Hummingbirds - Bird Talk.

[Stopsignhank]

I always have 3 hummingbird feeders on my patio, one on the left, one on the right and one on the middle. The one on the left was getting a lot of usage and the other ones not so much.

https://imgur.com/a/9tiAXOV

I took the bird feeder from the middle and moved it to the left.

https://imgur.com/a/55NmZRQ

To be continued.........

 

[Stopsignhank]

It was better but I added the third bird feeder. It is still pretty busy but I am out of bird feeders so they will have to wait in line for an open spot.

https://imgur.com/a/khA1CKe

 

[lxskllr]

I used to get a couple birds, but I haven't seen them for a couple years. I don't know what happened to them. Might've died, and there was no one to replace them.

 

[BoomerD]

I keep 2 feeders up year round. (One is heated for the winter, the other gets brought in to thaw at night) we have one male Anna’s hummingbird who defends BOTH feeders…but will occasionally allow what looks like a female to feed.

 

[Stopsignhank]

LX, I have plenty to spare.

BD, A heated hummingbird feeder? WOW. Never heard of that.

Usually one HB will take over the feeder on the left and another will take over the feeder on the right. The one in the middle is kind of free. The past couple of weeks though the one on the left has been crazy busy. So last night I did the moving around.

If you look at the first post, I took that video about 4:30 last night. When I woke up this morning it was empty. As in someone licked the bottom of the bowl empty. My wife said it sure is a good thing that she bought some sugar at Costco. We are going through it.

 

[Charmonium]

I'm going to try to set one up. We used to have the emerald green ones.

 

[Lost_in_the_HTTP]

They normally show up the first week of May, but this year might be early like everything else. Need to keep a watch I guess.

 

[WelshBloke]

I've never seen a hummingbird in the wild (I'm not sure if I've seen one in captivity tbh) and I'm very jealous! They are beautiful!

 

[BoomerD]

LX, I have plenty to spare.

BD, A heated hummingbird feeder? WOW. Never heard of that.

Usually one HB will take over the feeder on the left and another will take over the feeder on the right. The one in the middle is kind of free. The past couple of weeks though the one on the left has been crazy busy. So last night I did the moving around.

If you look at the first post, I took that video about 4:30 last night. When I woke up this morning it was empty. As in someone licked the bottom of the bowl empty. My wife said it sure is a good thing that she bought some sugar at Costco. We are going through it.

Home Page

Hummers Heated Delight - The Original Heated Hummingbird Feeder - American Made - Family Owned and OperatedPhoto Courtesy of Bernadette Price - Columbia River Gorge Welcome to Hummers Heated Delight!The Hummers Heated Delight is a heated hummingbird feeder that will feed your hummingbirds warm...

hummersheateddelight.com

There are cheaper ones on Amazon…but all use the same “lightbulb in the base” to heat them. We had a few days in the teens back in January…the top “jar” part would freeze, but the juice in the base stayed liquid.

 

[nakedfrog]

I need to put some feeders up, once spring and summer are here I do see them in my yard fairly often, and there's often one posted up on a tree near my deck.

 

[Lost_in_the_HTTP]

I've never seen a hummingbird in the wild (I'm not sure if I've seen one in captivity tbh) and I'm very jealous! They are beautiful!

Friggin' things are dangerous. I've had 'em whizz by my head within a couple of inches at full speed. So close I could feel the wind from their wings. They also make a zipping/whistling sound as they part the air. Kind of hard to describe.

 

[thestrangebrew1]

I rarely see them, but then again I don't put feeders up. They are beautiful and cool though. A few questions regarding the feeders:

1. Do they attract other birds/insects etc?
2. With the numbers shown in the OP, do they make a mess with droppings etc?

 

[Lost_in_the_HTTP]

My feeders get a variety of red wasps and yellow jackets among other things. It's kind of funny to watch them dart, dodge and dance with the birds trying to get dominance over the feeders.

They squirt white stuff, but there is so little in each one that I've never seen it on the ground.

 

[Stopsignhank]

I've never seen a hummingbird in the wild (I'm not sure if I've seen one in captivity tbh) and I'm very jealous! They are beautiful!

