Hummingbird Question
 

I've seen a little Hummingbird poking around my plants on my front porch. He's always by himself.

My question is this.....can I put up a Hummingbird feeder any time of year or is there a certain time of year they're here in the south?

I've never had a Hummingbird feeder before but I have a good spot in the front of the house where I could put one. Is it too late? :)

Here in Houston, we typically see them from about April to October. The really big #s typically come through from April-June (heading north) and August-September (heading south). The main thing we try to avoid is keeping the feeders up so long in the fall that we end up keeping the birds around beyond the time when they will be able to head south to finish migrating with flowers still blooming south of us.

If you keep the feeders up too long, you can keep them hanging around and will end up having to keep the feeders up all winter to give them something to eat since nothing else will be blooming. We typically take ours down after a cold front in mid to late october, (since they can use the north wind to help them head south) but what time is best for you will depend on how early it gets cold and how long plants stay in bloom around you.

Putting one up now is very helpful, as it gives birds migrating south a chance to stock up on energy. What we typically see is waves of them coming through with each front. One group leaves, and there is a lull for a day or so, then the next group arrives. Depending on the year, we often have 4-5 feeders and 15-20 hummers hanging around in mid september waiting on the next cold front.

Thanks! I'll put one up this week. I've never had a Hummingbird feeder before so this will be fun. :)

Here's an excellent article with all kinds of info on Hummingbirds and even a recipe for the syrup they like.

http://www.hummingbirds.net/feeders.html

Depending on where you live.... I'd say put one up.

If none come to it within 5-7 days (shorter if really hot out), I'd change the solution, as it goes bad quickly. Mold kills hummers.

Ours just left, last week. I had two regulars all summer and they even returned after we came back from vacation (I had taken the feeder down for the 5 weeks.).

I read an article recently in a science magazine, that hummers have a very good memory. They return to old feeding spots, over and over. Some birds may be flying South now, so if you are in a colder region, your bird may just be temporary.

I find they are also attracted by outdoor flags. This is how we get them to stay around here. We have a flag in the back and front of our home. Nice for us to look at, but I think it draws them in. Flags certainly were a factor upNorth where we are in a remote area with no flowers. Hummers eat alot of insects.
I visited a bird refuge in Maine one summer, and they had scads of hummer info. Nectar and sugar water are not their real foods you know. They eat alot of black flies, and often steal bugs out of spider webs.

I just ordered a feeder and a brush/cleaner to take care of the bottle. I'm so excited!

Here's the one I ordered:

This is a trick I use to keep the solution fresh longer.

The commerical dry powders sold for hummingbird feeders have Vit C in them to retard mold.

I buy one packet...usually about $1.00 at WalMart, and use about 1/4 measure to 3/4 measure of the sugar you would use for your particular volume. This will make it pink, and keep it fresher a bit longer. I also tend to make it a bit more concentrated, since this retards mold too. ( more like 1:4 instead of 1:5.) One packet lasts more than a season for me at this rate.

I have a small window feeder with a suction cup, so I mix small amounts at a time. If you use a large one like the picture shown, don't fill it up. Make only about 8-12oz at a time.
Large feeders will molder and rot before used up. Even upNorth where we have many hummers I only make a small amount of solution weekly. If the feeder is out of the sun, and on a Northern facing exposure it may last longer too.

I just love the hummers. I have some pics in my album that I have taken the past 3 yrs. Take a look!

Try the HumZinger feeders, Kell, they're great and super easy to clean. Please don't use dyed feed, just plain, clear sugar water 4:1 boiled water to sugar is the recommended solution. I never fill my feeders very much at all, the hummies are so little, they hardly put a dent in it before I change it at 3-day intervals.

I love to watch the migration maps in the spring, people report sightings all over the country as they make their ways north.

If you see a very dark, almost black hood, there's your male. The female has a lighter, almost white collar with a brighter hood (this goes to ruby throats that only come through the midwest/eastern part of the continent).

Almost everyone in my family has feeders...we use sugar water and the small kids and I make feeders sometimes using plastic drink bottles and old saucers. We saw one that was almost lavendar colored once...I know this was a rare color. We haven't seen it in the last few years.

I also have a homemade squirrel feeder...the lil critter runs into the house and into a huge pickle jar(like pickled eggs come in), eats then back out again onto the tree. They attach easily and the jar is easily accessible to refill or clean.

Yeah - we do the hummingbird thing. The feeder's a riot when ya get a group of 8 to 10 of them in their travels north or south. There's always a dominant one that nosedives the others at the feeder and "runs" them off.

They're a real pain when they get in the garage. They can't get out. I leave one of the garage doors open typically when we're home. When one gets "stuck" in the garage, I start by moving the (red) Blazer out of the garage. If that don't work after a couple hours - I try swatting it with a broom to get 'em out.

We have a squirrel feeder too! Several of them. They're called Pecan trees...

Peach trees, pear trees, tomato plants - all bird feeders here. We actually got peaches one year - I hung a bunch of painted styrofoam balls on the tree. The birds gave gave up before the real peaches arrived. Ya gotta "teach" them every spring.

Don't scream animal cruelty however. These big ole' black birds (greckos or something) can carry off your cat...

We got wild pig feeders too. They're called grubs and live just under your grass and flower beds. You should see what a pack of wild pigs can do to a yard. The first time it happened I called the police - I thought a neighbor had taken a tiller to our yard.

Oh well, in Miami it was alligators, land crabs, wild monkies, and wild parrots.

In Michigan - deer (= smashed front end of the car),mosquitos, mosquitos, and more mosquitos.

Boy, did I get off track.

Tom

I think the one that comes to my porch is a male. He's pretty dark with no white on him at all. He's so tiny......almost looks like a big bug!

I'm excited to get my feeder up and going. Doesn't the sugar water attract bees and other insects, though? :confused: