Where have all the hummers gone?

kendalia, i didn't know most of that but what surprised me the most is that they eat bugs. i thought it was all about nectar.

Yes, we rarely see them do it, (I never have) but they eat spiders, mosquitos and so forth. They need their protein, like other animals.

More on hummers is on the site: hummingbirds.net

Anything that eats mosquitos are my friends. Hummers and bats...I love them!

Mine are surely well fed. LOL

Well I guess I read that boiling was for sterilization; so I guess even if it is not necessary, two minutes of boiling is a good way to kill any unwanted germy things. But then again, why bother if it isn't necessary?


And another are the dragonflies... They are vigorous mosquito eaters. They are definitely a favorite of mine.

OH, I didn't know they ate mosquitoes. I have dragon flies too, all over my pond. Some are beautifully colored. Some are plain, but I like them all. Something I've just noticed here is the praying mantis. They must have just hatched. They are some green about an inch long.SO CUTE.

I love my dragonflies too! Mekos, have you ever seen those weird-looking kind of shrimpy-looking little things in your pond? I drag them up every now & then when I'm cleaning out algae. I never knew what they were, but thanks to Randy (rjuddharrison), I learned this winter that they are dragonfly nymphs. Unlike their parents, they are winter-hardy and live on the detritus in the pond. So be sure and don't clean the pond down to the bone. Leave them, and enough for them to eat.

Also, be careful with the mantises. In general, they are beneficial, so I've always encouraged them. But on another thread on DG, I learned that they don't just eat harmful pests. They will attack and eat anything their size or smaller. Some people have reported them climbing up on hummer feeders and actually preying on the hummers. Now, you know, I'm organic, and I try not to interfere in the natural food sources that my critters find. But, well, I pretty much live for the hummers, and nobody in my yard had better mess with them. :)

patti girl i'm comin' with a net because i want some in my yard. i got salvia too. and i am much bigger than you. seriously, do they nest in your yard?

No, I don't have any nests that I know of. I don't even have very many hummers. Last year they tried to visit in multiples, but the one regular male I had chased off all the others. I tried multiple feeders, and he wasn't allowing that either. Feisty little things. But yeah, while he was here, he visited daily, and let the occasional female come in too.

We had an early flush of at least twenty hummers in early late April/early May. Now we are down to a steady seven or so. We have well over twenty hummers two years ago. They used to live in a very large, old wild pecan tree in the pasture near our back yard. Well, the tree blew down during one of the storms last year (not really sure when Ike was). I think some of our early arrivals left to find another tree. The rest have set up in one of the other pecan trees in the front. I'm hoping the colony will build up again as time goes by.

According to the hummer watchers on the Humnet maillinglist, hummingbirds are rare sightings this time of year because they are mating and taking care of nests. The babies don't usually fledge until late June so you'll probably start seeing more of them then until it's time for their annual flight south.

I saw one that seemed to take off from cedar trees on the back of my property a while ago. Wonder if they might have a nest there. Hearing about the hummers nesting in the cedars made me think of that.

This message was edited Jun 9, 2009 8:17 PM

The nests I've seen are very tiny, about the size of maybe a silver dollar and such a tiny opening to go in and out, it's awsome! I wish, I had taken pictures when I could have. Back then, thought I'd see them more, no hurry. My friend died and they sold the place and trees were cut last time I went by there. The new people, They probably didn't know about the hummers living there.

Hummers have been here for a month or more. Several times when I am hand watering, one will fly back and forth about 2 feet in front of me and then right in front of my face about a foot away. It wants me to make a fine water spray so it can take a bath. It flies happily back and forth. I have never seen one bathing in any of our birdbaths.

Colibri, that's how I remember it. Last year I saw a few in the early spring. Then about the end of June they started showing up again. All last July, and from then on, if I spent the afternoon in my garden, I would see them several times. They keep showing up periodically until they have their last evening silflay (LOL).

a silflay? what's a silflay? ain't you from texas patti? ha

souffle?

Soirée?

Something was telling me that was a real word. Well, I found it!
http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=silflay

Ah! I don't speak lapine.

Wow learn something everyday. Been a few years since I saw that movie.

ROFL! Silflay is from Watership Down. It's when the rabbits go out to have "evening silflay"--their last nibble before bedtime. You know, dinner. :)

My dh and I both loved that book, and so whenever we see critters out nibbling at dusk, that's what we say. We've been doing it so long that now it's just a normal word to us. I forget that not everyone has our idiosyncrasies. Linda, thanks for posting the link--I can't believe it's in the dictionary! LOL!

Well, I saw a hummer last night across the creek. Maybe they've been here all along, and just prefer to dine out back. Very right of the picture, when I tried to go across the bridge he flew away.

I should have said very right on the salvia.

it's in the "urban" dictionary. urban. not exactly the oxford english dictionary. or webster's. or jeff foxworthy's. or mine. lol.

We have had far fewer hummers this year; I suspect too that Ike may be the explanation. Mosquitos are so thriving, though, that we actually had the yard sprayed. I don't like spraying poison on my yard, less on myself.

