Date: Thu, 3 Jul 2003 09:25:42 -0400 Reply-To: Maryland Birds & Birding Sender: Maryland Birds & Birding From: Jeff Shenot Subject: hummingbird activity The activity level of hummers at our house dramatically increased this week. For most of June they've been unusually quiet (inactive) and did not drink much. Compared to the last several years, by late May they normally are using and defending our feeders actively. This year, we saw very few birds until the weather hit 90+ degrees last week (finally!). Prior to the last week, the consumption rate was about one pint every 5-6 days; it's a quart per day (and rising). While it may seem logical to drink more when it's hot, the past several years have not shown any obvious correlation between high temperature and increased feeding activity. My observation is that hummingbirds seem to feed MORE when the temperature is COOL. Normally, we notice the sharp increase in feeder activity attributed to the later stages of the breeding season in mid- to late July, especially when young begin fledging, but I don't think we are there yet. This week's sharp increase seems to be out of sync, but I may be wrong. It's almost as if a wave of new individuals showed up in our area. Jeff Shenot Croom ======================================================================= To leave the MDOsprey list, send e-mail to listserv@home.ease.lsoft.com with the following message in line 1: signoff mdosprey ======================================================================= =========================================================================