Hello,
I enjoyed reading Leon's report of the hummingbird activity in his area. So I thought I'd report on the activity at my feeders.
I live at about 8700', west of Boulder, in Boulder County.
By early July, I had counted 21 broad-tailed hummingbirds at my 2 feeders. Then, beginning on July 3rd, the population dropped to 3 at one time. I was mystified as to where they all had gone. This continued for a week, and I even through out nectar to refresh it.
But, on July 12th, they all seemed to return in mass, along with several rufous hummingbirds.
I now have approximately 35 broad-tailed hummingbirds and at least 4 rufous. I have yet to see a calliope, but have only had one once here last summer, so that doesn't seem unusual.
I'm refilling my 2 feeders twice a day.
As far the mysterious disappearance, I speculate that the females went off to nest, and the males to declare their territories. But I'd be interested to hear other theories.
(The native wildflowers also became very abundant with all the rain, but they are still there. )
Maureen Blackford
Boulder County
From: Leon Bright
Sent: Monday, July 22, 2019 8:07 PM
To: Cobirds
Subject: [cobirds] Hummers, NW Custer County
COBirders-- After several days observing the feeders at our cabin (9200 ft., Sangre de Cristo range) my impression is: Broad-tailed numbers are somewhat below normal, with fewer juvies; Rufous population about normal, behavior also; Calliope numbers about 25% to 30% above normal. Of course, the latter make us happy! We have fed almost 40 pounds of sugar so far this season.
Leon (and Treva) Bright, Westcliffe and Pueblo
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