I could ask by friend Joyce out there in Colorado on the Front Range just north of the Air Force Academy. Last time we visited her, she had 8 large hummingbird feeders arranged on her deck rail. Each had 6 or so feeding stations and every one of them had a waiting line. Yeah, she has a hummingbird infestation every summer that sees her go through several hundreds of pounds of sugar. And some of her little friends will land on your finger to sup.
Last year I was thrilled to have a pair of Ruby-throated Hummingbirds nesting somewhere nearby and visiting the feeders every day. There was one male and a female whom he would not allow to feed. He just kept chasing her away from the feeders every time he spotted her there. So I put up two more feeders to keep them separated. And it worked. They would feed maybe ten yards apart.
This summer started off the same way. One male staking out a territory and a female who seemed happy enough to mate and take orders. Then there was at least one more male and one more female as the feeders were supplemented by the wild bergamont, raspberries, blackberries, roses, and the perennials we planted.
With 7 or 8 little hummers in the yard, I've only managed to spot one adult male. The rest, like this one, are either females or young of the year that have not attained adult plumage yet.
This afternoon, I took my life in my hands and sat on the deck to watch the aerial display as humming birds zipped here and there chasing one another away from the feeders either in territorial fights or just for the heck of it. There were at least 7 or 8 zooming back and forth from the front deck to the woods; perching on the electrical wire or the hanging baskets; hovering a foot in front of my face; and chattering all the while. I got exhausted just watching them.
Several times I thought a bird flew so close that it went between my face and my eyeglasses. Or, barring that, in one ear and out the other.
Even when eating they keep the engine revved up.
Every now and then a truce would be declared and they would stop at the feeders to refuel.
Truce or no truce, a bird's got to be on the lookout for a sneak attack!
Soon the little guys and gals will need all the muscle they are building and energy they are storing as they will make one of the great migrations to the Caribbean, the Gulf of Mexico and beyond to the Yucatan.
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Here is a blog post that I wrote about the Ruby-throated hummingbird. Just click on the link below and you will be taken to it. Hope you enjoy it.
http://hummingbirdsformom.com/hummingbirds/where-oh-where-have-the-ruby-throated-hummingbirds-gone/trackback/
Interesting post and blog, Zoe. As to where they Rubies have gone...There are plenty here in north-central PA and up at the Bolt Hole in the southwest corner of the Adirondacks in NY.
There have been few bird walks this year that haven't produced a Ruby or two. Then there are the gluttons at my three feeders (as I said I've 7 or 8 coming around now) and the last time I was up at the Bolt Hole there were a pair buzzing about the phlox in the garden.
In short, the eastern flyway seems to have plenty of the little jewels.
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