Posts filed under 'Hummingbird News'
I decided to address some common questions heard this time of year. When should I bring in my feeder? If I leave it out too long, will the hummingbirds be confused and miss the window of opportunity to migrate safely? I asked our good friend Susan Campbell, Hummingbird Researcher and Bander to offer her insight. In a recent email, she stated the following:
“This question is one that comes up all the time in reference to hummingbirds and feeding. The fact is that you need not take feeders down in order for hummingbirds (or any other migratory birds for that matter) to migrate. They will leave when their bodies tell them it is time to go–based on day length. At this time of year, their hormones are reacting to the shortening days such that they are eating more, will get restless and eventually leave. When they go it will not be because of food availability or weather but as a result of their body chemistry.
… here in south central NC, the last of the migrating Ruby-throated Hummingbirds will pass early to mid-October. It is best to leave a feeder up for at least a week after you see the last hummingbird–just so that it is available for any stragglers that may show up.”
I hope our readers find this helpful.
Happy feeding.
Anne
September 8th, 2006
Sorry I haven’t written in a few weeks! Cardinal sin among blogs.
We’ve recently received a question from a Dr. JB customer who says that due to going on vacation, the feeder went dry. When she returned and cleaned/refilled the feeder, the hummers did not return. Additionally, there were a couple carpenter ants that had found their way into the base and died there. She questions whether or not their presence disturbed the birds, contaminated the feeder, etc.
I would tend to think that the cleaning takes care of any contamination issues, and that the hummers are using another source. But would they stay away from the feeder for a week or two before visiting regularly again? A couple of us at Dr. JB’s have experienced that in the past. I try not to take it personally or assume that the hummers don’t like me any more.
So, unfortunately the best remedy I have for re-establishing regular feeding is patience, a clean feeder, and fresh nectar. That is, until we invent a hummingbird call. Hmmm.
Anybody else have the same experience. Other ideas, advice?
Happy feeding,
Chris
July 22nd, 2006
Greetings feeders,
Our hummers are well into feeding again, and I’d like to improve upon a pursuit I began last summer – getting some good shots of them with my digital Sony Cyber Shot (DSC-V1). I had a few good shots last summer and tried various settings to get either blurred shots of the wing action, or still shots. My feeders are under shade, and even my good shots were dark in the middle of the day.
Any words of wisdom from seasoned hummer photographers, and persistent or lucky amateurs? What settings do you use to get your best shots?
– Chris Whelan
May 24th, 2006
Greetings, Feeders!
According to the faction of the JB family in Charlotte, NC, the hummers have landed … first noticed on tax day, April 15. Here in Louisville, KY, we’re usually on the same schedule, but no sight of them yet. Soon.
Speaking of migration and the JB family, Dad recently passed along news of a group that was using radar technology to track and study bird migrations. It’s Clemson University’s Radar Ornithology Laboratory — way out there on the edge of migration study. Check out their website:
http://virtual.clemson.edu/groups/birdrad/index.htm
From the home page (above address), click on “introduction,” and you can see samples of radar images for various groups of migrating birds. From the introduction page, you also get a nice tutorial to walk you through the NEXRAD Weather Surveillance Radar technology and how it’s being used to enhance the precision of studying bird activity.
Not having the use of NEXRAD at the homestead here in Louisville, I’ll have to be patient and rely on the eyeballs (and ears) to tell me when the hummers have returned.
Happy feeding everybody,
Chris
April 16th, 2006
Feeders,
We had a warm spring day in Kentucky today, and the rain came as well. It’s definitely time to get the weeds out of the flower beds, get the mulch down, and do any planting that we plan on getting done. Should be a good weekend for it.
According to various migration maps, the hummingbirds are crossing the southern border of Kentucky right about now. So I’m revisiting some of my former research on plants that attract hummingbirds, and I have a short list of some hummer favorites here.
Trees and Shrubs: Red Buckeye; Turk’s Cap; Butterfly Bush.
Vines: Coral Honeysuckle; Trumpet Vine; Firecracker Vine; Cardinal Climber.
