Oh my goodness, Larry. For a second, I thought you were saying you can't beat getting a springtime Hummer.

Adding "put up hummingbird feeder" to her to-do list,
Alfie

Hummingbirds are regular visitors in my garden once the cannas, Lobelia cardinalis and other summer flowers start blooming but for some reason they never show up before June, even though I plant plenty of early-blooming plants to attract them like Aquilegia canadensis and Spigelia marilandica.

Oooh - that must mean that mine aren't far behind - unless they're already here but hiding!!

Normally I see hummers before I see Barn Swallows, but the Barn Swallows have arrived already.

Saw my first hummingbird of the season just last night. S/he was very busy working the columbine.

Here's a map of how far they've gotten- way up into New Engaland!

Scroll down a bit to see the US-

Here is a link that might be useful: Hummingbird Migration Map

Thanks for the notice. I'll get my feeder up directly.

One year I saw one on the lilacs. Yup, time to put up the feeder.

Yeah, I didn't see, but certain I heard several hummers chasing each other a couple days ago. Better clean up the feeder...

Do you all use hummmingbird feeders? I have more than 13 birdfeeders in my yard, but don't put up hummingbird feeders because they're such a pain to keep clean. I find that I still have tons of hummers every summer just drawn to my flowers alone.

I've heard them but haven't been fast enough to see them yet.

The feeder is up and ready. It is a pain, especially when it gets warmer out because it has to be changed so often. Like Johnnie, if I don't put up the feeder I don't see them until much later. I love sitting on the front porch and watching them dive bomb each other and then light in the holly tree near by.

I planted lobelia cardinalis and aquilegia canadensis last yr in my little tiny woodland garden.

Well, now I have to eat my words--I just saw a hummingbird in my garden, visiting bleeding hearts and columbine. In five years this is by far the earliest I've ever seen one.

Johnnieb, maybe your observing skills have just gotten better. :)

Where I used to live in Blacksburg, VA, I'd take a hanging feeder, set it in my lap, and the hummers would, after some hesitation, start sipping from it. While there they'd eye me suspiciously, & one or two would buzz around my head, sorta checking me out. I'd have a hard time keeping from laughing.

Mary, I rely on the plants to draw the hummers too. Haven't seen one yet, but I don't spend a lot of time looking either. As soon as the first bloom appears on the gartenmeister fuschia, they'll be here. Just dragged that out of gh, so it should bloom in a few weeks. Surprised so many of you have columbines blooming already. Dogwoods just fully opened here, and the columbines usually bloom with the azaleas... (I suppose you all have azaleas blooming too, not me :)

G'Day!

- Humming birds, stuffed from nectar feeders. Must check my cookbooks.

- Well, at elast i got the first dozen of my faux-gourd bird houses up! They are blindingly white, but if any get used this year, i will paint the rest a tint of green, so they are less of an eyesore. (Too bad the birds prefer such a bright white over subtler tones!)

- Happy gardening,
-vlad

I love hummingbirds but if they were any bigger (say the size of chickens) they'd be dangerous LOL! I've two who decided to nest on my deck in one of the birdhouses I place on the railings and they dive bomb me when I go out on the deck to sit. My hair is fairly long and the little male got tangled up in my hair the other day. Frightened the wits out of both of us! i take my morning cofee in the kitchen now since they seem to object to me on the deck so early. Kinda wierd but I'm being tolerant since I put the birdhouses up in the first place. If i didn't want birds nesting on my deck i should have put the houses elsewhere!
Jenna