in a ditch, smacked down by a helicopter!!!

Yes, I'm talking to you!

Lunch has been ready for weeks now, eat up.

I wonder if you're a transient - going to grab some fast food and continue north, or maybe stay around, claim some territory, and wait for a female to stop by. In any case, you're welcome here.

My bright red-orange azaleas are open now and the big dark pink crabapple is beginning to open up. A beacon?

Claire

You lucky duck! Good shots, glad he made it, sleep well.

Haven't seen him since that one time. He's probably flying up the coast heading for the next rest stop. Maybe in Weymouth at rich_manure's place?

Claire

Thanks for the reminders that...it's time! I always think the hummers need summer. They like it here -- heavily wooded area -- I have been pretty haphazard about timing, obviously, but they always turn up.

Orioles, however...got them one year by surprise, picking at some shredded canvas. Have not been able to attract them with fruit or feeders since. :

blip: Heavily wooded area may be a problem for orioles - are there any ponds or marshes nearby?

I think the orioles I see here actually nest at the boggy pond down the hill, and they come up here for dessert. The first year I saw them I only had a hummingbird feeder and they never came back. The next year I put up oranges and saw them frequently.

I saw one male oriole on May 2 this year, but he didn't come back. A catbird has settled in here though eating oranges and grape jam.

Claire

The first female hummingbird showed up this afternoon; maybe this one will stay. Usually when I see females I'll start to see hummers daily.

Claire

He's Here! He's Here! Incredible! 45mph winds at 7:30p.m. and the first hummer of the year is zipping around the red azalea under my office windows. No picture, but he made it! Fresh sugar water awaits. Be nice if it wasn't near hurricane force, of course.

Jane

Fantastic! It's amazing how those little motes can inspire you. I wouldn't want to be the strong wind that stands in the way of a hummingbird.

Claire

Mine arrived today, too!!! Heard him before I saw him ... that oh-so-familiar chatter. Then there he was, perched on the iron hook that holds the feeder, watching me (and holding on for dear life -- how DO they fly in winds like this??!)

Congratulations ctlady on your new arrival! You guys in CT really have been hammered by the winds! For a change, it hasn't been that bad here on the SE MA coast. The west winds must be muted by the woods and hills rather than blasting in straight across the bay.

I saw another male hummer (or maybe the same one) a few days ago, but I haven't been diligent about watching the feeder so I'm not sure who's still around.

Claire

I got one! I'm just outside of Rochester, NH, and I can "unofficially" report that they are at my house.
My MIL's DH said he saw one yesterday at my feeders. *I*, otoh, have yet to see one this season.

I have 4 feeders up this year, and am totally considering that cool bowl-style.

:( I feel like I didn't get invited to the party.

Sue -- don't give up! They got to our neck of the woods a month ago (at least) and I just saw the first one this past weekend. I was about to give up... he's been here ever since, so I think he's here to stay.

Drumroll....

ctlady: That male hummer looks very dapper on the dicentra! .....as if he knows how good he looks.

I'm now seeing hummers every day, at least one male and one female. Lots of skirmishes, but too fast for me to see whether they're male-male, female-female, or male-female.

sue36: if they got to mmqchdygg in NH, they should be in ME any day now. Hang in there.

Claire

Oh wow...he is pretty.

Ok, *now* it's official! I have at least 2 buzzing around my feeders.

Great, mm! Now we just have to get sue's hummers in place.

When my hummers first came they sat on the feeder to eat, sort of resting up. Now they have so much energy they just bounce in mid-air over the feeder before zipping off (sorry, got to go, no time to chat). These shots are from this morning - she never set foot on the perch, only her bill made contact.

Claire

Those are good shots, Claire. Can't imagine being able to 'put one's feet up' and not doing so, but...

No hummers here. The horrific winds we had apparently carried 'mine' to another place. Feeder untouched. Maybe this week someone will move in.
Jane

Great pics, Claire!

