These little birds are highly entertaining. When the feeder is empty in front they will come to the screen and hover there to get our attention. Then when we go out they will hover around us until we get the feeder and take it in for refilling.
We must have 50 or more hummingbirds hanging around for the sugar water. We will taper off the amount we put out the end of August and take them in Labor Day so they will migrate and not wait to long and put themselves in danger. Presently they are going through a gallon of sugar water a day and it is a chore to keep those feeders full.
Carol is about ready to embark on her family visits so I know I am going to be kept busy in her absence.
4 comments:
Comment by Pat:
Birds are feisty... we can only leave a little feed in the feeder overnight because that blasted raccoon raids it. (I do hate that raccoon!) So in the morning, when we're sitting on the deck drinking coffee, the birds sit in the trees right off the deck and chirp at me, as if to say, "Hey! Can't you see we're hungry here. Get your lazy bones up and feed us." So I just did, and the hummingbird nectar is cooling in the kitchen so I can change it out.
My formula is 1 part sugar to 4 parts boiling water. What is yours? Our humming birds actually like it best after it's been in the feeder a couple of days. Dave says it's probably fermented a little by then, and they like the buzz... alcoholic humming birds...
Also, with the seed feeder, our birds are fussy... they don't like cheap seed. If you put seed in the feeder that has a lot of cheap millet filler, they will not touch it... the feeder will just sit there full, so I have to buy the good stuff -- since we have a lot of glorious cardinals, I buy the songbird mix -- expensive, but all the birds like it -- and the raccoon does, too.
We use a 4 to 1 mix also and they seem to love it. We only use hot tap water.
Ours doesn't seem to last long enough to ferment.
Drunk birds reminds me of the squirrel that was eating fermented scuppernog grapes when we camped in Torrea State Park. Kept eating until it was drunk and fell out of the tree onto the think matted pine needles and then went through the whole process again. Nature can be entertaining....
Comment by Pat:
Wow... Bruce, our hummingbirds don't play well together in the sandbox. We have one humming bird who sits on a tree limb and chases other humming birds away... it is obviously HIS feeder. He even buzzes me when I'm changing out the sugar water -- even when I'm picking the cherry tomatoes right next to the feeder. But we enjoy that bird and all his protection of his feeder. When Dave had his first hip surgery, the hummingbirds kept him entertained... there are some pretty aggressive fights that go on!
Pat: Ours used to be more aggressive but not now. We have two species - Rufus and Broadtail. The Rufus would chase the others away when we only had a few. It was entertaining to watch one lure the Rufus away while the others tanked up. Now with so many the Rufus just can't keep up so they join the throng.
We would also help the others by squirting Rufus with a squirt gun and hence trained them to get along together. There are so many now that if the Rufus tried to chase them away he would collapse in exhaustion. Hummingbirds are fascinating as they can tell which flower they previously used (we have many of those too) and they know when it will produce nectar again. They can migrate thousands of miles and return to the exact spot when they return. They also know exactly where they fed along the way. They manage all this with a brain that is smaller than an early pea. Quite remarkable little birds not withstanding their arterial acrobatics. Say hi to Super Dave for us.....
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