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| An Anna's hummer at feeder even in snow. |
In twelve years of living on Oregon's south coast we've always had dozens of hummingbirds ... especially in the Spring when they migrate back. But, even in the winter the Anna's hummingbirds remain all year and don't migrate. So, our feeders have always had frequent daily visits. During breeding season they can become a bee hive of activity and the birds will even land on our hands.
So, what's happened to them all of a sudden? For the past three weeks, there have been NO hummers ... absolutely NO hummingbirds at any of our feeders on three sides of the house, north...west...or south. We keep them clean, and I've taken them down several times, washed them thoroughly and put new syrup in them, (same formula: boil four parts water to one part sugar one minute and let cool). Probably even replaced the syrup before necessary to be sure it's fresh, but still not birds.
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| Rain or shine, they were always here! |
I called our local Fish & Wildlife office to inquire, and he said he'd look into it and call me back. He hasn't. Is it just us, or are others in the area missing birds too? So far, I've met only one other person with feeders who says she's wondering what's happened. I don't know any others to ask, but would like to.
6 comments:
I live in west central IN. By now we usually have dozens of ruby throated hummingbirds, but the most I've seen at one time is 3. I'm also wondering what is going on???
We've had a few come back, but not nearly in the numbers we've always had in the past. Ours are in Southern Oregon.
All of a sudden ... no more hummingbirds. 4th July,2011
What's up?
Annie, where are you? Our hummers seem to have finally returned to Southern Oregon. It's been a cold Spring, and summer too is cold so far. That must have delayed their arrival, but we seem to have quite a few in the last week or two. Swallows were also late to arrive, but are back now.
I. Live in Tennessee and I haven't seen any hummingbird's since 2010.
Wondering where are all thr hummers?
Wow, Anonymous...two years with no hummingbirds in Tennesee. Sad. I hope that changes. We seem to have more in 2012 than we had in 2011, but fewer of the migratory Rufus hummingbirds (rust-colored with bright read throats. Mostly, we have our year-around native Anna's hummingbirds who are very competitive with the more aggressive Rufus. I miss hearing their machine-gun-like sounds as they fly rapidly downward. We have fewer swallows this year than in the past too. Only two pair have made nests in our seven bird houses. Fewer than ever before.
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