I must have cooties. No hummers in my garden yet. I thought for sure I'd be "discovered" with my red door and red patio cushions. ;-) But I'll keep looking. :(

I should have posted last weekend -- they have arrived at the northern Litchfield hills. Actually I'm about 30 miles north of Marty ctlady and I see ours arrived at about the same time. There he was, coming to the feeder above the ajuga, which I know they like. And about a week earlier than last year. He must be my old guy from years past because he absolutely did not care that I was weeding nearby. It's music to my ears to hear their humming and see them zooming.
lucia

Maybe that's my problem? I don't have established visitors? This is the first year I've had the feeder out in this garden. My friend has had the same ones coming back for years - in fact if she doesn't have her feeders up when they arrive, they buzz her kitchen window until she snaps to it! "WTH woman! Where is our FOOD?" hahaha

So HD had some pretty decent looking purple and red fuschia in hanging baskets for only $15. I now have one hanging next to my feeder. :)

Finally! I saw a hummingbird in the yard for the first time today (I saw one the next town over last week). It wasn't at the feeder, but was flitting around some pansies. I'm in southern Maine, near Portsmouth, NH.

I've been lax - congratulations to lucia (silvergirl426) in Litchfield, CT and to sue36 in southern ME! Also Jane (corunum) who posted an arrival on another thread.

I wonder if rich_manure in Weymouth, MA ever got a resident hummer, and kpaquette in RI is still lacking the bird. They gotta be out there somewhere.

Claire

You're not lax, but the hummers here certainly are. The other day I (sans camera)saw the smallest hummer. It was approximately 1/3 adult size. Incredibly small alas, incredibly absent since that time. No one shows up. Perhaps an ounce of the syrup is gone; they just aren't coming. Everything is in the same position as last year, but I think they've found a sweeter pasture. Still hoping. Sigh.
Jane

Still nothing here. :( I've been out on the patio alot recently with all this magnificent weather, keeping my eyes peeled. Can I assume I won't get residents this year b/c it's too late? Or are they still setting up territories?

I, too, am disappointed this year, kpaquette. A week or two ago a couple hummers showed up at our feeder, but they were very cautious and gun shy around me. I assume they were transients stopping briefly on their way to Canada.

But now, the permanent residents have still not arrived.
:-( I'm not noticing any activity at my neighbor's feeder across the road from us either. I wonder if this will be a hummingbirdless summer. I miss our tiny friends! The front porch just seems empty without them.

I'm not seeing hummers frequently here, although I haven't been watching regularly (busy elsewhere). I did see a male yesterday when I moved a big rose that had been near the feeder and set a low sprinkler in the area. I'm not sure if the hummer was interested in the water mist or was just looking to see what was going on.

I've read that the hummers will mostly stay away from the nectar feeders while they're nesting - they're busy catching insects for the babies. When the fledglings are out they'll come back to nectar. I hope this is true, for all of us.

The rhododendron mountains up the street just bloomed, VERY BIG rhododendrons, so the birds could be eating there too. For me the test will be when the meadow phlox bloom. The hummers love those phlox.

I keep reminding myself that it's not even Memorial Day yet (but close).

Claire

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

The nesting theory makes sense, and typically our resident birds do show up and drink at the feeder for several weeks before this partial nesting disappearance. However we've had no residents yet, and this is very late for northern New England.

Well it's time to boil up another batch of nectar, in the hopes that my little birds are only delayed this year and not missing.

Hmmm I wonder if my neighborhood is too urban for hummers to set up territories in. It's an historic neighborhood densely settled right on the bay. My previous home abutted conservancy and we had no problem attracting hummers. Since I've moved to Newport I've only seen the random female around my trumpet vines - which don't bloom until July.

Finally got my feeder up today! I get the feeling it may be all for naught. [g] But it's up and it was easy to make the nectar. I made a small amount so I can just keep replacing it if it's going to be a wait for a hummer.

I've only seen one hummer in years and it flitted through last summer late and never came back. I'm a little urban here so we'll see.

I've been seeing a lot of activity that makes me think birds are starting to settle in here. Adults feeding adolescents, birds flying around with nesting material. Orioles making more visits than usual. Two birds showed up pecking through my mulch on the vegetable beds that I didn't even recognize. So, who knows, maybe I'll get lucky and the hummers will find us.

Hope we all see a ton this season!

OK, I've seen a hummer three times today, and I haven't been paying much attention. Two of the sightings were of a male, the third was just a flashy green back. I think the residents are out of the nursery.

Claire

Finally my hummers have appeared, both males and females! Now I have to wonder if they didn't show up back in May and I missed them. Other years they have been here much sooner. It seems they should have been feeding before they picked a mate and built a nest. It's a mystery, but I'm glad they have returned.

We have a swampy area about a hundred feet from our feeder/porch, overgrown with willow bushes where our brook runs. I wonder if they nest in there. I've never found their tiny nests.