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hummingbird departures



I think my adult hummers flew the coop -- I know the males did.
On Friday 8/27 I sat on my porch watching the hummingbird feeder for an
hour, then suddenly realized I wasn't seeing any adult males. There was
still a swarm of females and young at the feeder on Friday. Occasionally
they'd fill all 4 perches. On Saturday afternoon I came home and found a
dramatic reduction in birds. No more swarms -- at most 2 at the feeder at a
time.
This morning I counted 4 hummers out back, though still no more than 2 at a
time on the feeder.
In the spring I started with 3 adult females and 2 males, and the summer
population was at least 8 birds but probably more. It's hard to count them. 
This date feels early to me for the adults to depart. I think I had adult
males up to Labor Day last year, but my notes from that time are full of
warblers, with nothing on hummers!
Ginger_Travis@unc.edu
near Chapel Hill, NC