On 29 Jun 00, at 22:20, Rob Saecker wrote:

>
> >On 26 Jun 00, at 13:04, Blake Iverson wrote:

>
Hummers arrive here in mid-March (the 20th this year), and
> even if they take a month to set up shop and get down to business, by the end of
> May, they've fledged.
>
> It's fascinating that Jacki writes that hummers don't show up in
> Woodinville until May, and then stay until August; I can only guess at
> what's happening there. Two possibilities occur to me: either they've
> already bred elsewhere, and have moved there to have a second brood, or
> they're all migrants and aren't breeding there at all. I'd like to hear
> from anyone who has additional insights...

My hummers don't show up in Puyallup until April - I really watch for them
and have noted this for some years.

My theory is that my yard and my neighbors' yards are second rate terrritory.
Suburban lots with lots of cats and people are probably not the first choice
in terms of top-notch breeding sites. Based on how they fight over feeders, I
am betting they fight over nesting and natural feeding opportunities. So the
later arrivals and first time breeders are forced "out" to look for their own sites
and finding something takes a while. There are so many squirrels and
possums I also suspect that the first attempts of many birds are quickly
discovered and predated and the birds move and start a second (or even
third) attempt.
What really puzzles me is that I never see (or hear) the males in my yard, or
the perimeter of my neighbor's yard where I see the females perch after
eating. The males are supposed to get "on territory" and then the females
move in , but I always just see the females and what are probably first year
males about this time of the year. Either the males have huge territories,
and only display at the "center" or some one spot, or they are not here for
very long and I miss them when I am off on a 3 or 4 day business trip.

Clarice Clark
Puyallup, WA. 98371
mailto:jbroadus at seanet.com