Greetings! If you have good ears, you will hear them even more than you see them. The buzz of their wings often tells me I have a friend nearby. However, most often I hear the distinct "chitter-chit" the male makes when chasing a female or a rival. Once you teach yourself this sound, you'll always be able to know when to look up!!

Also, the booming whir of the display flight is audible, but usually occurs in June.

Hummers are great hidders. I can sit out on my back patio and watch them on the trumpet vine and then the next second they seem to be gone. Reality is they've ducked into the leaves and are hiding.

Saw another last evening. She zipped over the patio to check on my pots, then settled for a yellow columbine that was blooming at the edge of the patio. Afterward, she sat in the lilac bush for a few minutes until a small gust of wind came, then she was off. Couldn't see where to, too slow on the crutches and didn't bother going outside.

Hammerl, so sorry to hear about your broken foot. That's very frustrating I'm sure.
I love watching the hummers at our feeder, but we can never figure out where they come from or where they go.

i have many of the above mentioned plants also. last year they enjoyed the scarlet sage. while this year thier favorites are the hollyhocks, hostas & cypress vine. i have a few pics of the hummers posted on my web site if your interested.

Here is a link that might be useful: my domain

The hummers have been going crazy over my pink and red nicotiana and also my purple butterfly bush. But they're so fast, as soon as I spot them, they're gone by the time I can get the camera out!

Tracy

"You have a hummingbird on your bee balm out front," my mom told me when she visited Friday. "There are five hummingbirds by the patio," proclaimed my husband, which floored me as the patio is only 15x15, though surrounded by plants. Ironically, saw another for myself shortly afterward. He found the red maltese cross, then took a break on my telephone wire before heading to the near corner. Guess I really didn't know what I was talking about!

Mine seem to like red plants -- they always check out my red rose tree even though they don't care for it. They seem to like the maltese cross ok, adore the bee balm and like the agastache. The petunias get a few visits as well, as does the trumpet vine. I'm not near the coral honeysuckle enough to see what they do with it. Maybe I'll root a cutting next spring and put it more where I can see it.

I haven't seen the hummers go to many plants in my yard, other than petunias, but many of the plants I put in for them are first year perennials and aren't really producing much.
They have been regular vistors to my feeders though. I have to be careful what color I wear when I go outside, because they come after me...lol. I still have to get used to the sound of their wings.
I see them go from the feeder to the lilac bushes where they seem to jump up and down in doing whatever, I don't know.

I agree with Matt. Once you get used to their sound you will be able to tell when they are close. I have a pair of juvies that spend most of the day with me. They don't even flinch when I am outside and if I don't pay attention and acknowledge them they chitter at me or fly over to whereever I am. I even had them come to the door when I went inside or fly to the kitchen patio door and watch me. They have really been friendly and entertaining this year. All my hummers are using both feeders and flowers now so they can bulk up before migrating south. The juvies have just started to use the feeders. Up until recently it was strictly flowers. Here is what they are using extensively in my yard right now.

Savia Coccinea 'Lady in Red'
Savia Coccinea (Texas Sage the species)
Savia Coccinea 'Vermillion'
Savia Coccinea 'Coral Nymph'
Salvia Guaranitica 'Black & Blue'
Salvia Microphylla 'Wild Watermelon'
Agastache Cana 'Sonoran Sunset'
Agastache Auranitica 'Apricot sprite'
Agastache 'Acapulco' bicolor
Penstemon 'Red Rocks'
Fuschia Gartenmeister Bonstadt
Bat-Faced Cuphea
Canna Indica
Coral Honeysuckle
Cypress vine
Hosta
Standing cypress
Scarlet Runner beans
Manettia (Candy Corn vine)
Spotted Jewelweed
Mina Lobata vine
Monarda 'Jacob's Cline'

To some extent they also use the million bells, petunia intergritfolia, morning glories, and purple coneflowers but they have so much to chose from it is usuually the juvies that use those. I have not seen any of my hummers using the hollyhocks at all.

Penny

Hi All!

This is only my second year at trying to attract "hummers". I was such a novice, (actually I still am). Believe it or not it wasn't until this spring that I saw my first male RT UP CLOSE AND PERSONAL.

I've had so much joy this year with my hummers its unimaginable. Sitting on the deck everynight for at least an hour or so watching them has been amazing. I can't be certain as to how many come to the feeder but there has to upwards to a dozen.

It's a shame that I only have one feeder as they are so territorial when it comes to their feeding habits. My only salvation for the purists is, that I will be getting a couple more feeders next year.

I have dozens and dozens of Four O'clocks that they relish at during the early part of day and early evening. At the front of our home beneath our bow window I have a 20' row of fours' that stand over shoulder high and each morning from twilight you can look out the window and watch 2 to as many as 6 not missing a bud it seems.

Up until recently I was filling my container about a 3rd of the way and changing and cleaning it every 2 or 3 days. For the past 3 or 4 weeks I've had to fill at least 1/2 full as I now have some juvenials coming.

The other day before we went out I thought I should put more nectar in the feeder as we were going to be gone 'til after dark and it was dangerously low in order to keep them somewhat happy between their in-chasing away (it's mine).

I have a liter coke bottle that I store 2 cups (now 4). It has the red coke label. As I was cleaning the feeder at the kitchen sink window, 2 or 3 came and hovered at the empty feeder sight.

Then just as I was about to fill the bottle over the sink I shook the liter bottle and a male RT came to the screen and just hovered watching me, as to say "would you please hurry, I'm thirsty."

I'll have to put a window feeder on the list for next year too.

Jim

It's a shame to think that they'll be gone in a matter of 3 weeks.

Does anyone know their usual expected migration date for Central New York?

All through August I had five or six competing to get at the front feeder - usually by mid-day they tired of their aerial warfare and three or four of them would be feeding at one time which is something I never saw before (think it was because of drought and shortage of weed flowers).
Most of them left September 1st which is two weeks early. There are still a couple juveniles hanging around and I'll leave the feeders up until October 1st in case some transients happen by.
I do have bee balm, honeysuckle, several kinds of salvia, four o'clocks and lilies but what surprised me was seeing one at the fuchsia Gardenmeister Bonstede which sits on my front step. They also like butterfly weed and phlox.

It does seem that hummingbird season is winding down. I thought maybe I'd seen my last, but a juvie female that has taken to peeking in the back sliding door at me showed up yesterday, looked in, then had a blast with the agastache.

My regulars are gone but this morning I had a host of migrators all over the yard. They were at the feeders into the flowerz and just buzzing everywhere. This is the most activity I have had in at least a week. I am going to enjoy it while it lasts because before I know it they will all be down south.

Penny