Rona Wylie Golding is accustomed to seeing hummingbirds this time of year, though not the large numbers that have been frequenting her feeder as of late.
Golding said the hummingbirds usually return to her Sorrento residence around mid-April in search of her feeder.
鈥淭hey鈥檒l come and tweet at you from the hooks where you had them the previous year and actually complain if the feeder isn鈥檛 out,鈥� said Golding with a laugh. 鈥淪o I鈥檝e got to rush inside and start boiling the water.鈥�
This year, however, Golding is seeing many more of the iridescent nectarivores darting around the feeder by her deck than she has ever seen in her 15 years in the South Shuswap.
鈥淭hey鈥檙e just fascinating aren鈥檛 they,鈥� said Golding. 鈥淲e came from England and you don鈥檛 get anything like that there. Seeing these, it鈥檚 pretty special.鈥�
To share her experience, Golding has been using her cellphone to capture video of the birds at her feeder, which she鈥檚 shared on her Facebook page. One of the videos, taken on May 9 in slow motion, shows between nine and 10 of them at the feeder at one time.
Golding believes the birds are nesting in cedar trees next to her backyard.
鈥淚 think in total there鈥檚 got to be maybe 30,鈥� she said. 鈥� Right now, they鈥檙e coming and going, it鈥檚 like a steady flow. But at 8:30 in the evening they all come out and it鈥檚 almost like the last feed before they set down for the night. At 8:30 you can sit out here and its just crazy, just a frenzy.鈥�
Golding couldn鈥檛 say why there are so many hummingbirds at her place this year, though she鈥檚 heard similar reports from others.
鈥淚鈥檝e been speaking with friends, we said is it maybe a cleaner planet right now, is that one of the reasons? I don鈥檛 know, but we鈥檝e never seen anything like it,鈥� said Golding.
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