Date: 10/13/2024

Number: 0

We just returned from a week's vacation at the beach, Ocracoke to be exact. We observed Ruby throated hummingbirds feeding from Turk's Cap flowers.

When we left Kernersville on Saturday the 5th, we still had at least 8 or so juvenile Rubies, both male and female, feeding from both flowers and feeders. I honestly expected to see at least some of them upon returning. We arrived back home last night, the 12th, and I spent a decent amount of time outside today. I thought I heard one very early, just at daybreak, but I didn't ever see one. We had a friend come by each day to water and tend to our bird feeders. She said she saw hummingbirds each day she was here, playing and chasing one another. When she put swapped out fresh feeders just a couple of days ago, there was a noticeable difference in volume. And when I swapped out fresh feeders this morning, there was also a noticeable difference with the volume. I'll pay close attention the next few days.

Our last juveniles don't usually leave until the 14th-18th of October. However, it is supposed to get quite cold here this week at night, with lows down to 34-35 degrees, which is earlier than usual. So, perhaps, they knew it was time to go. I noticed the winds were quite favorable for them the last few days.

We usually get travelers through most of the month of October. We went from 10 feeders down to 7 today. I'll eventually go down to 4. And by November 1st, I'll keep 2 out all winter, as we had a juvenile Rufous show up 2 years ago in October and spend all winter with us. He didn't leave until late March. When it's really cold, I use the heated feeders. We still have a lot of flowers, however, I'm not sure how many will make it through this cold snap this week. I'm really hoping the forecast changes and the temp stays above 40 degrees. We overwinter a lot of large containers of flowers in our garage and pull them out as often as we can. Fuchsia gartenmeister overwinters extremely well and our Rubies love the flowers. Some varieties of Salvia overwinter well also. The same holds true for Shrimp plant, and some others as well.

I adore our little gems and know many of them by name. And they are comfortable with me and "know" me as well. They are an incredible blessing to us. There is far more to them than most people realize. They return to us every Spring and we are always ready for them. I add more and more to our gardens each year for them, as well as our other birds and pollinators. I highly recommend planting as many native trees, shrubs, and perennials as you can. It makes a huge difference for all the critters. We started with one hummingbird feeder, one Mama hummingbird (Miss Shimmer), and a few flowers five years ago when we moved here and now we are blessed with dozens that return to nest and have their own babies. It's incredibly special to me.

I've included a photo of one of our sweet juveniles, Aurora, from a 2nd clutch this summer. At times when I find myself missing and thinking of them through the winter, I pull out photos that our dear friend Paul takes of them throughout the season. And I savor all the wonderful memories I have of them through the years and I long for late March/ early April, when our adult males (some not even a year old) show up first and find me to say "I'm here!" and I always reply "Welcome home, my dear ones"! Until then, we keep them in our prayers. Godspeed, little jewels!

Kernersville, NC

Latitude: 36.1 Longitude: -80.1

Observed by: Sophie
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