Hi, plantnut. Glad to know you are enjoying feeding and studying hummers. They are so full of life-- zooming around, buzzing each other. The garden just seems dead and lifeless once they are gone.

Yes, there are more birds at the feeders in September, as the birds from further north migrate thru. This is a wonderful time for watching them. And yes, they chase each other around--a lot. For me, that's a lot of their charm.

Hummingbirds, both male and female are ferocious little creatures in the defense of their territory, which for me is one or two feeders. Haven't found anyone trying to defend more than two feeders even tho mine are only a few feet apart.

BTW, I still have at least one male at my feeders right now in Zone 6, St Louis.

If you would like to learn more about ruby-throats, I would recommend *Wild Bird Guides: Ruby Throated Humminbird* by Robert Sargent. It's a small book, but with lots of information about migration, feeding, breeding, predators, etc. Lots of good pictures, too. An excellent book and very enjoyable.

Hi, mehitabe,

Thanks for responding so quickly, I have mixed emotions about the hummingbirds leaving, kinda glad I will have the winter birds still around.

I have been reading to see if there are some stray birds that make the upstate home for the winter, other than the ones that live here year round.

One of the first birds I ran into in late April, before I got my first hummingbird feeder, was a house finch. I had never seen this little red headed sparrow (as I called it, that was the way I also found it at Youtube with the real name). As I read about it, in an article written a few weeks earlier, it was new to our area, (the reason I hadn't seen it before), but I believe they are here to stay, the male and female had two broods this summer adding seven young one's that will be breading next spring? I guess?

What I'm getting at, is that there might be a day that we have a year round hummer here, because the house finch migrated east from Hawaii to California to here, and there is a small number of hummers in California, and Colorado, that no longer go back to the mid-Americas, because they have become accustomed to temps in the low 20's F, who knows, maybe I'll invent a heated hummingbird feeder. Nothing wrong with dreaming.
Thanks much, keep birding,
Robert "Windwalker"

ps.
While I was here typing I have a new hummer, when the male chases this hummer away the back is yellow the new hummer has tried to get water but the male gives, this is a new male too, so I guess the male in charge has left, to work his way to his winter grounds? He did have two females that he gave chase. so three backs, two green and one is a metallic yellow no matter which way he turns, I got them confused in the chase. It's the new male that has a yellow back, all the hummers so far when they fly through the sunlight have metallic green, but the male. going to stop and see what I have. it has gotten so busy, even have a new bird in the last few minutes, I think it a wren, maybe Carolina wren, not seen this bird except in books, and nature shows.

"He shall cover you with His feathers, And under His wings you shall take refuge; His truth shall be your shield and buckler."
Psalm 91:4

Hi, plantnut. I'm glad you still have hummers. About the yellowback bird, never seen a yellow hummer. But what I have seen is goldfinches come and drink from the ant moat on my hummingbird feeders.

Goldfinches are quite small, tho a little bigger than hummers. I had a couple this summer that ate the gold petals of rudbeckia in my office window, and the little brown female/ juvenile at first glance I thought was a hummer, but she had a bright yellow seed-eaters beak..

And a hummer is definitely aggressive enough to chase off a goldfinch. Hummers are both fierce and fearless.

Wrens-- I love wrens. Love the way they dash around under bushes, the little sticking up tail, and the bzzzzz.

I've seen those red-headed sparrows, they drink from the hummingbird ant moats as well. Drink the moats dry in hot summer weather, even with two birdbaths around. They go around in pairs.

About a hummer that can live thru the winter-- not here, I'm pretty sure. They are too small-- lose too much heat too easily. No 10 below zero for them. But 35-40? yes, they can take that if they have to. I'm sure they need warmer for long periods.

Enjoy your winter birding. I used to do that, but too old to take on battling squirrels and the big aggressive birds, or to put out food when the snow is a foot deep.

Hi, mehitabel, A foot deep, wild country huh? Seen a foot of snow here thrice in my 66 years, My oldest daughter was eighteen months old and I dug a hole out and stood her in it, with a yard stick behind her, for a picture of the record snow. You couldn't see her lips below the snow that measured 12 and a half inches, to her 15 inches, one week to the day, another 12 inches on the money. My grandfather had told us that if the snow stayed on the ground for seven days it would snow again the next day, it did, and it did. Scrapped up snow doesn't count. Then several years ago on Christmas day, because I live close real close to the river, it repeated with another 12 inches, two records again, snow and Christmas.

About the yellow hummer, I have a regular golden finch at the feeder, not a regular as I would like.

This is the male that has migrated in, and taken control for now. The Yellow is only on the back between the wings, and only in sunlight, when he's perched at the feeder, he looks like the rest of the males that have dominated the feeders this summer, but for one, other male and he only had four red dots,or squares in a roll, he ruled for almost two months, then this guy took over. He now has a female (that it matters), that he's allowing to feed, and in the sun yesterday evening, they were beside each other with their backs to me, and he stretched his wings a little, and you could see a glimmer of yellow, but the sun disappeared under a cloud, and he's as green as the rest of the ruby throat hummers. I think it just a optical illusion type thing, kinda like the head turning black at times depending on the tilt of the head, of the males.

Since this is my first winter with the feeders, I may hang it up too. We also have our share of squirrels. The only larger birds that comes to the feeders, is three turtle doves, love them! but strange, always thought they came in two's.

Hi again, plantnut. Well, it's not a foot of snow every year, but when it does snow a lot, that's when you can't let the little guys down. :) Bigger birds -- jays for one, but mostly those black grackles or whatever they're called-- dozens of them, very aggressive, chasing all the littler guys off.

These days I content myself with thoughts that evergreens give them shelter in the cold.

Yes, I understand now about the flash of yellow on your hummer. The colors do flash and change in the sun.

PS I do recognize and love your quotations.

Hi, mehitabel, Well, I think I'm getting to where you are, few hummers today. It looks like, it's all females, and that a female making chase today, a little strange, the male from yesterday is gone, so no more yellow.

I'm not just a hummer fan, I enjoy all the birds, always been a raptor fan for years, it's a good way brighten a dull day with some quality time.

This started as a treat for my cats, and a way to save a little money on the power bill. I put up a reflective window coating on all my windows, I see out, they can't see in. As far as power bill, if there's a savings, the bird seed took care of that.

I put the feeders close to one of the windows near my computer, to keep them from running into the windows, the rest have white decals. Its worked real well nobody hit the windows this summer, so far. I did have a kid that thought they were good target practice, he hit my glass hummer feeder and the window. I had the landlord take a look at the damage, and the two legged, four and a half foot bird that pulled the trigger, all caught on video. She told me later that his dad said if any of us, saw him with any BB gun again, let him know because that one went into the dumpster in pieces.

good day!