Hummingbirds MIA at the Bird Feeder

About a month ago, I had hummingbirds crowding around the feeder, every perch taken.  They were mostly Black Chinned hummingbirds, our most common resident in the Hill Country of Texas, and some Ruby Throated ones that were probably on their way north.  Then it settled down to what I would say were two to three pairs of Black Chinned who appeared to be the ones choosing to stay.   

For the next few weeks, I was treated to those grand displays of the male, swooping up and down in front of his beloved, wowing her with his aerial capabilities, and wowing me too. It is like that ride at the fair where you swing in a half arc higher and higher; grand to see.

Now, however, in mid-May, all is quiet on the Western front.  Hardly any hummers are coming to the feeder, and even the Golden Fronted woodpeckers who seem to follow every meal of grubs with a sugary dessert, are hardly coming. 

 The reason for the abandonment- is my nectar not good enough; do the neighbors add more sugar to theirs?  Has there been some cataclysmic event in the life of the hummingbirds?  I think not.  My best guess is they are sitting on eggs and parenthood is a 24/7 affair that probably means fewer trips to the feeder. 

My chickadees on the Cape that were such a constant at the feeder, would disappear during nesting time too, only to return with multiple more chickadees in tow to learn the ways of taking a seed one at a time.

My theory is, if you keep a careful watch of who is coming and who ISN’T coming to your feeders, you can get a better sense of when nesting is happening for the different birds in your yard.

So, I am pretty sure the few pairs that were here have built nests, and are busy incubating the two eggs as we speak.   Even though I am scanning the trees with my binoculars, it seems unlikely I will find the nest.  Was there ever a better-camouflaged nest than a hummingbirds?  Made of soft plant down, feathers and other comfy materials, then held together by stronger- than-steel, spider webs, that, and how cool is this, have the elasticity that allows it to expand as the babies grow. 

 Top it all off with bits of lichen and bark attached to the outside, then knowing it is only about as big as a walnut; good luck finding it!  Luckily, someone has, so I can include a picture here.

So, no need to call out the Guard to find my missing hummers; leave them alone and they will come home, bringing their babes behind them.  That’s the hope anyways.  Watch for you own MIA’s and let me know what’s happening in your yard. 

The lower part of my yard is a war zone, but that is another story. Mockingbird territorial wars, coming soon to a blog site near you.