It’s no surprise. They generally return every year by this time. This year, they started to appear early, but if you haven’t yet, it’s time to get your hummingbird feeders back in operation.
You don’t need red stuff in your hummingbird food. In fact, many red dyes are not good for them. And the birds don’t seem to mind. They figure it out quite quickly.
We tend to think of these tiny little birds as quite delicate. Their small size probably makes us think that way. But if you have hummingbirds around that are acting territorial in any way, and many of them do, it’s not unusual to see them dive bomb each other and smash and crash mid flight. They don’t seem as delicate as we may think.
They’re interesting little things. I have had one in the past who would let me know when the feeder was getting too low. He would come and hover about a foot in front of my face, staying there for several seconds until he was sure I had noticed him. He was just letting me know that he was hungry, and the food was getting down, so I should get right on that. Or at least that was what he seemed to be telling me. And the only time this would happen is when food levels were getting rather low.
But they are fascinating birds to watch. And when you think of how far the little things manage to travel every year, it makes them even more so.
On top of that, feeders for other types of birds should be taken down this time of year. Trichomonosis, a parasite which infects some types of birds, the smaller song birds in particular, is still being spotted around the area. So we are still being advised to take down feeders from about now through to Thanksgiving, or while there is no frost, to help prevent the spread.
For some of us, it makes having hummingbirds close by even more valuable. Since we can’t keep other birds too close. Although you can work on hand feeding some. It’s not like we’re not washing out hands often enough these days.
