Hummingbirds

We rarely see them around our house except usually one or two during spring or summer migrations. Well for the past week or so I have been spotting them on a daily basis, multiple times.

Just wondering if anyone knows or has hear d on the news or something about maybe something that has been different this year that might be causing a population explosion or a mass migration.

I was thinking maybe it was the cold snap, although I saw them before that, or the forest fires up north causing them to migrate in high numbers instead of tricking through on their migration.

Migration time, most of them fly down to Central America, Mexico

It might be thier migrating Pug and also because of the forest fires, its about that time when they start migrating, it will be pretty soon. I see them here all summer because eigther I or a few neighbors have feeders out. Around here its about this time they start migrating and most will be gone by the end of September. I’m not sure but I think they leave ahead of the frost in that area. My neighbor seen a set of parents with two young ones sitting on his fence rail that had been nesting in a close arborveata tall shrub 10′ away, I think he said he may have a picture of them, I’ll try to get it if he does have it and post here.

They are migrating south. you must have something around your house they like. Flowers or feeders. They are eating machines as they head south.

Sorry, thought I made myself clear. I know they are migrating, but I am wondering why I am seeing so many at my house, because I usually only see one or two per migration.

My house has all the same flowers we normally have, like the ones they are feeding on we have had the last 4 years.

Maybe the fires in the diffrent parts of the state are herding them certain directions cutting off thier normal travel routes. Maybe they had a really good hatch this year and Hopefully a population explosion. Did I hear earlier that there was alot of misquitos and blackflies this year because of the high water, producing more food.

Yeah maybe. That’s why I was asking, to see if anyone has heard anything. I am sure it is nothing, but I was just curious. I put out 2 cheap feeders to help them in their journey, as I am sure the flowers aren’t producing much nectar anymore.

Here’s a fact people might not know. Hummingbirds are the only bird that can fly backward.

Thier visiting some of the flowers I have in my yard daily and the few morning glorys I have on my arbor but I know they are going to leave soon.

I wish I could have them all summer, but I guess we don’t have the right habitat.

Ya Pug, I know if your close to water, say a few blocks away they are more likely to stay there, then where theres less water. I get a few here where I’m at and theres not alot of water like a river but there is a small creek 100 yrds away. My uncle had a cabin on the Cedar River here and he had hummingbirds continously all day long around his feeders drinking as much as a half gallon of food a day. There would be as many as 6 to 8 around the feeder at one time. I get a few but not like my uncle did, they were all over by his place. Next year try putting out a couple feeders when they migrate north and they will be more apt to stay. The more feeders we have in the neighborhood here the more hummingbirds we have that will stay all summer. We have way fewer if no ones got any feeders out.

Pug,you need to pull your feeders now or they will linger around and they might not make it.Thats what my book says.
They are mobbing our Joe Pye weed right now,many more than normal.

Early cold up north this year and then the fires have really got the little guys in high gear. We are still warm enough and there are plenty of natural nectar sources here yet so I’d imagine that these things have all contributed to the additional sightings. We had a bumper crop of hummers at the cabin this summer. There’d be six or seven trying to get on the feeder at a time. Normally we’d have to fill the feeder every four days. This year it was about every two days.

We were up there a few weeks ago and I fished Lake Superior. One day while running riggers out about four miles we saw hundreds of Monarck Butterflies over the course of the day. No idea at all why they were out over the lake but there they were. We had a bird land on the gunnel that day too…a warbler. I think that this summer was a banner year for lots of critters up there.

The comment about pulling in the hummer feeders is dead on. We shouldn’t encourage them to stay on the south-bound trip.

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The comment about pulling in the hummer feeders is dead on. We shouldn’t encourage them to stay on the south-bound trip.

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I once heard wisdom came with age if thats the case Stuart must be a wise for sure! They are the coolest lil fellas we had one in the goose blind all morning the other day he would hover right in our face and look straight in your eye must have done it a dozen times. VERY cool!

Pug, they’re migrating.

Another of the untrue facts about hummingbirds: keeping your feeders out too long in the fall will upset the hummingbirds’ normal migration pattern.

Hummingbird migration is causes by hormonal changes that take place within the hummingbird’s body. These hormonal changes are triggered by the changing length of daylight. Since it is the shorter hours of daylight in the fall that causes the hummingbirds to migrate, you don’t have to worry that keeping your feeders out too long in the fall will cause the birds to hang around and not migrate.

Q – When should I take down my feeder so the hummingbirds do not stay too long into the fall or winter?

A – Hummer migration is triggered by the shorter fall days, not the amount of food. Keep your feeders up until the birds have completed migration through your area, often into mid-October or later. Keeping your feeders up will not cause otherwise healthy birds to delay their migration.

My 1965 Goulds bird book needs to be updated I think.
Feed on Pug.

Just don’t let your glass feeders freeze.

Been seeing a lot in Oakdale and Hasting too.

The Ruby-throated left here a couple of weeks ago. Still have lots of Rufous around. Counted 5-6 tonight on the feeders with lots of others coming and going. Have to be careful walking through the back yard. I have 5 feeders up and will leave them up 1 week after I have seen the last one.

I’ve got them fighting over my feeders like crazy right now. It is an old wives tale to pull your feeders. They actually need them now more than ever to make the long trip they put on as much feed as they can. Stuart you need a new book

I haven’t seen one since buying 2 little feeders until this morning. He was more interested in the wind chime.

I am sure they are visiting the feeder, but they don’t have to hang around as much when feeding. They can fill up real quick at the feeder, instead of having to hover around to every flower until they get enough, since the flowers that I have don’t have a ton of nectar.

Give them full strenght Java! That will get them a Hummin!