Hi Penny,
Thanks, I just check it a few days ago, Nothing, so glad you gave me the heads up...:)Anita

Penny,
This may seem silly to you, but what do the hummers do when they get to the area where the hurricane went through? There won't be much food for them, right?
Do they detour immediately you know like go east then north? Or do they move north faster even though it could be colder?
Thanks,
Remy

Hi Remy,
There are still plenty of native plants on the gulf. Even though a lot of plants were damaged during Katrina there were a lot of plants that weren't destroyed or had time to set seed and reseeded in the environment and are now blooming. Also there are still garden centers down there and the hummers do have access to the plants since they are all outside at this time of the year there. Also not all the people are gone and I am sure that there are some that have feeders up just not as many as what has been recorded in previous years. My best friend lives in Biloxi, Ms. and she is still there and she has a feeder out. Hummingbird migration coincides with the blooming out of particular plants such as Azalea, Rhododendron, Red Buckeye, Bottlebrush Buckeye, native columbine and flowering quince and currant. Red Currant is native to the northwest but it is one of their earliest blooming plants. I have 7 that have rooted out in the yard over the winter and are budding out now and the Red Buckeyes I just got from Ebay are budding out so I am keeping my fingers crossed for early returns.

They also eat small insects for the protein they need and they will even get sap from sap wells in trees if they arrive in an area with limited flowering.

So to answer your question, they do have food sources down on the gulf right now but maybe not the overabundance as in previous years. They may or may not linger as long as they normally do before moving northward. They will stay long enough to rest after their 500 mile journey and to put on some of the weight they lost during the long non stop flight but once they are refreshed they will start moving northward to establish territories and mate.

However, the weather and the winds coming up from the gulf will also play a factor in their northward migration. If they get good breezes coming up from the gulf and the weather stays mild they could arrive a little earlier in the northeast.

Penny

Thanks Penny. I knew you would have a good answer : ) I wondered, because I've seen hurricane devastation down at my dad's. I didn't know they ate bugs or sap too!

Oh yes, If you have a problem with white fly on plants and you have hummers around they will take care of those pests along with aphids, gnats and small spiders. When the sapsuckers make sap wells in trees the hummers will use those which also may have tiny insects in it until there is enough natural plant nectar. The nectar gives them the energy that they need to fly at the speeds that they do but they also need the insects for protein to stay healthy. A hummer cannot survive on just plant or sugar water nectar alone.

Penny

Great news, penny. And thanks for the other info. Sandy