This is topic Hummers !!!! in forum Member forum at The New Huntmastersbbs!.
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Posted by Kokopelli (Member # 633) on August 30, 2024, 08:01 AM:
Got swarms of Humming Birds on the patio. Five feeders and they don't stay full for long.
Just a really neat bird to watch. ![[Cool]](cool.gif)
Posted by TA17Rem (Member # 794) on August 30, 2024, 11:35 AM:
yep. i got two feeders out
Posted by Kokopelli (Member # 633) on August 30, 2024, 12:01 PM:
I've got five out. There must be some kind of migration or something going on. Too many birds at one time to count without getting dizzy.
Posted by Az-Hunter (Member # 17) on August 30, 2024, 12:07 PM:
Sane here down south of you Koko. Last week or so they have really been gaining in numbers.
Typical this time of year here. They swarm and feed up heavy thru Sept, then get ready to split.
Posted by Kokopelli (Member # 633) on August 30, 2024, 12:18 PM:
So .......... are they getting ready to head North or South ???
Posted by Leonard (Member # 2) on August 30, 2024, 07:11 PM:
I don't have seasonal hummers. To be clear, what I have is a home guard that definitely gets more crowded seasonally.
I don't think there is any question that Arizona gets more hummers, both in shear numbers and in the number of species. Down south of me like in particular, Lake Henshaw has incredible numbers of hummingbirds, mainly due to all the Cottonwoods surrounding the lake.
I'm not saying it rivals AZ, I don't know that? But right here, we don't have as many as we once did because of one thing; the groves are gone. They have built houses where there was once mile after mile of Lemon groves.
It's kinda strange, some parts of southern California had extensive avocado groves. We have a place called Cherry Valley and it's still going strong, the buildout hasn't got that far, yet. But, some parts had walnut groves, there is a town called Walnut not far from me. Of course, there is Orange County, and guess what they used to have? Anyway, there used to be groves, not so much crops agriculture.
And, I suspect the hummers are down because the groves are gone, for the most part. But, we have hummingbirds all summer and a percentage stays through the winter, mainly because people put out feeders all winter. So, I have a few loyal resident birds all winter.
We have basically two species: the Allen's Hummingbird and the Black chinned, and in the summer we also have Orioles, I think they are the Western Oriole although with the females it's really hard to tell the difference. Same thing with hummers. The females are basically all green. If you get close enough you can see a row of white spots in the tail feathers. Also, one has a tiny white dot behind the eye on both sides. Don't ask me which one, I'd have to get the field guide out to pin it down. But, judging by the males, we only have two species, the Black Chinned and the Allen's hummingbird, which are more aggressive!
By the way, the Black Chinned is the western version of the Ruby Throated hummingbird, which is the only hummer in the eastern United States.
Hummingbirds migrate from Mexico and South America to as far up the Pacific coast to British Columbia. As far as I know the Ruby Throated Hummingbird flies to Mexico by crossing the Gulf....nonstop! I have a hard time wrapping my head around that little nugget! So, that's all I got!
Good hunting. El Bee
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