 It was the day I expected to see at least one of my hummingbirds arrive. It was very early after a night time rain. Every drop of water sparkled in the morning sun and there was life everywhere. Many birds of all kinds were present, and several of each kind selected their perfect perch to sit and wait for a possible arriving mate. They all sang their own song, all so different, and none of them in unison. It was like unorchestrated chaos, but so beautiful. All of my favourite birds had shown up within 2 days, except one.
I found no better way to spend the day than sitting and listening to the peaceful garden, and waiting for our Rubies to return. Every small moving object in the yard would grab my attention and make my heart skip a beat. Then it happened. Over the trees and directly to the open feeder arrived a male Ruby. He spent about 30 seconds drinking, and then flew the the next feeder to get a taste. Then he flew to the third, fourth, and fifth feeder, giving them each a taste. He inspected the yard from corner to corner and flew to one of his favourite perches...2000 miles and I'm finally home. N.E. of Edmonton, May 2016. Adult Male Ruby-throated hummingbird.
7 Comments
Marcie Bochar
5/23/2017 01:09:56 pm
He arrived NE of Edmonton, but forgot to stop for a drink of sugar water in NE Edmonton (Rundle Park). After 40 years of trying to attract the hummingbirds I will hope that this will be the magic year!
michael
5/23/2017 01:23:21 pm
I sure hope you get some this year as well. If you are near Rundle Park then I would think your odds would be pretty good. It seems a large portion of the sightings reported to me are near the River Valley, but not all of them.
Dave Markle
6/6/2017 10:39:08 pm
Ah, yes, that first sighting! A day of joy! This year was six days later than last, 19 May, in Toronto.
Dorinda
9/1/2017 09:36:22 pm
I didn't know they returned so early. I hanged the feeder mid June in Pickering, and they are at the feeder like in the next moment. Will hang up mid May next year. And now sep 1st, one female and one juvenile are still here, from dawn to dust.
michael
9/2/2017 08:59:21 am
Dorinda, your region of the country has seen hummingbirds as early as late March, however, April 15 to May 5 are the most common arrival times. It's good to have feeders up 7-10 days before their estimated arrival times. This allows for early migrants and inconsistent arrival times.
Dave Markle
9/3/2017 09:36:32 pm
Hi Dorinda. I am still seeing a female every day (I am northern part of Toronto - Richmond Hill), but not from dawn until dusk! And I expect these daily visits to end any day now. Today was the fourteenth consecutive day the female has been here. But nothing consistent before that except when they passed through in May.
Linda c bee
6/10/2017 09:56:31 am
Northern Manitoba here. First sighting this year was may 14 th. I have the main feeder that is changed biweekly and three others that I just randomly change. Leave a Reply. |
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