I pulled out the hummingbird feeder over the weekend. It’s getting toward that time. I just wanted to make sure I had all the little bits and pieces that go with it. I have a habit of carefully washing and cleaning it at the end of the season in the fall, then carefully storing all the parts in safe places for the winter.
Somehow, in the middle of winter, when no one is looking, some unknown creature must sneak into my cupboards and move things around. That is the only explanation I can come up with. I’m pretty sure all the little bits and pieces for the hummingbird feeders were stored in one place, but that is not generally how I find them.
The larger pieces are usually fairly easy to spot and to find. Some of the others, not so much. The flower parts and the little yellow bits that cover the places where the syrup is and supposedly keep ants and wasps at bay can quite often go into hiding on their own. Often enough that I have, over the years, bought a couple replacement feeders identical to ones that I have. Just so I have extra parts around.
This can not be an uncommon issue, since I have seen some of these decorative parts for hummingbird feeders sold as replacement parts. In fact, I’m pretty sure I have some. I just have no idea where they are.
But after a few hours of searching I think I have all the parts I need and can now start to put the feeders back together. I’m hoping it all comes back to me quickly. The birds aren’t that far away.
There are a couple different migration maps you can find for hummingbirds. There are actually migration maps for many different types of creatures, including Monarch butterflies. So you can keep track of any number of things as they move around the world. Most of the maps depend on reports of people who might happen to spot one of them and then report it.
For the ruby throated hummingbird, they seem to have made it to southern Maine at this point. Probably won’t be long before they arrive here. Although I did see one map that had a sighting of a hummingbird on Tancook Island on April 2. Hopefully he can find something to eat.
There’s not a lot that is in bloom yet, although hummingbirds do also eat bugs, and I have seen a few of those start to appear. And there area few flowers that are trying to pop out.
So everything seems to be coming together. The hummingbirds tend to arrive around this area about the first part of May. Some say Mother’s Day is when they arrive, and you will likely see them starting to appear by then. But some might be around a touch earlier. And it seems like nature may be preparing various foods for them to be ready when they arrive.
But that doesn’t mean I don’t want to help. So over the next few days I’ll start to fit my bits and pieces together. Just so I’m ready when they are. And it looks like it won’t be long.
