My Hummingbird Season

[MissS]

And so my hummingbird adventure for 2020 began on May 6th with the arrival of two males.

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[Growing Coastal]

Congratulations on their safe arrival in your garden.

[roper2008]

Nice, I can’t remember what time they get here. My little Cardinal Climber plant died, so have to start another one for them. It’s been a chilly May so far.

[MissS]

Nice, I can’t remember what time they get here. My little Cardinal Climber plant died, so have to start another one for them. It’s been a chilly May so far.

It sure has been a chilly May. The birds arrived on a beautiful day and now it's been in the 20's and 30's during the nights. One morning the feeders were frozen and in need of a thaw. Poor birds.

[MissS]

The male ruby-throated hummingbirds are beginning their fall migration. The males are moving and feeding hard. Today I must have 6-8 males. I usually just have my two resident male birds. The babies have just fledged the nest last week which is very late. Normally the young are out the 2nd week of July. The late date tells me that the first nests were lost in a big storm that we had this past spring or it was our very cold wet weather. Due to the late date of the fledging, I am wondering if fall migration will also be late. The females need to molt and grow their new set of feathers before they can begin to make the trip. The babies need to strengthen their bodies and learn the ropes on how to fend for themselves before they go.

I have had good numbers this year. 2 resident males, 3 resident females and 6 juveniles flying about. It's getting to be a lot of fun to be out in the garden these days.

[MissS]

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[Growing Coastal]

Crocosmia? They love it here too.

[MissS]

Crocosmia? They love it here too.

Yes you are right Cocosmia 'Lucifer'. The only problems that I have with it is that the rabbits and moles also like it and I wish that it bloomed longer for me.

[GoDawgs]

Usually the first batch of hummers start arriving around March 20 like clockwork but they were a week late this year. But then the usual horde didn't appear. Were they not coming? After the first few moved north it seemed like forever until sometime in early July (not early June) that the summer horde finally moved in. Strange.

The only flowers they seem to investigate in the garden are the red zinnias. However, this year I'm growing Tithonia (Torch Flower, Mexican Sunflower )for the first time and have spied hummers visiting those flowers. Because of that I'll grow them again next year.

[Growing Coastal]

Crocosmia don't bloom for very long here, either.
Hummingbirds here do not go for zinnias at all though that is why I started growing them as I had read that eleswhere zinnias are used by them.
I saw one youngster try a tithonia that I am growing for the 1st time. Tithonia is not used by them here, either but the bumble bees seem to like it a little more than they do the giant zinnias.
The tithonia seems to do well in dry soil. I put one in late in a very dry spot and I do water it and it is growing and blooming where nothing else does.
Salvias and cuphea are still their #1.

[MissS]

GoDawgs I am glad that you have seen the birds use your Tithonia. I have not seen the birds use it here but my plants were far out where I could not observe them very often. They did get good butterfly use. The hummers here will use the tall Zinnias but I think that it is mostly the juveniles that use them. The shorter Zinnias are used exclusively by the bees and butterflies.
I agree that salvia and cuphea are the top choices in my yard with the exception of when the jewelweed blooms, then they use nothing else at all. It's too bad that it is such an ugly weedy plant and invasive as all get out because the birds do really love it.

[GoDawgs]

I've been growing the zinnias mainly for the bumbles and butterflies and decided to add the tithonia, cone flowers and Rudbeckia for the butterflies too. So it was nice to see the occasional hummer investigate the tithonia. They don't spend a lot of time on it but still fun to see them.

Seeing the recs for Crocosmia and salvia make me think I want to add them next year. I used to grow 'Lucifer' a long time ago. Any suggestions on the best salvia to use?

[MissS]

I've been growing the zinnias mainly for the bumbles and butterflies and decided to add the tithonia, cone flowers and Rudbeckia for the butterflies too. So it was nice to see the occasional hummer investigate the tithonia. They don't spend a lot of time on it but still fun to see them.

Seeing the recs for Crocosmia and salvia make me think I want to add them next year. I used to grow 'Lucifer' a long time ago. Any suggestions on the best salvia to use?

Salvia 'Black and Blue' hands down is the best in my yard. Salvia 'Amante' has been a big attraction too this year.

[karstopography]

The orange red Trumpet vines are in full bloom and are the main attraction in my yard at the moment. I can hear and see the hummingbirds fussing over the best vines. But, I do think the hummers are visiting the Thai Red Noodle bean purple blossoms, too. Those blooms put off the most amazing and delicious fragrance. One female ruby throat is very curious about me and she buzzes around my ears when I’m out messing with the plants.

[MissS]

They do love the Trumpet vines! They are a big draw. I just don't have the room for one anymore, I wish that I did though. I bet that your curious friend is a newbie out of the nest this year. The youngsters are always so very curious. They often will come and check me out as well. When they get that close you can tell if it is a male or female. The males have only one or two red feathers on their neck with some stippling as well. The above two photos show a first year male and you can tell by his beard. He won't get his red gorget until his spring molt which will happen just before his flight back north next spring.

[karstopography]

[mention]MissS[/mention] That’s very interesting. He/She did seem very curious. I’ll try to look a little closer and see which gender is checking me out.

[SpookyShoe]

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They arrived in greater numbers this morning...on the fall migration.

[MissS]

[mention]SpookyShoe[/mention] Great!!! The East Coast birds are on full migration. The Central region usually comes Sept. 10-20. I have not seen a male in 2 days now. The number of birds in my yard are picking up. You should be set for the next several weeks.

[GoDawgs]

This past week has seen a big decrease in the number of hummers at the feeders here. It was like someone hit a switch... Monday they were thick as thieves and emptying the feeders and literally the next day the refilled feeders were hardly touched. They're leaving about a week or two early this year. We always leave the feeders up for those passing through.

[MissS]

I have been wondering what will be happening with fall migration here. The males left later than usual. The babies appear to be from a second nesting. I think that the first nests failed here due to the very cold weather and the high wind storms that we had. The babies usually appear around July 7. This year they appeared in the first week of August. Having late season babies makes me wonder if they will migrate later than usual. The numbers of birds here are starting to pick up but not the 90 - 130 birds a day that I will have during peak migration. I am only having about 10 - 12 birds a day right now.
You know they say that these birds do not flock but I am not so very sure about that. They seem to come and go together in the fall. Here one day and all leaving at the exact same moment. I had a photographer taking pics during one fall migration. He accidentally startled the birds and BAM they all flew off together and did not return.