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My Hummingbird Story for 2026

by Keith Fulfer
(Collierville Tennessee)

Nancy and I have been watching the hummers since 2004, when we were married. We hung a couple of feeders out in the back. It might have been 2 or 3 feeders. We were excited when we had more than two birds. We thought we were in bird heaven when we had 4.

After about ten years there we moved to another home. The feeders went up in early April. Two birds were normal. We might have four, maybe five during the late summer migration peak. I still have hundreds of pictures of the birds flying around the feeders.

We moved outside of Collierville in 2023, where we now have four acres. The feeders went up again. I continued to add flower beds for wild flowers and other plants to attract the hummers, butterflies and bees. By early 2026 we were having up to six birds, particularly in the the migration period.

In August of 2026, we took a two week vacation. I was worried we might lose our birds by being gone so long. One of the first things I did when I returned was refill the feeders. Then the magic really started.

At first I had my traditional four feeders out. The bird count begin to sky rocket. Eight to ten birds a day. Maybe more, because that was all I could count around the three feeders that were close to each other. Then it became sixteen. Or more. How did I know. Each feeder had four ports. At times all four ports were occupied and birds were hovering. I added a fifth feeder.

I bought a 32 oz feeder. I was refilling them twice a day. I now had five feeders close together, with one other one across the yard. I also had a hanging bulb feeder that had six bulbs. The activity was crazy. At times I could count 20 birds eating on the five feeders, with birds flying around as well. On either side of the yard were trees that they birds would sit on. Some days my feeding was three times a day.

It appears my last bird was on October 5th. I still have a couple of feeders out in case there are any stragglers. Now the regular birds are getting more feeders out. My wild flowers are still blooming so I am leaving them for now, until I see no more butterflies. Unfortunately, the butterfly count is way down.

The magic? I am not sure there is any. I have lots of flowers and plants out for the birds. I am blessed to have such an open space. I hope the birds drop by in 2027 as they return to their summer homes!

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