Saturday, September 01, 2007

Hummers on their way south?

The winds have been blowing out of the north since last Thursday's front moved through and I think it may have spurred my local ruby-throated hummingbirds to start heading south. Last Thursday I had between 6 and 10 birds buzzing around the feeders as they lay into the sugar water to put on the fat for their fall migration to Central America. Today, after two nights when the temperatures dipped into the upper 40s, I haven't seen a one all morning. I'll continue to put the feeders out for the next few weeks just in case there's a straggler from further north who needs to gain a gram or so to make the 1500 o 1800 mile flight.

The black-capped chickadees and the red-breasted nuthatches are still doing a job on my sunflower seeds, however. But, then again, they will stay here all winter long.

UPDATE: To prove that I'm fallible, two hummers showed up about 12:30 PM. Perhaps they were just waiting for it to get a bit warmer. (The temperature has "risen" to 64 degrees.) Or, perhaps, these are from a bit further north and are merely passing through.

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