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Hummingbird Garden

Where are all the Hummingbirds???

8 years ago

I am hoping lots of people will chime in on this question.

I live in south central Virginia. Hummingbirds arrived right on time this year. Actually seven days earlier than last year. I know that usually during nesting season you don't see a lot of activity at the feeders. I have tons of hummingbird flowers and a lot are in bloom now.

About three weeks ago people at work started asking me where all the Hummingbirds were. People say they normally have some this time of year and they haven't seen any. I have noticed that I only seem to have 1 male visiting the flowers and feeders. I haven't seen a female since early April. Now I see on Virginia Listserv that others are seeing the same thing......people are starting to ask "WHATS GOING ON???"

So my friends....what are you seeing and what state are you in??? Are the numbers low compared to other years? Did they all bypass my house and come to yours???

Lexi Meadows

Virginia

Featured Answer

Jill Hunt

8 years ago

I finally figured out why there are no hummingbirds coming to my feeders this year. I discovered it yesterday by accident and now it makes perfect sense. There is a pair of blackbirds that have decided to make a nest in one of my trees that is located only about 35 yards from my feeders. Upon discovering the nest, I started to think about the fact that I haven't seen ANY other birds around my house due to the pair of vigilant blackbirds. They have literally chased off all the other birds! If you don't have any hummingbirds coming to your feeders, you may want to look around and see which birds may be nesting in your yard. I suppose after the babies have grown and flown, the hummingbirds may show up again.

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Comments (9)

Wild Haired Mavens
8 years ago
They stay here year round and I've had five sightings this year. First were males only

just saw the first female this year.
ctnchpr
8 years ago
Do you have Yellow Poplar trees in your area?

The same thing happens here each year - hummers start arriving in early Apr, the numbers increase steadily for a while until there's a fight at all (8-10) feeders, then, very few visits. It took me a few years to notice the connection: the drop in activity coincided with the Yellow Poplar flowers. The activity stays low for the 3-4 week bloom period, then they swarm again. HTH.
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My husband & I saw one yesterday at a feeder in the deep shad on 10/06/2014. I would not have noticed it if he had not seen it & told me to be still, don't move-hummer. I had asked him all day & we thought they were all gone. So guess we still had one left. He said he had be still seeing one come to the kitchen window feeder early around 6 am. but did not notice it yesterday. We had 2 (we think young ones) about a week ago chasing each other but they stopped chasing. The only thing about Texas is that I have to change our solution when we have 3-digit temps. in July, August, Sept. three times a day and I boil it. Still gets cloudy and is unsafe for hummers. Our backyard though with the concrete slab gets up to at least 130 degrees when the weather channel says it is 105 degrees. It may be even hotter. Leaving my feeders up until all my plants die back or it freezes. I have heard some die hard birders leave theirs up in the winter for some that get caught and do not migrate because they are sick or something. Those people say they take it in at night and put it out room early after it warms up over freezing but I have never done that before.
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I am sure I have posted this too many times, but I had great success with rhododendrons by scraping the bottom of branches near the ground, pegging them down and covering the scraped part with soil, leaving the end leaves showing. A year later, the new plant could be severed with a shovel from the parent. A mat of roots had grown where I had scraped the stem.
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mehitabel zone 6
8 years ago
Just as I hoped, I have more earlier this year than last. Not seeing them much in the daytime, but lots of activity the hour before dusk.
lexilu73
Original Author
8 years ago
I am now seeing around 10 at my feeders. The numbers started picking up about a week ago. Numbers should keep increasing and peek in August. Hope I have 30+ like the last few years.
treenie
8 years ago
I am in Kennesaw Ga and even with having lots of flowers in addition to the feeder, I haven't seen one yet. Other's in my area have already seen some, so I'm not sure what to make of it. Hopefully they will be stopping by soon!
lexilu73
Original Author
8 years ago
I am happy to report as of the first week of June the numbers have been steadily increasing and I am now filling 2 feeders per day!
mehitabel zone 6
8 years ago
Great going, lexi. I'm hoping for lots more as we head into July
cindip
8 years ago
I noticed last year that around Memorial Day I was seeing a few more hummers, but then at the end of June - I saw lots more. I am hoping it will be the same this year.

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