"Where Are All My Hummingbirds???"

Bird Watcher News June 28th, 2011

A Note About Nectar...

Hummingbird on Dr. JBs

It is VERY IMPORTANT to keep your feeders clean and nectar fresh even when you don't see very many hummingbirds. They may not be visiting often, but still need healthy nectar when they do! When temperatures soar to the upper 80's and 90's, please change your nectar at least twice weekly. You may want to only fill feeders up partially so you're not wasting nectar.

Save The Date!!!

If you'd like to get up close and personal with a hummingbird but are unable to join us this weekend, please consider attending one of our banding demonstrations in August!
On Saturday,
August 20th, we will be banding at the
Buford Bird Watcher location from
8am until 11am
(or until we run out of birds to band!)

Then on Saturday,
August 27th
we will be banding at
Smith Gilbert Gardens
in Kennesaw from
8am until 10am.
This will be our first event at Smith Gilbert so we have no idea how many birds we will catch, but we are excited to be partnering with them!
For more information and directions, visit
SmithGilbertGardens.com

Both of these events are great for the whole family, and the banders will try to let as many kids release birds as possible. Remember to come early to see the most birds!

**************

Newsletter Lotto

The winning receipt

number for this period is

44895

dated 6/25/2011

**************

If this number and date match your receipt, you are a winner! Bring the receipt in to any Bird Watcher store location to claim your

$100 Gift Card!!!

Receipts dated today through July 11th are eligible for the next drawing on July 12th.

Good luck!

Congratulations to

Phyllis Blizzard

our first Lotto winner!
Phyllis shops at our Roswell store and enjoyed getting her Gift Card!!! You could be next!

Hi Birdwatchers!

During May and June we have lots of customers ask us why they are not seeing many humming-

birds at their feeders. These conversations typically start out with something like - "Last year we had tons of hummingbirds and this year we hardly have any at all... Is it related to climate change? Did the recent tornadoes blow them away? Did my next door neighbor steal them? What am I doing wrong???"

DO NOT WORRY!!!

Hummingbirds have their own schedule, and it really doesn't vary that much. They return to our area in late March and April after wintering in Mexico and Belize. We see some activity at feeders then as many migrants pass through and local birds are settling in. But during May, June and early July, most females are nesting and males are busy guarding territories. They don't move around much. Unless you have a nest nearby, you may only catch a glimpse a few times a week or even less.

The good news is that most young will start coming off the nest about the Fourth of July, or soon after. You'll start to see more birds at your feeders as the adults are free to move around more, young birds learn that feeders are really cool, big "flowers" with lots of nectar, and post breeding dispersal begins for some adult males.

August and September are always our busiest months for hummingbirds. Even more young are out of the nest and southward migration is in full swing! Many of our staff and customers will regularly report seeing dozens, and even hundreds of birds at a time. More feeders = more birds! It is very exciting!

Want To See Hummingbirds Up Close???

Karen and Julia will be banding hummingbirds at the
Sunflower Farm Festival in Rutledge, Georgia on
Saturday, July 2nd!
The festival opens at 9am and we will be banding until 11am or later if there are lots of hummers! But come early for the most birds!

For more information and directions, visit

www.SunflowerFarmFestival.com

Kennesaw * Roswell * Buford * Marietta
Canton * Hiram

www.BirdWatcherSupply.com