Hummingbirds.

It's August, and that means hummingbird season is in full swing. All the juveniles have left the nest and there are new arrivals every day. I'm guessing that a lot of them are migrators, since the hummingbird fall migration started in early August.

The adult male hummingbirds migrate first, followed by the females and both male and female juvenile hummers when they've put on enough weight to make the trip. My backyard hummingbird population is mostly female, although a couple of them seem seem to be sporting five o'clock shadows, which tells me that they're juvenile males. It's too early to tell whether they're ruby throated or black chinned hummingbirds, yet. I have female "customers" of both species, so it could be either breed.

Lately, the hummingbird action is all about who owns the feeders. Usually, it involves one or more of my resident females chasing off a male ruby throated hummingbird who has popped by for a quick sip of nectar. Sometimes, it's the other way around.

Yesterday, four hummingbirds -- two females, one male and one sex not available-- spent quite a lot of time chasing each other around the feeders, through the crepe myrtles and doing figure-eights around the tomatoes planted in the topsy turveys. It was hard to tell who was chasing who, and I'm not sure they knew themselves!

I've written an article with a hummingbird nectar recipe and some feeder tips. You can find it here.

I've also written about hummingbird gardening. You can find an article about heat tolerant plants to attract hummingbirds here.