So long, farewell…until next Spring

They arrive in early spring and keep us mightily entertained through the long, hot, summer days. Even before it is light enough outside for me to see them, I can hear them squeaking angrily at each other as they fight over who gets to land at the feeder and drink.

We put 4 feeders out on 3 sides of the house, all of them out of sight of the others, which is enough for each to have its own feeder, but it doesn’t work that way with them. They tend to move around the house in a group fighting furiously at each feeder. Once in a while two of them will land at the same time and each allows the other to tank up before they start the battle again.

Although 4 hummingbirds doesn’t seem like very many, it’s fine for us. In the past, my friend Judy, who lives about 5 miles out in the country, had as many as 50 or 60 of them, which meant a lot of sugar and a lot of work keeping the feeders filled.

Can you imagine what it might be like if they could do everything that they do but were much larger—say the size of Robins or Bluejays? Their spectacular aerial acrobatics would certainly become something to see. It might be dangerous to go outside. My father-in-law used to have a Chihuahua and I don’t believe I’ve ever met a nastier more unpleasant dog than that little bugger. I was always very thankful that it wasn’t the size of a German Shepherd.

It suddenly turned cold one night last week – nothing gradual about it – and the next morning all was quiet at the feeders. They have headed south and we hope they will have a safe winter along the Gulf Coast, or in the Caribbean, or Mexico, or wherever else they go.

I will leave the feeders out for another week, which are now being mobbed by yellow jackets, in case any stragglers come through. We will look forward to seeing them again in the Spring.