There heeeeere!  Okay, NOW it's officially Spring.  I sighted my first hummer today, think it was a Black-chin but the light wasn't right to make a positive ID. 

I had the same (I assume) family of Black-chins for seven years but last year a group of Ruby-throats ran them off and then stayed for the season.  I tried to put out enough feeders on different sides of the house so that my loyal "blacks" would not think I was neglecting them but I never did see them again.  I hope they're back now.

I had more of the Ruby-throats and they were not as shy as the blacks but I feel a loyalty to the original visitors who kept me entertained for so many years.

I usually put my feeders out when the Crossvine bloomed (usually around St. Patricks Day) but it died off last year.  This year I put several out on the 11th just to make sure I'd catch the first little guys coming through since there wasn't anything yet in bloom that would get their attention.  The salvia greggii are now starting to bloom and the rosemary too so that should keep them busy for awhile.

Let us know when you see your first hummer of the season.