I finally got around to hanging my humming bird feeder this past week. I wondered how long it would take the hummers to find it as I've never seen one around here.....it took all of 2 minutes before one was eagerly feeding at it! Amazing....
Now it's empy...need to refill ASAP.
The hummers appear to have deserted my feeder; same thing happened to a friend down the street a couple of miles....what's up with the hummers this summer??
One showed up for a short while today & fed DURING a thunderstorm; crappy pic here:
The hummers disappear from time to time from my feeders also.Originally Posted by TNRabbit
I also see them back during, and just after rain storms.
I believe that as certain types of plants bloom the hummers may prefer them over the feeders.
Also it could be that a downpour would cause the blooms to close. Or if like mine, your feeder is under the eve of the house it is just out of the rain.
Maybe plants like honeysuckle are their version of home grown tomatoes.:love_heart:
They will return.
East of the big river we have the Ruby-throated hummingbird and most other types seen in these parts are lost. I have had a couple other types show up in Fall.
The Ruby comes to the USA to breed and defends a territory. That means they do not group up like Finches. Reasons for higher mortality in males may include loss of weight during the breeding season due to the high energetic demands of defending a territory. They lay two eggs and can nest twice in a Summer. The young are easy to spot at your feeder as some even have a hard time holding on to it, and I have seen them roll over backwards with feet still attached to perch.
This time of year Hbs also eat a lot of insects and spiders, not just nectar. They feed the young bugs as they need protein to develop just like all baby birds and mammals.
So by August the numbers at my/your feeders increases a lot. Also, in Spring and Fall you have the birds from the north stopping by to fuel. Then they need to fatten up a lot or die trying to migrate. This time of year I cut back on my feeders to keep the food fresh. I just have about 4-8oz ones now and of course the "decoration" ones the bride gives me.
I change the water every Sunday morning as the heat can ferment it. A quart of sugar water costs pennies.
Toward Fall I will have to switch over to my quart feeders and buy sugar like a moonshiner to keep up with demand.
Right now I have about 4 birds, probably two pair from different areas of my place, but that will increase to a bunch as the young add to the numbers. Try putting a feeder far from the other hidden on different sides of your house to attract more pairs.
They are feisty little devils.
I have been through a lot of types of feeders as K gives them to me for gifts. By far the most popular here is the cheap plastic Perky Pet feeder. I have all types that are ignored for these. This Christmas I got a couple cool ones made from pint Mason jars in a copper hanger that are nice to look at, but like all of my styles, if one of these plastic Perky pet things is nearby, the others will be mostly ignored. The same is true for other styles, no matter how much people like theirs. Hang yours and one of these and see where they go. I don't like that, want then to enjoy my cut glass one, but --
http://www.amazon.com/Perky-Pet-Pinc...et+hummingbird
Here is the new model, I got two in for trial and it is much, much better for cleaning and filling:applouse:. Comes with a packet of food. Buy these. I will have all my old style changed over by next Spring.
http://www.amazon.com/Perky-Pet-203C...b_title_garden
Always buy feeders with places to land. HBs don't need that, but they will sit with you longer.
Hummers are some of the very few birds who actually benefit from human help to survive.
Toad is right about flowers. My place is mostly shade so I mostly buy red flowers like Inpatients, New Zealand Impatiens, and Begonias. I have some luck with Day Lillies. I have never seen a HB at my many Roses, but that means I just did not see them. RED is a preferred color. I have a few red baffles over my feeders to lure in migrants.
http://birding.about.com/od/Specific...rd-Flowers.htm
You mix plain sugar with water? What is the recipe?
Steve
Experts say 4 to one. I cheat a little but have read too rich a mixture can be hard on their kidneys.
In Fall I do go closer to 3:1, but not 3:1.
They like red as a general color, but as my feeders are red, I color all my food with green for fun.
Color also retards Sunlight algae growth with is not harmful. Food coloring is not either these days.
I mix up a batch and store it in the fridge.
I change it every week in Summer and once a month in Winter.
4 to 1 what? 4 cups of sugar to 1 gallon of water.
Steve
I know you are messing with me, but as a post from you is rare, I am game.
I will play. Glad to have you posting.
In grade school chemistry or home economics (neither taught these days), we learn 2:1 or 10:1 does not apply to volume but to ratio.
Obviously sugar is the low end as on the high end we would not have a liquid.
So as to 'cups' and 'gallons', it makes no difference.
For the people in Rio Linda, that means one cup of sugar to 4 cups of water and adjust as required.
Ok 1 to 4.
Third season without seeing a hummingbird. I've been using the red feed available at hardware stores. I want to try mixing my own.
Steve
Where do you live Steve?
If it is east of the Mississippi, you have just one species to attract, the Ruby Throat.
The best time to attract is the Spring.
Get out lots of red and do it early.
Maybe you can attract a few as they migrate by this Fall
I actually keep one feeder up all Winter, just in case. That has come into play a few times in my yard.
Maybe some are sneaking in observed. A good place to put a feeder is out the kitchen window near the sink. I know most people don't sit out side as much as I do (92 degrees here right now), and so they can be missed.
This Spring put in some red flowers that bloom late March. Basically in middle March just go to Lowes or Home Depot and see what they have. Pots on the porch with them is easy to do.
I use these baffles to help add some red:
http://www.duncraft.com/Hummingbird-Weather-Baffle
That is a steep price, but they will last for years as it is an epoxy red. I got a bunch cheap in a "lot sale" of different sizes and colors on ebay years ago when a business was closing.
I'm in southern NY state.
Wait until fall to put the feeder out? I will not get any birds visiting the feeder during the summer??
Steve
No, no. like I said, I keep one out all year and add a dozen more in Spring.
There is every chance some will show for you this year:applouse:, and like I said, maybe they do and you missed them. This time of year they don't hang at feeders like they will in fall.
I put an order in for the feeder you recommended.
Steve
I had a new friend show up in my yard early this week.
He/She? has taken up residence under my shop building in the back yard.
I know the photos are poor quality.
Sorry, they were taken from inside the house through both the window pane and storm glass. I also have shaky hands.
I include the second one only so you can get a sense of how small this rabbit is by using the dove that is just beside it for scale.
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