First hummingbird of the year!

[farmerjohn]

Hey Fellers, kinda like a sign from above on this special day. This one buzzed the porch and got a feeder out and filled it for him and he lit right in. Little fellers ate 35lbs of sugar last year, I figured he had been here before cause he went right to where I hang the feeders... beautiful morning.. John

 

[Murray Brook]

We generally get ours about the middle of May

 

[joshb]

I think I saw him fly by my feeder last week! Those little suckers move fast!

 

[rockhound78]

Usually last 10 days of April here.

 

[whatsupdoc]

My wife feeds them, but I always wondered if feeding hummingbirds was really a good idea. You are preventing the pollination of plants by feeding them preventing the
birds from doing their job.

 

[Immike]

I’m not sure how long they live but I’m convinced most birds return to where they were born. We had pelicans get blown off course during a stormy year (93) and now we have them Everywhere on rivers and lakes

edit: they live 5 years on average, that’s long some small birds only 16-18 months

 

[rwj]

My wife feeds them, but I always wondered if feeding hummingbirds was really a good idea. You are preventing the pollination of plants by feeding them preventing the
birds from doing their job.

Good question! I’ve assumed that they prefer natural food sources when they’re available and use feeders as supplements, especially when raising their newborn.

 

[Ccrider]

Not seen one here yet. They get really comfortable under our back patio and will sometimes come and hover within a foot from you sitting in a chair. Takes a bit of getting use to.

Forgot to add, they like the wife’s flowers.

 

[hogpatrol]

I have trumpet vines and butterfly bushes plus feeders. They hit all three and probably other flowers in the neighborhood. As far as returning home, we've had Canada geese showing up every year since 2013.

 

[farmerjohn]

Good question! I’ve assumed that they prefer natural food sources when they’re available and use feeders as supplements, especially when raising their newborn.

Hey Fellers, my understanding of the question and also what I personally believe is from my own experiences and studying as well as an accredited "expert" with all the proper paperwork, master degree in biology and animal science and currently a game biologist for the Arkansas Game and Fish commission think that it's great to feed them. I have a hedge row beside my shop that they nest in every year and I have watched them quite a bit over the years. When the eggs hatch (usually 2 or 3) the male and female take turns feeding the little ones. They feed them insects mainly mosquitoes just like a wren does and to my knowledge the little ones don't get nectar till they can fly. The biologist says that half of the diet has to be protein and the rest is carbs which is nectar or sugar water. Also when my wife's flowers start blooming and the honey suckel starts blooming they cut way back on what I'm furnishing. Average life span is 4 to 6 years according to the expert and while it's impossible to tell for sure I believe they come back here to raise each year because they fly right to the spot where the feeders were hung last year and hang out till I start feeding them again. My summer population is around 50 to 75 as determined by taking pictures and then counting them from the picture...my two cents worth and humble opinion... John

 

[gambleone]

Hey Fellers, my understanding of the question and also what I personally believe is from my own experiences and studying as well as an accredited "expert" with all the proper paperwork, master degree in biology and animal science and currently a game biologist for the Arkansas Game and Fish commission think that it's great to feed them. I have a hedge row beside my shop that they nest in every year and I have watched them quite a bit over the years. When the eggs hatch (usually 2 or 3) the male and female take turns feeding the little ones. They feed them insects mainly mosquitoes just like a wren does and to my knowledge the little ones don't get nectar till they can fly. The biologist says that half of the diet has to be protein and the rest is carbs which is nectar or sugar water. Also when my wife's flowers start blooming and the honey suckel starts blooming they cut way back on what I'm furnishing. Average life span is 4 to 6 years according to the expert and while it's impossible to tell for sure I believe they come back here to raise each year because they fly right to the spot where the feeders were hung last year and hang out till I start feeding them again. My summer population is around 50 to 75 as determined by taking pictures and then counting them from the picture...my two cents worth and humble opinion... John

Great info. Thanks for sharing. Wife & I are putting out the feeders next week.

 

[Dgd6mm]

We've had them on the feeder for about a week now here in North Florida.

 

[whatsupdoc]

Hey Fellers, my understanding of the question and also what I personally believe is from my own experiences and studying as well as an accredited "expert" with all the proper paperwork, master degree in biology and animal science and currently a game biologist for the Arkansas Game and Fish commission think that it's great to feed them. I have a hedge row beside my shop that they nest in every year and I have watched them quite a bit over the years. When the eggs hatch (usually 2 or 3) the male and female take turns feeding the little ones. They feed them insects mainly mosquitoes just like a wren does and to my knowledge the little ones don't get nectar till they can fly. The biologist says that half of the diet has to be protein and the rest is carbs which is nectar or sugar water. Also when my wife's flowers start blooming and the honey suckel starts blooming they cut way back on what I'm furnishing. Average life span is 4 to 6 years according to the expert and while it's impossible to tell for sure I believe they come back here to raise each year because they fly right to the spot where the feeders were hung last year and hang out till I start feeding them again. My summer population is around 50 to 75 as determined by taking pictures and then counting them from the picture...my two cents worth and humble opinion... John

They 100% come back every year. They come and hover inches from our kitchen window looking at us letting us know they are here. The feeders hang in front of that particular window.

 

[Ledd Slinger]

Nice! They won’t show up here in NW Montana until last part of April, but getting close!

 

[D Coots]

I see the OP is in Arkansas. We probably won't see any for a couple more weeks here in east central Iowa. Saw the first wood duck 2 days ago, red wing blackbirds are back, turkeys are doing their thing. Bluebirds are due back any day now, houses will go up tomorrow. Pretty damn dry here.

 

[akajiggs]

I live just up the road from John about 8 miles and we have had a few hummers coming to the wife's feeders for about a week now. Pretty sight. We have had bluebirds nesting for 2 weeks now.
This is going to be a great year.

 

[SteveUrban]

They arrived in Peaster, Texas a week ago.

 

[Coyotefurharvester]

End of last week I was still seeing large groups of Tom turkey together(winter flock), today in the same field a single Tom with a group of hens.

 

[jxb]

We're lucky enough to have them all year (Anna's) so we feed em year round. I even have a couple heated feeders for when it's below 28deg. My experience is more hummers, less mosquitoes. It's really nice to see them picking em off. When the blooms are out they seem to mix it up, probably more in the blooms than feeders. We also get Rufous hummers but only for a week or two each way as they breed up near Vancouver Island. Not sure if I missed them or they are late, usually would come through last week.

 

[Coyotefurharvester]

Wrens try to nest on my front door light fixture, I usually use some strips of aluminum foil as a flight deterrent. The aluminum foil doesn't hold up in the wind. This year I decided to try Mylar balloon material, the dollar store price was the same filled or not(1.49). So currently a filled silver happy birthday balloon is floating around near the fixture. When the lift, starts to sag I will cut the balloon into 1" wide strips and tape up near the fixture. I like the balloon better, hoping it will fly a couple days if I bring it in at night with the flag.