Guess I have to answer my own ad, day two and the numbers havent diminished, are they all migrators, are the ones I saw yesterday not any of the same ones I saw today? possibly. I believe the migration is on and I just know that last year by the end of august I had no hummers here.

How many do you approximate were in your yard, hummersteve?

I just came in from my back yard and I have at least five that are vying for my one feeder.

Tussy--- I guesstimate I had at least 20 birds two mornings in a row but this morning Im back to 10, but in the fray I also notice two adult males still among the group. Since the adult males are first to leave I have a little time left with them. Last year before august was over they were all gone, I would at least like to beat that record. Last sept I only had two sighting for the month then none. My final sighting was sept. 16

hs,
Congratulations on your swarm!!! Please keep posting your daily reports. They will give me an indication when to expect mine.

ctnchpr----If you dont mind could you tell me at least what area you are in.

hs,
Western Tennessee. 100 miles from Memphis, 100 miles from Nashville.

Different day, different swarm?? Yes these guys are getting serious. Today had to be in excess 20 birds. What fun! I would sit out there drinkinging my coffee and look over at my 3 window feeders all ports taken [6] then look over at my first nature full [6] then I gaze at the tree 8-10 birds swarming the tree and 3 small feeders hanging there , not even counting the ones flying about and those still coming in and when I thought the wave was over here it came again. But I saw something today I had not seen before , but IM sure there are those out there that have. Looking over at a window feeder 0pus 0455 glass , there are only two ports on the feeder but there were 3 hummers drinking, I thought what the H___ Yes two hummers on the same perch one would drink then the other this went on for a few seconds untill one had had enough of that nonsense and chased the other off. If I had not seen it with my own eyes I wouldnt have believed it. I also noticed there are still adult males in the mix. I must be on or near a migration route,, what do you think.

Hummersteve,
Am I reading your last post correctly? You have only three feeders? I have three feeders and have never had over about 3-4 per season. I did see a Ruby-throated male this morning though, when all I've seen lately are females. What you are witnessing must be an amazing sight!

I'm thinking about getting more feeders and put them up around the yard so that maybe I can get more to stop in for a chat during their migration. Do you think it would work, or would I just be wasting my time and effort?

Thanks,
Beverly

Ha Steve, what a riot! :)

I've seen pictures of many (5-10) hummers congregated around a single feeder, but we've never witnessed such a thing here. We have 3 feeders and perhaps a dozen flitting and fighting over them all day now, but seldom do we see more than 3 at a time. Sounds like great fun to watch!

We've taken a lot of pictures of them btw, although the only ones we've posted have been "one bird at a time" shots. You can see them at the link below.

Kenn

Here is a link that might be useful: Recent Hummer shots

Bev--- last year I started with 1 window feeder but by the end of the season I had 2 window feeders and 2 more out in the yard for a total of 4, I had no flowers but this year I also have a nice selection of hummer flowers. This year I have 9 feeders in my front yard but 4 of those are the small walmart specials 3oz feeders. Plus I have large 30oz perky pet hanging on my back pation. I had read somewhere to have more feeders and they wont fight as much ,false. The still fight as much but more hummrs have a chance to drink. It may be too late now to add more feeders with migration under way but it might be a thought for the future. I already have ad many more hummers consistantly at this time that any other. Last year before the end of august all my hummers were gone, except for two stragglers in sept.

Ken --- Im aware that im very lucky to have so many at this time a lot of people arent experiencing what I am now. Im also sure my fun is about to end. Any day now may be the end.

8/17/07--- Nice swarm moving thru today at least 15 at the peak, adult males are hard to come by , every morning I seem to see at least one, and the same this morning, but didnt seem to hang around long. Adult males for the most part have moved on.

hs,
Thanks for your update.

Thank you, Hummersteve. I am going to try that next year. These little creatures are amazing, and watching them is addictive!

Beverly

8/18/07-- Another 15ish kind of day, didnt notice an adult male this morning but could have missed it. With my wasp problem I backed off on my mix 1:5 and helped a lot and hummers still use it and more often and less wasps. Quite cool out there this morning in my shorts and T-shirt upper 50s, but I toughed it out.

8/19/07--- There were only about 10 hummers at peak this morning and 1 adult male.

8/20/07--- Ditto 10 today same as yesterday and 1 adult male .

Any idea when the Hummers begin to leave MIchigan. I just
started feeding them a couple weeks ago. I have 2 el-cheapo
feeders from walmart.. and another small glass one from Ebay.
I have used the red stuff in the pack from walmart.. mixing it
with water. After reading all your posts here I switched today
to the sugar water.. 4:1 and WOW... within 15 minutes the same
hummer visited all 3 feeders.. I was so happy my neighbor was
here to see it cause I was telling everyone that I had seen one.. :) I was so happy :) so.... all this to ask... when
do leave Michigan? Thanks.

alii--- not sure when they will leave Mich. maybe someone from there will kick in here. I only know that last year mine were gone by sept 1

8/21/07--- Easily 15 hummers moving thru my area today, but cant say that I saw an adult male yet today, but theres still time.

8/22/07---Getting lighter later now as I sit outside its 6:45 and no hummers, first hummer arrives at 6:52. There were about 10 this morning early and I was honored with 2 adult males , one super fat and ready to go, the other not so fat but working on it. Amazed that Im still seeing males.

8/23/07--- Still seeing about 10 hummers, one thing is quite evident the numbers are down from a week ago when there were from 15-20plus with regularity. Also the hummers are fattening up and I was still lucky enough to see two adult males and they were different birds for I saw them at the same time.

I live in southeast Michigan and I still have hummingbirds here, I have a male who is very territorial and chases all the others away. It is funny to watch, though, as he begins chase it seems that others are waiting to steal a sip of nectar! But I don't see 10-20 at a time, although, it does seem as if the activity is increasing and my male is definitely fatter! Today I saw about 5 at the same time as they were all chasing each other. The yellow jackets have been a problem this year, just ordered a couple of hummzinger feeders, hope these work. I have tried putting a few bowls of 2:1 sugar solution around and the yellow jackets love it, but still have them around the feeders. Also, I had to prune completely back my bee balm because of the powdery mildew. It is about a foot high now, not sure if it'll have time to rebloom or not, oh well, had to put in other flowers for them. Maybe next year I should put in a few more feeders (I have 4). By the way, it seemed like last year I had activity well into September.

We live in the central valley of California. This year has been THE MOST incredible year of hummer attendance we've seen in our 18 years of living here. We hang out 7 or 8 30oz feeders every year and always have a crowd of birds, but this year tops them ALL! I'd have to count back maybe 10 years to remember a year that came close.
This year, I can't keep up with the winged wonders! I've been pumping TEN QUARTS of nectar thru 8 feeders every TWO DAYS since early June!!!
Usually, by this time of year, things have slowed considerably. But for whatever reason the little guys are hanging around here really late.
Our feeders hang along the roof edge along our back porch. There's not a moment of the day when there isn't some birds gassing up. But if you go out along the roof edge and purposely chase them off for a few minutes, what a sight as they all swoop in at once to make up for lost time!
I've honestly lost track of how many 25lb bags of sugar we've gone thru this summer. It's just amazing!
We're able to identify Anna's, Black-Chinned and Broad-Tailed birds with the occassional Rufous dropping by to try and be boss.