It can, but the bees don't drink much. The ones I have come with an ant mote that really only slows them down. I've had a couple minor invasions this year. I just lower it into a full bucket of water to dilute then dump it over the deck rail.

LOL, the other day I busted out laughing when a bumble bee chased a hummy away from it!

I had to laugh sorry Kelly! We are taking down our Humming Bird feeders right now! They are getting ready to head south to you!!

A Humming Bird will drink their weight each day - just a tip!

I've still got a bunch of bee balm flowering right now and the hummies are there every morning when I come home. There's a bunch of them this week, so the migration is beginning.

I hate to see them go, it's one of the first signs that winter is coming...:(

I have had my feeder out but the neighbors mimosa tree bloomed and all the hummers are there now so soon as the blooms all fall off they will be back again.

I keep the feeder full all the time even when the weather is colder. I keep it out in the backyard away from the house because of bees. We can still watch them but are far enough away if there are bees swarming I don't need to panic. We don't have killer bees up here yet but you never know when they will decide to show up.

Also; I put ant killer granules under it because some of the male hummers were messy and slopping the liquid out. I know it has to be the males because females would be more mannerly.

I use a sugar water mixture and just add enough of the red stuff for a pink color and they all love it and I save money.

Here in NE Pennsylvania, the hummers must left as I haven't seen any for awhile now. We've had some pretty chilly weather -- for the hummers -- it feels good to me! Also I haven't seen any robins for a couple weeks either. It seems like they arrive earlier in the spring and leave sooner than they used to. Global warming? But there are still lots of chickadees, sparrows, goldfinches (their feathers are starting to get more brown for the winter), tufted titmice, bluejays and big black crows! This summer on two occasions, there was a hawk sitting on the arbor in my backyard -- either a red tail or a peregrin falcon. No wonder they can kill their prey, their beaks are huge! Guess the grackles have left too. Bah humbug, that means winter is coming back again. When their food becomes scarce, we have deer eating out of the feeders at night too -- you know, in one end and out the other where they leave the "evidence".

A question for you with squirrel feeders -- do they really keep the squirrels away from the birdfeeders? I still haven't discovered a "squirrel-proof" one, and they're so brazen when I try to chase them. They just turn around and look at me until I'm really close.

It's so enjoyable and calming watching the birds. Have four different birdbaths too.......their favorite is the ground bath that looks like stone and the water is like a puddle. More than one can fit in there at a time.

Thank goodness for my helpers who come once a week as they fill the feeders and baths since I can't get to them anymore!!!! :)

How Nice!
 

You are really going to enjoy the hummer. I'll bet in no time he will bring some friends home with him, then you may have to refill more often!:p

They are so fun to watch. I am wanting to have my dh put one up outside our picture window. Also food for songbirds. But I am waiting patiently. He's a busy fellow!

Enjoy!!!!!!!!!:)

Some designs of hummingbird feeders leak. Some develop a vapor lock and air can collect where the ports are.

When it gets really cool, or there are large variations in temp this can happen. If it is cool and the level is low, then it warms up alot during the day, the air will expand in some feeders and push the sugar solution out, and it will drip. I have seen this happen upNorth where temps can go from 50 to 80 in 8 hrs.

Also our suction cup type has a really hard shell, and it tends to vapor lock up. Each morning we take it off the window and tip it slightly and watch the air pocket go glug glug. Sometimes people don't realize this vapor lock thing happens, but the birds will come and try to feed and give up and not return. I think some failures with feeders can be due to this. I happens in some feeders when it gets really cool at night and the solution is sucked up when the air above it in the chamber gets cool and contracts.

For those who love hummingbirds, you might like this book, or get it for a friend for Xmas. It is a photo essay by professional photographers who found a hummer nesting in their yard.
The pictures of the process of raising the babies is just an amazing thing. I think it is the BEST book out there. I guarantee it will take your breath away!

http://www.amazon.com/First-Flight-M...3193498&sr=8-8

Had the feeders attract yellow jackets here, don`t set them too close to the house. Also get the hummingbirds poking around the red emergency release handles for the garage and barn door openers. The will wear themselves out trying to find a way out if they get trapped inside.

I found this about adding red dye to the sugar water mixture:

"Please, do not put honey, Jell-O, brown sugar, fruit, or red food coloring in your feeder! Honey ferments rapidly when diluted with water and can kill hummingbirds. The effects of red dye have not been not scientifically tested, and it is not necessary to color the water to attract birds to your feeder. Further, there are unverified reports that red dye can cause tumors in hummingbirds; this may or may not be true, but why take the chance?"

I found a cute hummingbird video on YouTube today.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=itoidt0Xrs8&NR=1

There are others there as well. Very interesting to watch!

This is a nest with the two babies growing up. (there are pictures that crop up of the artist's animal sculptures during this long video as well).