There aren nearly as many hummingbirds visiting my yard now as there used to be. Whats happening?
This is a complicated question. Little is known about long-term changes in hummingbird populations and migratory patterns, though weather can influence the number and diversity of birds at feeders from year to year and even hour to hour. Studies have shown that hummingbirds visit feeders less frequently when wildflowers are abundant, so fewer birds at your feeder may be a sign of a good wildflower crop or even the presence of more feeders in your neighborhood. If your local hummingbird populations are truly declining, habitat destruction is almost certainly part of the problem. Each year hundreds of thousands of acres of natural habitat are lost to development on both the northern nesting grounds and tropical wintering grounds of hummingbirds and other migratory birds. Pesticides may also play a role, affecting hummingbirds both directly and indirectly by contaminating their insect prey.
