Subject: [Tweeters] Where the Hummingbirds Are
Date: Apr 16 07:40:28 2012
From: mary hrudkaj - mch1096 at hotmail.com






Apparently all the hummers are at my place out west of Belfair these days. For the past week or so I've had two male and one Anna's around (a pair of Anna's have been here all winter). As for the Rufous hummers there are at least four males and six to seven females all coming in to feed throughout the day. Best time for counting is the evening hour or so just before too-dark-to-fly time which now is about 8:15pm. The posturing by both genders and the fighting and chasing by the males can be intense sometimes. I had to put out a second feeder on the east side of the house to help reduce the back up at feeder ports. It helped but they still seem to prefer the first feeder despite the other being at the same height and about two feet away. At times there are two hummers sitting at one port or a hummer hovering over the head of an already perched bird. The males will try to intimidate the females away but the girls often just stare back at the males and don't move. One male even tried to settle in a female only to have her goose him in the abdomen with her beak. By the end of the feeding frenzy there is usually one or two birds that have filed up so much they look like they swallowed a marble and have a nectar gut (bird version of a beer gut). I'm having to fill feeders every day. I checked with a neighbor that also feeds birds and they report having a multitude of hummers also so maybe some of mine are going over there when things get too hectic or there are even more hummers out here that I thought. I'd try giving the hummers maps to everyone else's houses but my printer font doesn't go that small. The mountain quail are starting to show up in the yard but are not consistant in their visits yet. Once they are I'll post on Tweeters so if anyone want to they can come out. Mary HrudkajBelfair/Tahuya