I thought I'd never say this but I think I'm looking forward to my hummers heading back north (and west).

It's been a great year, banding 15 birds in the yard and regularly spotting at least 20 birds in a day for a period of time but I'm tired. Tired of cleaning and filling feeders, dealing with ants and bees, falling trees, freezes, and too many non-hummer related issues. Many of the birds are still here including the two Rufous. I was able to still count 13 Ruby-throateds for the Great Backyard Bird Count. My yard has been vistited by a female Painted Bunting for the past couple of weeks and today, I heard and saw a Carolina Chickadee (we're at the extreme southern range for the chickadees). A screach owl has been calling every night for the past couple weeks as well.

I enjoy the opportunity to sit in the yard and enjoy the birdlife but I don't seem to have any time to do that. The little free time that I have in the yard is spent cleaning and changing feeders. Too much to do. Especially, cleaning up the yard. I'm ready to start cleaning up after the fallen tree and the freezes. But, I don't want to do anything to disrupt the birds too much, like pruning the hedges they use for cover (even though there are no leaves left on them) or excessive chainsaw use. Unfortunately, by the time they leave, it's too hot to work outside.

I'm not really depressed, but I am ready to let you all have your birds back so I can start concentrating on next winter. I need to do something new if I'm going to beat this year.

Doreen saw my Valrico count on the GBBC results (15 birds in 3 counts - 2 counts were mine and a yard a mile down the road had two additional birds) so she says that she's going to have to get some of her Carolina yards, that have more birds than mine had this year, to file reports next year.

The localities with the top counts in the nation for Ruby-throateds can be viewed at:
http://gbbc.birdsource.org/gbbcApps/report?cmd=showReport&reportName=SpeciesLocation&species=rthhum&year=2009

Note that Valrico is fourth with 15 birds in 3 counts while first through third are:
----------Town ----------------- # of birds - Counts
1 . Miami, Florida ------------------ 19 ----- 10
2 . Savannah, Georgia ----------- 18 ----- 15
3 . Wilmington, North Carolina - 16 ----- 10
4 . Valrico, Florida ----------------- 15 ----- 3

I think it's obvious who wins with average per yard.


Steve Backes
Valrico, FL (east of Tampa)

You make me feel exhausted, Steve!
I am really glad that my hummers and other birds eat what nature provides!

Yes your post reminded me a little bit of last summer. Granted I don't get nearly as many birds as you and many of the other members during the summer months but I do get enough to run several feeders and between taking care of the garden and keeping feeders clean and fresh can wear a person out by fall.

Penny
Niagara Falls, NY
USDA zone 6a/6b
Heat zone 4
Sunset zone 39

And after fall Thanksgiving and Christmas then January and it all starts over again for me. I have to say I took a few weeks off this winter. Yes all the work can be depressing sometimes but for me the compensation is wonderful. I also work off a lot of "mads" when I am working in my yards.

Dianne
Southeast Alabama
Heat Zone 8
Sunset Zone 31

You just need an attitude adjustment. When I start feeling overwhelmed, I just go out on the patio and stand still for a couple minutes. I don't see how anyone could not be thrilled at being surrounded by nature's jewels.

I clean and refill feeders every day, 365 days a year, and have simply made it a part of my daily routine. I average 2 quarts of nectar per day in winter months and around 5 to 6 quarts during the summer. The ever present hummingbirds have become a part of my family and are no longer considered a chore. Once I got my routine down, it only takes about 10 minutes a day and the payback is far greater that the investment. Heck... there is no other place where I've invested this year that has paid back anything at all.

**********
Farmer Steve
Deluz, CA usda zone 10a

Farmer Steve, I know exactly what you're talking about, but I know where the other Steve is coming from too. If "ALL" he had to do was garden and refill feeders and watch the birds in his yard, he'd probably be in seventh heaven. The problem is, other things in life demand attention and there's only so much time in a day. After taking care of all the "other" stuff, the demands of being a hummer host can sometimes feel burdensome.

Lizette, New Orleans, La.
USDA Zone 9

I'll admit being lazy about feeders. As soon as there are enough plants in bloom down they come. It is isn't a completely rational approach however. All fall, winter and spring the work of the garden continues, seeding, making cuttings, carrying a swimming pool of water, and then it is time to plant, weed, deadhead, and on and on... Come to think of it it is exactly the life I hoped to live someday, dreamed of as a young person stuck in an apartment wondering if I would ever get my own place. It is another case of 'for better or for worse'.

Lizette what you said is probably right. Until my boys were grown I didn't have any flowers at all. I didn't have time. There was always something to do. Their activities were year round. One thing ran into another. The front was used as a baseball and football field and the back had the pool. Constant activity. I just mowed the lawn and kept shrubs around the house so it didn't look naked. It was only when my older son was getting married and my backyard was going to be used for the reception that I started planting flowers. Now that I think about it that I bet the hummingbirds started visiting me then. It just took me several years to realize they were here. One day on a lark I bought a hummingbird feeder, hung it and within minutes there as a hummingbird using it. Things have never been the same since.












Dianne
Southeast Alabama
Heat Zone 8
Sunset Zone 31

Lizette, exactly my point. Without boring you all with too many details, it's my whole schedule over the past few months have caught up with me. My hours change at work by the day resulting in my going in at any time between 3 and 10 AM, more of the 3 AMs lately has resulted in regular sleep depravation. My son's schedule with Cub Scouts, a local theater group, guitar lessons, and now being named to the all-county chorus are all reasons to be proud of him but they also result in less time to spend in the yard. There are some days that I don't see daylight in the yard and the feeders have to be maintained in the dark.

It's also a case of things peaking too early. It's been an exciting few months with the numbers steadily growing resulting in every day beginning with the anticipation of what new bird will I find today. I've reached the point where I know all of the birds in my yard. I don't think there was any room for a new one. Now the resident birds are fairly familiar with one another and seem to get along so for the most part, they're sitting high in the oaks, only coming down occasionally to feed. I don't hear much chatter or chasing. If I can sit long enough, I'll see most of the birds come to the feeders.

It's a bit less exciting for the visitors to my yard as the birds spend less time close up at the feeders. Many of my visitors lately have been in response to the newspaper articles and are not birders and don't use binoculars so they're hoping for better looks than they're getting. Or, they're here to see my flowers and all I can show them are a bunch of brown or leafless plants. At least in most cases, I still have one flower of most of my plants somewhere in the yards.

I love the birds, today we've had a fully molted male Indigo Bunting join the female Painted Bunting in the yard, but I'm ready to start fixing this winter's damage. We need to severely prune the remaining oak in the yard and that will disrupt many things including potentially destroying many of the remaining plants in the front yard. I'd love to do some of this work before the temperatures are in the 90's with similar humidities which is often the case by May which is typically when I see my last "winter" Ruby-throat.

I'd envy anyone with my "problems" if they weren't mine.

Steve Backes
Valrico, FL (east of Tampa)