Anyone else have an unusually large number of hummingbirds this year?

[ultrarunner]

The Red nectar is back in stock after not obtainable last year.

The local ACE said they sold a lot of it until the clear nectar was the only option…

Lots of my elderly neighbors have feeders and they stopped buying because they can’t see well enough to know how full the feeder is with clear.

 

[QRTRHRS]

Saw my first bird this am here in south central KY. Right around the usual date.

 

[ArlyA]

Gee, we are suppose to hit 60 today so maybe we should. Just looked at the migration map and it appears they are still way down south. Is this the map you guys are using?

2024 Hummingbird Over-Winter Map

www.hummingbirdcentral.com

 

[kenmbz]

looks like they will be here soon.
I make my own nektar 4:1 boiled sugar water.

No red, benzene is not good for anyone.
Maybe a bobber in the feeders for those with bad sight?

 

[ultrarunner]

looks like they will be here soon.
I make my own nektar 4:1 boiled sugar water.

No red, benzene is not good for anyone.
Maybe a bobber in the feeders for those with bad sight?

Its back to save sales... will need to check the ingredients.

 

[sixdogs]

The Red nectar is back in stock after not obtainable last year.

The local ACE said they sold a lot of it until the clear nectar was the only option…

Lots of my elderly neighbors have feeders and they stopped buying because they can’t see well enough to know how full the feeder is with clear.

In the fall, HB nectar and granules are on sale almost everywhere. The farm stores dump the price to 50 cents so we stock up.

We like buy the red granules. It may just be sugar--or it may not be--and the birds around here seem to prefer it.

 

[ultrarunner]

I looked and online in California and couldn't find any for her last year...

 

[sixdogs]

They are year round, here too, and we get some snow and lots hard freezes. It makes me realize how much of their diet isn't nectar. I see them often picking things off of spiderwebs, often little insects like ants, gnats, and mosquitos. Anna's are our most common visitor.

Anna's Hummingbird Life History, All About Birds, Cornell Lab of Ornithology

Anna’s Hummingbirds are among the most common hummingbirds along the Pacific Coast, yet they're anything but common in appearance. With their iridescent emerald feathers and sparkling rose-pink throats, they are more like flying jewelry than birds. Though no larger than a ping-pong ball and no...

www.allaboutbirds.org

Do Hummingbirds Eat Bugs? [13 Bugs On Their Menu!] - Birdwatching Buzz

Avid birdwatchers will probably be familiar with the importance of feeding hummingbird plenty of their favorite food – that is, nectar! Yet, if you’ve managed to attract these most exquisite of feathered friends to your feeders, you may also be keen on offering something other than just nectar...

birdwatchingbuzz.com

They often do their mating dances between the house and the barn. I always enjoy the show.

All the best,

Peter

Something that just hit me is the relationship of HB bug diets and visual sightings of HB's at our feeders. For the last couple years I've put down an organic product that "kills" grubs (Japanese beetles) and also may kill some similar ground burrowing bugs.

It doesn't hurt bees or worms but I wonder if I might be sending HB's elsewhere? We did have fewer HB's last year but so did others and I just figured it was a common problem. I don't want to mess with the HB's at our feeders. Does anyone know anything about this?

 

[ponytug]

Something that just hit me is the relationship of HB bug diets and visual sightings of HB's at our feeders. For the last couple years I've put down an organic product that "kills" grubs (Japanese beetles) and also may kill some similar ground burrowing bugs.

It doesn't hurt bees or worms but I wonder if I might be sending HB's elsewhere? We did have fewer HB's last year but so did others and I just figured it was a common problem. I don't want to mess with the HB's at our feeders. Does anyone know anything about this?

Can you share what the organic product is?

I have only seen the hummingbirds pick bugs off of window screens, spider webs, and plant flowers or leaves. I've never seen a hummingbird foraging at ground level. So your spreading something on the ground doesn't sound like it is likely the cause of fewer hummingbirds, but there are certainly organic items that are pretty toxic, so maybe. Bordeaux mixture comes to mind...

All the best,

Peter

 

[sixdogs]

Milky spore. I still see HB's eating bugs in the garden it's just that ore numbers were lower than normal last year. I know the birds are cyclical in population so that's what I assume it is but I am reducing the amount of available bugs to eat.

I saw a HB either flying barely off the ground or sitting on it or a small branch a couple years ago grabbing a bug. People tell me that can't do that but they sit on my wife metal garden trellis all the time.

 

[ponytug]

Milky spore. I still see HB's eating bugs in the garden it's just that ore numbers were lower than normal last year. I know the birds are cyclical in population so that's what I assume it is but I am reducing the amount of available bugs to eat.

I saw a HB either flying barely off the ground or sitting on it or a small branch a couple years ago grabbing a bug. People tell me that can't do that but they sit on my wife metal garden trellis all the time.

I would not be concerned about milky spore. That is a bacterium that is a specific threat to just Japanese beetle larvae.

My bet would be that you are right, and it is just the cyclical nature of things. Either that, or some neighbor went all out with garden plantings for hummingbirds.

All the best,

Peter

 

[ultrarunner]

looks like they will be here soon.
I make my own nektar 4:1 boiled sugar water.

No red, benzene is not good for anyone.
Maybe a bobber in the feeders for those with bad sight?

Label says color from fruit and vegetable extract

 

[kenmbz]

Label says color from fruit and vegetable extract

And the same preservatives my grandmother used to use.

 

[goeduck]

Clipping along at around a quart every other day. Should double that soon.

 

[Larry Caldwell]

My rufous are holding mating flights. I have been flashed by a hummer, right in front of my nose. The annas that wintered over are making themselves scarce. The rufous just showed up last week, drained two feeders, and are checking out the nests. I have flickers and woodpeckers working, so there will be plenty of hummer condos.

 

[sixdogs]

A few scouts are out in south and parts of central Ohio. It's earlier than last year by a week to two. We are putting one feeder out today.

 

[BoylermanCT]

Got our first hummingbirds in CT yesterday. 2 weeks earlier than last year.

 

[sixdogs]

In Ohio we have yet to see one at the feeders but have seen them around spruce trees and possible going into the branches. There are little bugs in there so maybe eating those?One bird was flying fast and determined for those trees so maybe nest building or babies?

We don't know much about how they nest.

 

[ultrarunner]

Always had a very good turnout and nothing at the feeder so far.

 

[kenmbz]

We have had at least one on the feeder for the last two weeks.
Their nests are kind of like little round balls of sticks and moss here.
I have found a few over the winter.

We usually only see a handful each year.