The Lair is down to just a couple of die-hard hummingbird freeloaders, everybody else presumably having headed south for the winter. And after they’ve sucked this last feeder-load dry I’m going to take it in, clean it up and store it for the season to encourage them to get their minuscule asses in gear.
I enjoy watching the ridiculous fairs of hummers fighting over feeder rights, but these two have settled down to peaceful coexistence for the most part: With only two tiny birds and a five-station feeder, there’s nothing left to squabble over.
But it’s time for everybody, including them, to start moving into winter prep mode.
I didn’t realize hummers found suitable habitat in the desert. I didn’t put out the feeder this year although I did plant butterfly bushes and about a quarter acre of wildflowers. As well as allowing about three acres to lie fallow. I’ve always had a soft spot for the little dive bombers. Thanks for helping them out
Had a hummer stop by to taste the flowers in a hanging basket yesterday. The temps were in the high 70’s and this next week still expect near or at 80’s.
Maybe they know we are going to have a slightly longer summer blast in Michigan and are sticking around.
Won’t last long though, October can see snow and hights in the 50’s
Going to miss the daylight though, we have already slipped into less than 12 hours sunrise to sunset and losing 3 to 4 minutes a day….
Joel – if you have concern for their well-being you might want to wait til they leave on their own. I’m not trying to pull a “for the children” on you – but they really don’t have any way of understanding your intentions. They have metabolisms that burn a tremendous amount of energy and would travel better on a full stomach. I’ve read of hummers overwintering in improbable places like Oregon – but they definitely can’t do it without the human input.
Fwiw – down here one or two might linger until the end of January – and then they’ll be absent for a couple months. About the only inconvenience is taking the feeders inside if the night temps get down below ~28′ (the sugar in solution lowers the freezing point) – and that’s just so they can get some energy up after they come out of torpor. Otherwise they’d get their little tongues stuck on the ice and have to just hang there til it thawed!
Their own systems govern their migratory behavior and that’s the way of seeing things they’ll default to – not your arbitrary choice.
(/soapbox)
Here’s a bit of explanation on when/why to pull in your feeder.
When should I stop feeding hummingbirds?