Not Necessarily Ex Post Hummingbird

I may have been too hasty in declaring all the hummingbirds gone. A few days after I posted my goodbye, I glimpsed one at the feeder. I haven't seen one since, but I've kept nectar in the feeder and after a few days of stasis it's gone down considerably today, and it shouldn't have been because of the wind, as there hasn't been any.

So my working theory at the moment is that there is at least one hummingbird still around but it has increased its range because there are fewer food sources at this time of year, so it comes around our yard less often. We've had two warm, sunny days in a row, which also might mean a local hummer shook itself out of its torpor (a sleep-like state during which it conserves energy) for a big dinner.

The books say that Anna's Hummingbirds live year round on the Pacific coast, and that Allen's hang around the longest of those that migrate. Which raises the possibility that migrating hummingbirds have stopped by for a meal. In any case, I'm still looking, and refilling the feeder.