Alas, the skeeters don't know where the property line is anyway. A friend told me about a repellent product from Off! that uses a tea candle and some kind of little strip insert that she swears by, I'm looking for it. Citronella candles and bushes have never shown me squat.

~Kate

Nothing works so far with me and skeeters...DEET helps some, but I don't like it. I'm a skeeter magnet. I had one of those pricey Bug Bands (I think that was the name?) on once and saw one skeeter bit me within an inch of the darn thing! I bet they just fly around laughing at my foolish attempts to repel them. But when I successfully swat them, they definitely aren't laughing! I thing the hummer babies have left the nest. The last hummer I saw was awfully small and frequently lit on small branches and twigs...as if he wasn't so advanced with his flying lessons.

I was reading about mosquitoes yesterday, because we were thinking about putting up a martin house. According to a couple of websites, martins don't really eat mosquitoes, and eat the dragonflies that DO eat mosquitoes. Maybe I should see what to do to attract dragonflies.

Bats eat them. Maybe attracting bats would be good.

Hi from Brownsville, Texas Zone 9b.

Normally have many hummingbirds around my shrubs. Have seen only one in the past month. I do not have feeders other than plants. Hope to see more soon. Also, I notice that they do attack others when large numbers try to feed on the same bush.

Still no hummers.

Irwells, I have TONS of dragonflies b/c I have a tiny pond that I put in myself. Not only do they fly around the pond and nearby patio looking for flying bugs to eat, but they also lay eggs in the pond. The dragonfly nymphs feed on mosquito larvae in the pond. I still have mosquitoes but I'm sure I'd have a lot more without the dragonflies. One of my friends who got rid of her pond is putting in another one b/c she says that the mosquitoes have been unbearable since they got rid of the pond. I think it must be b/c ponds attract dragonflies. Plus, I just love dragonflies. Here's a fun pic that I took yesterday.

Hold on to her hat!

I also have tons of dragonflies around my little pond. Not only are the dragonflies good, but so are the toads who leave tadpoles in the pond too. You can also attract dragonflies by putting up stakes for them to land on.

I still have skeeters, though. :(

Elphaba - you may be on to something. Nevertheless, I like the way you approach a challenge!

Fun update - the hummers are becoming more active around my place near Austin. I was lazily watering plants today and didn't want to drag the hose over to a potted plant well in the distance, so I set the spray on "jet" and launched it in a long, high arc toward the plant.

A hummingbird quickly swooped in, examined the water spray, and then rapidly dipped down into the mist repeatedly before zooming off. It was quickly followed by hummingbird #2, 3 and 4 in quick succession - each one waiting their turn.

I'll be lazy in my watering chores more often from now on.

Here's my sure fire hummer magnet. It's what we call here in Louisiana a Cry Baby Tree ( Erythrina Crista Galli). With Texas being next door, you shouldn't have any problems growing it. It's a native tree here and blooms in spring with a big flush and then sporatically through the summer and another flush in the fall. When this tree is blooming, you are sure to pull in any hummer that may be around, even if they are nesting. I've observed many a mating dance around this tree. This picture was taken a couple of years ago so the tree is much bigger now and trying to recover from being beat up by Hurricane Gustave. Most garden centers don't carry it unless they deal in native plants. I grew this one from seed many years ago. Right now, my tree is full of seed pods in case any one is interested.

Colibri Gardener

I wondered when I couldn't find this one in my north american tree book. Wikipedia says it is native to South America.

Linda, this tree is called a native in Louisiana. I don't know when or how it established itself here. You can see them in older neighborhoods in towns all over south Louisiana, especially in New Orleans. I thought my tree was large until I saw one in New Orleans at least twice the size of mine. I wish I'd taken a picture of it. It was in full bloom and gorgeous.

Colibri

Well, it could be naturalized...maybe from before Louisiana became a state. We run into problems in Texas knowing what is native to the state and what is not. Some plants were brought from Mexico...Texas used to be part of Mexico for a while, so whether then or since, plants crossed the Rio Grande. There are questions about some plants and they may be truly native to both, or just native to Mexico, but brought over and naturalized here. Since northern Mexico is just across our border, some Texas native plant people look at the northern Mexican plants as being pretty much native if naturalized here or even if not naturalized. After all, what plants are closer to Texas? Plants native to Maine, Oregon, Florida or California are native to the U.S. But may be more foreign to Texas soil than some Mexican native plants which aren't usually considered native to Texas.

Linda, I hear ya...native or naturalized, the Cry Baby Tree is still my favorite of all hummer plants. I usually can spot one a mile away if it's blooming.

Colibri

I've never even heard of a Cry Baby Tree. I'm going to try some native plant nurseries to see if I can find a good sized one. A big cypress came down in Ike and now a shady spot is getting 6 hours of afternoon sun. There are two camelias there that were just getting beautiful and now they're scorched. I hate to move them. If I could just find a tree to shade them. A Cry Baby tree might be just the thing!

I wish you luck in finding them. You'll have to go to a nursery that specializes in natives. I grew mine from seed I got from a hummingbird enthusiast here. My tree has some seedlings coming up. It is also loaded with seed pods. Perhaps we can trade if you can't find one.

Colibri