Perennial Flowers: Cardinal Flower; all Salvia species (perennial sages); Little Cigar.
Annual Flowers: Scarlet Sage; Mexican Sunflower; Shrimp Plant; Fire Spike; Impatients; Fuchsia; Jacobiana; Petunia; Four-O-Clocks.
That’s certainly not a complete list, but these appear to be pretty dependable as hummingbirds’ favorite sources of natural nectar. So, in addition to hanging a feeder or two, trying some of these plants will likely earn some entertaining visits as well as gratitude from the hummingbirds this summer.
Happy Feeding!
Chris
P.S. Have some favorite hummingbird plants? Let us know. And if you do, please state where you live, and feel free to pass along any helpful planting instructions. Thanks!
March 31st, 2006
Whether it’s a distinction of shades or brightness instead of color, the question still stands regarding whether or not bees are more drawn to yellow than … other colors. This appears to be a current topic of interest in many hummer chat rooms, and of course the reason for the question is that most folks (who feed hummingbirds) would prefer that the bees (as well as ants) not frequent their feeders.
Does anybody have actual testing experience to share? On the sales side, I can tell you that we are selling just as many feeders with red petals as we are with yellow. After red, the next favorite color appears to be teal. But this brings me to the more specific question; If bees can’t see color, but yellow attracts them, then what other color have similar qualities of attracting bees?
As for me, I plan to hang various feeders with various petal colors (purple, teal, red and yellow), and I’ll let you know of the results.
Happy feeding,
Chris Whelan
March 27th, 2006
Hello feeders,
Here’s a quick hello to suggest that you take a look at the Hummingbirds.net website. I particularly encourage you to stop by the migration-tracking page and use the form to post your first siting this year. As you can see, they had over 3,700 sitings posted last year, and you can look at previous years to get a sense of consistencies and changes. What a wonderful resource for the appreciation and study of hummingbirds. Here’s a link to the migration-tracking page:http://www.hummingbirds.net/map.html
Please participate.
Happy Feeding!
Chris Whelan
March 11th, 2006
When do the hummingbirds return? Anybody have a favorite theory? Actual knowledge? A good guess?
When I first started feeding hummingbirds, I was in Bloomington, IN. Now I’m in Louisville, KY. I have noticed that the times of first sightings and departures are about the same between the two locations, and about the same as those reported by my family members in Charlotte, N.C. Here’s my best shot at consistency …
I use Easter as a rule of thumb for keeping an eye out for hummers. And generally, I look at the time frame of two weeks past Easter as the time most likely for my first sightings here in the Midwest. After a couple years of observation, it made sense to me, with Easter being on a solar schedule rather than the Julian calendar. Maybe closer to something the hummingbirds use? That would put this year’s arrival around April 30th. What do you think?
Anybody have a more sophisticated or reliable method of anticipating the return of the hummers?
Chris Whelan
February 6th, 2006
On behalf of the Dr. JB’s Hummingbird Products family, I’ll say welcome to our new blog, our first blog entry, and hopefully a brave new discussion of hummers.
First, an introduction. I’m Chris — one son of Jay Whelan (Dr. Jay Whelan, M.D., also known as Jay Bird, and therefore also known as Dr. JB.). My sister, Anne Hawkins, also joins us in this family business, as does my brother, Joe Whelan, M.D. , and Dad’s cousin, Terry Thomas.
Like you, we’re busying ourselves during the winter whilst we wait for the hummers’ return. For us, this means all the stuff of being a new business. We’re getting our hummingbird feeder products ready and splashing on into the pool of e-commerce. Anne and Terry were at the big bird show in Atlanta earlier this month, which they said was a great success … good feedback on our products, a lot of people to meet, lots of talk of the birds, etc.
We family members will take our turns at these entries, ideally on a weekly basis, and we’ll try to introduce a topic for discussion each week. For now, I invite you to leave comments for us on this blog page — hummingbird questions you would like answered, or suggestions of other sites and blogs for linking, or anything of interest to the world of hummingbirds. Let’s see where next week takes us!
Happy Feeding!
Chris Whelan
January 28th, 2006
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