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

Thanks all. I do feel lucky to see them, especially in a suburban area. Fortunately we have a lot of woods and habitat around for them. They do seem to come and go. I will see them daily for a while, and then go for a stretch where I don't see them for a few months. When they're here, it's hard to keep up with their appetite! I bought a case of suet plugs last week.

don't know about your woodpeckers but i have a pair of lewis's woodpeckers who have nested here last 3 years. i also have lots of orioles and i put out fruit and jelly and watermelon for the orioles, the young Lewis's love the jelly and watermelon and eat lots of fruit and they come back every year. i also have downeys and hairys and flickers that use the same feeders as the Lewis's

I'd never heard of this but it's mentioned on Cornell's All About Birds website in the section on Food. "Downy Woodpeckers are common feeder birds, eating suet and black oil sunflower seeds and occasionally drinking from hummingbird feeders." I also found a nice reference: Birdlife: Woodpeckers stick out their tongues for nectar. "A woodpecker's unusually long tongue is mainly an adaptation to find and capture insects. After drilling a hole, a woodpecker sticks its tongue into the hole and explores for insects. The sticky barbed tip of the tongue helps capture and remove insects. Woodpeckers also explore cracks and crevices (and sometimes hummingbird feeders) with their sensitive tongues." I'd leave the feeders up until it gets really cold in case some late migrating hummers come through. The downies are probably enjoying a sweet snack in addition to their normal diet. Claire