Ann, The males head out first because they're done first. They do not help with the young at all. Their sole job in the summer is to fertilize eggs and chase off all who aren't in that picture. Once the females are on the nest with eggs, the males begin fattening up for migration. The females are left to incubate the eggs and then raise them to fledge on their own. With all of the time and effort going into creating the eggs and protecting them until the young fledge, they don't have to time to build their own reserves up for migration. Often times, a female will raise more then one brood of eggs. The young from the first brood will be ready to migrate when the adult males begin migration and the final brood should be ready to migrate by the time the females migrate. The females are likely to be at a deficit in body fat by the time they've created eggs and then cared for the young, so it will take a while to build enough fat to begin migration. They will nearly double their weight before departing. Banding data shows that they will go from between 2.5 and 3 grams to almost 6 grams. This also accounts for why sometimes there is quite a difference in size of two birds of the same species. Hope this answers your question. The hummer activity in my yard has picked up over the past couple of weeks. The banded female Rufous arrived for her 6th year on August 15th. I'm seeing at least 3 adult males and one young male Ruby-throat who appear to be claiming territories for the winter. We're going to attempt to trap the Rufous on Saturday to verify the number on her band. Click on the link below to visit my webpage. Follow the links to view a blog on the activity in my yard, and various photos of my yard and past balcony, birds, and a hummingbird banding session. Steve in Valrico, FL Here is a link that might be useful: Blog of Hummingbird Activity in my Yard

Thanks. For the first time I did watch a hummingbird dive bombing in the shape of the letter U. I thought it was maybe protecting a nest but then I remembered that they do some type of diving to claim territory or displaying? Anyway I didn't see any nest or some time of predator. It must be difficult to get still photos unless you have a motion sensor. I don't think I know what a Penstemon is. I just recently planted those trumpet vines and they really like the red bee balm Monarda. I have red hot poker and really never see them interested in it.

I asked the ornithologist/bander, Scott Weidensaul, if I could quote from his email(s) here and he had no problem with it. spedigrees: You might be interested in his website http://www.scottweidensaul.com/hummingbirds/ which has a wealth of information on the recent movement of western hummingbirds, like the rufous, which are now beginning to appear in the East and Southeast. It sounds like you may see more of them in the next few years. In regards to ruby-throated hummingbirds that may be late to migrate, and the concerns people have as to whether to keep feeders up, he says: "I agree, looking at your photos, that the bird you have is a ruby-throat, and likely a hatch-year male based on the throat stippling. Within any population you get some birds that are programmed at the genetic level to migrate exceptionally early, and others whose instinct is to stay north as late as possible. This one could be in the latter group, or he could have something physically wrong with him that's preventing migration. Impossible to say, even sometimes examining the bird in the hand. One thing to understand is that your feeder is not somehow preventing this bird from migrating -- after all, if that were the case, we'd have evening grosbeaks and purple finches all summer at our seed feeders. I strongly urge you not to try any fancy nectar mixes -- just stick with the normal 4:1 water/white table sugar mix you use in the summer. As in summer, this bird will find plenty of insects, which comprise 60-70 percent of hummer's normal diet; there are a lot of cold-hardy midges and such even on cold days. Don't waste money on Nekton, and for the sake of the bird's health, don't try "supplementing" nectar with things like fish food and other garbage that people sometimes add to the mix. It will get a balanced diet naturally. If you're concerned about the feeder freezing up, you can easily rig a heat lamp with a 150-watt PAR/38 outdoor flood lamp in a utility hood, positioned eight or so inches to the side and above the feeder. We use that setup a lot with western hummers like rufous, Allen's and calliope that are increasingly common in the East in late fall and winter. In all likelihood he'll move on, but if he doesn't (or, more likely if he stays, can't) there's sadly not a lot you can do for him. Rubythroats lack the ability of many western species to go into deep torpor at night, but they can take temps down into the low 20s and and upper teens, and are hardier than people realize. But I'd trust his instincts to kick in eventually -- and with a full fat load from tanking up at your feeder, he'll be able to fly roughly 600 miles nonstop in about 24 hours (the same distance and time span rubythroats cover crossing the Gulf of Mexico), which can get him quickly to a warmer environment. Quite a few are now overwintering in the Carolinas, so he may even be one of those hardy birds." This is a lot to add onto a Spring Migration thread but I hope some of you will be interested. Claire

Great article - points out that arriving migrants (gulf areas) may have travelled 18 to 24 hours and need food (for all of us feeder keepers) and they're arriving now. Learner dot org Hummingbird migration