One thing that a hurricane always does is destroy all the flowers on the trees and shrubs this time of year. These are very important hummingbird flowers and hummers depend on them in the Gulf Coast in the late summer/early fall for a lot of their sustenance during migration. The salt water from the hurricane storm surges can also kill a lot of the plants that have flowers the hummingbirds feed from.
We have a friend in Houma, Louisiana (right after Hurricane Gustav roared through) that saw the effects this huge storm had on the local hummingbirds.
Our friend always has a lot of hummingbirds this time of year, because the birds are building up their body weights for their flight to Mexico. He came out after Gustav passed to find his garden trashed, and in his cleanup he rehung his hummingbird feeder. Instantly he was besieged by a swarm of hummingbirds trying to feed even before he got the feeder hung up! At one time he had 15 hummingbirds flying around him, sitting on his arms and hands, begging like paupers for the sweet nectar! The hummingbirds were famished. Our friend went and bought two more feeders and each feeder he has in his yard is being drained daily. Maybe a total of 50 hummingbirds are visiting his feeders daily. Because the hummingbirds have had their natural nectar sources demolished during the storm they really depend on "the kindness of strangers".
Just like Gustav blew through Louisiana, Hurricane Ike has ripped through Galveston and Houston, Texas. Both states are vital areas that hummingbirds travel through on their way back South, and there's no time to waste in getting those feeders out into the garden again! Hummingbirds need your help to stay alive in these wind-torn areas, so fill'er up and get'er done!
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