I know this is TMI. A couple months ago one HB took over the right feeder. He would sit on a tree 15 feet away and if any other HBs went to the feeder he would chase them away. I went out there and was yelling at the little SOB. He had this grey/green body, but when he would turn his head towards me it would flash this brilliant red. Just gorgeous. They do dive bomb you sometimes also. I have seen it where they fly up about 30 feet and then dive at something and buzz it. You can hear them actually buzz when they fly by. Pretty cool.

The one thing I am jealous of is that my wife had a nest right outside of her office one year. She got to watch the eggs hatch and the parents feed them. I would have loved to see that.

 

[Stopsignhank]

Home Page

Hummers Heated Delight - The Original Heated Hummingbird Feeder - American Made - Family Owned and OperatedPhoto Courtesy of Bernadette Price - Columbia River Gorge Welcome to Hummers Heated Delight!The Hummers Heated Delight is a heated hummingbird feeder that will feed your hummingbirds warm...

hummersheateddelight.com

There are cheaper ones on Amazon…but all use the same “lightbulb in the base” to heat them. We had a few days in the teens back in January…the top “jar” part would freeze, but the juice in the base stayed liquid.

Cool. I don't have to be worried about that is SoCal, but cool that someone thought of that.

 

[Stopsignhank]

I rarely see them, but then again I don't put feeders up. They are beautiful and cool though. A few questions regarding the feeders:

1. Do they attract other birds/insects etc?
2. With the numbers shown in the OP, do they make a mess with droppings etc?

There was one time that I got bees on the feeder. It was a different design of feeder and I threw it away. The ones I have now the only way to the liquid is through a very narrow tube so no other insect or bird can get to it. I have not really had a problem with the droppings The only problem I have had is it seems every time I try to record them eating they will poop. It is crazy to think that these things live off of sugar, and that is it. We have to eat some much of this and then less of that. These things eat pure sugar.

 

[Stopsignhank]

I need to put some feeders up, once spring and summer are here I do see them in my yard fairly often, and there's often one posted up on a tree near my deck.

Do it. These might be migrating and headed your way.

 

[Lost_in_the_HTTP]

They also thrive on long narrow blossoms. Rose Of Sharon and an orange tube like thing I call Trumpet Vine. I've seen them after a few other flowers too that drip nectar.

 

[Lost_in_the_HTTP]

Have any of you ever had one come up to you in the yard and hover in front of you ... like ... ' hey dumbass, the feeder's empty!!! ' ??

 

[BoomerD]

Have any of you ever had one come up to you in the yard and hover in front of you ... like ... ' hey dumbass, the feeder's empty!!! ' ??

Yep…and if I get too close to one of the feeders, I get buzzed. Little fckrs are aggressive as hell.

 

[Muse]

Possible to DIY a good HBF? Which commercial ones make sense? I don't want hornets or bees to take over.

They are around here, not sure if all year but maybe, it almost never freezes.

 

[lxskllr]

Pure cane sugar + water is all that is needed. You'll probably get bees and ants. Comes with the territory.

 

[BoomerD]

I don’t think I’ve ever had a bee or ant problem…before we fenced our yard, we’d occasionally have one taken by a deer…and a couple taken by bears.

Muse, I suppose you could DIY one…but they’re cheap enough to buy. I looked on- line…the Emeryville Home Depot has several for $20 or less…and, of course, there’s Amazon.

 

[BoomerD]

Pure cane sugar + water is all that is needed. You'll probably get bees and ants. Comes with the territory.

4/1 ratio of water/sugar. Boil the mixture to kill any bacteria, let it cool, fill the feeders, (even half full is fine) hang it outside where the hummers can find it…preferably not in full sun all day.

 

[Stopsignhank]

Yesterday there were NO HBs that came by so I moved one of the feeders back on the right. One little SOB tried to take it over today. It is the little guy in the video below. @WelshBloke took these for you so you can see what they are like in person. You might need to open up the first video in person to see the flashes of red. These guys look all gray, but then the light hits them just right their face flashes red. The other day it was just right and the entire face was all red. This one not so much, but you get the idea.

https://imgur.com/a/vw0lI8I

Here is the little SOB in action. I might move the feeder back with the others, I don't like bullies. If the feeders are close enough and there are enough other HBs the bully gets tired and chase everyone away. Then he learns to share.

https://imgur.com/a/OL77n5N