Muse
Lifer
- Jul 11, 2001
- 40,874
- 10,222
- 136
Finally saw a HB at my window feeder a couple days ago. So, it's not a total secret, but last summer there was a fair amount of HB activity. Still, it's a good sign.
The Tree Tobacco out back was pretty popular earlier this evening. This was all within about a ten minute span.
Unknown female
Male Black-chinned
Male Anna's
The Anna's hanging out with an Allen's or Rufous (not entirely sure which)...
Attack!
Unknown female
Male Black-chinned
Male Anna's
The Anna's hanging out with an Allen's or Rufous (not entirely sure which)...
Attack!
bbhaag
Diamond Member
- Jul 2, 2011
- 7,334
- 2,914
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Just spotted our first one! It was feeding on a plant called Humming birds lunch. The plant is in the cuphea genus and they LOVE this thing!! Anyway, sorry for crappy pic...they are so hard to capture.
- Mar 1, 2014
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Here is some more hummingbirds in the wild. Guess these little guys like the natural stuff and not the processed food at the feeder.
Muse
Lifer
- Jul 11, 2001
- 40,874
- 10,222
- 136
I've seen a few in the wild on my every other day hikes lately, but only seen maybe 2 in the last 8 weeks or so in my yard. One was feeding at my window feeder. It's nectar's down but I don't know if it's HBs or a leak. Hoping for a revival of HB activity in the yard, it wasn't stellar last year but it was certainly active for maybe 6 months.
- Mar 1, 2014
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I have not had the activity that I had last year. I keep 2 feeders filled and they will last a couple of days. These feeders also have a limited number of uses. After about a year they start to leak and need replaced. Fine with me. Filling them twice a day got to be a bit much.
Story time. After I posed this I could not see the video move on my phone. I thought there was an issue with Imgur so I changed the posts from hidden to public. One has been viewed more than 7,000 times. The thing is, I have no idea where. I also got 15 upvotes and 3 down votes. Why the down votes? Someone have something against hummingbirds?
Story time. After I posed this I could not see the video move on my phone. I thought there was an issue with Imgur so I changed the posts from hidden to public. One has been viewed more than 7,000 times. The thing is, I have no idea where. I also got 15 upvotes and 3 down votes. Why the down votes? Someone have something against hummingbirds?
Muse
Lifer
- Jul 11, 2001
- 40,874
- 10,222
- 136
I like to quote William Blake. Here's one from the beginning of his most famous work, The Marriage of Heaven and Hell (where he has this carved on a cliff!):
How do you know but every bird that cuts the airy way is not an immense world of delight closed to the senses five?
Neat little article about how hummingbird feeders in CA possibly expanded hummingbird range and morphology.
- Mar 1, 2014
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Well I jinxed it. They are coming back and two feeders need to be refilled once a day.
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That is pretty interesting. Not exactly how I feel about helping a species to morph, but I figure I am just feeding the birds in my little area.
Of course the 15 year old in me noticed this sentence. (bolding is mine)
dank69
Lifer
- Oct 6, 2009
- 37,355
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Muse
Lifer
- Jul 11, 2001
- 40,874
- 10,222
- 136
My window feeder looks bone dry and haven't seen a bird near it for a couple weeks. I guess it's just leaking, a Kingsyard. Bad design, the seal is just rubber in a groove. So, I went a-shoppin' on Amazon and Ebay looked at a lot of stuff, settled on this:
Kingsyard 2 Pack Window Hummingbird Feeders w/ Ant Moat, Strong Suction Cups - 8 Oz Leak Proof & 5 Bee Proof Feeding Ports $22.99
By and large excellent reviews. Neat stuff:
Looks like it can't leak
A real moat to keep ants out
The moat + nectar tray lift out easily for maintenance
People say the suction cups are real good, mostly
con: Says holds 8oz but one reviewer said more like 6oz.
This kind of design doesn't allow nectar to be stored in a cylinder, so when the nectar gets too low the birds won't reach the nectar.
Got the 2 pack so I can prepare a feeder and swap with the old one any time of day. Last year I cleaned etc. the window feeder and saw a little one settle on the perch and get real frustrated because it couldn't find its juice!
Kingsyard 2 Pack Window Hummingbird Feeders w/ Ant Moat, Strong Suction Cups - 8 Oz Leak Proof & 5 Bee Proof Feeding Ports $22.99
Amazon.com : Kingsyard 2 Pack Window Hummingbird Feeders with Ant Moat, Strong Suction Cup Hummingbird Feeder for Outdoors - 8 Oz Leak Proof & 5 Bee Proof Feeding Ports, Red : Patio, Lawn & Garden
Amazon.com : Kingsyard 2 Pack Window Hummingbird Feeders with Ant Moat, Strong Suction Cup Hummingbird Feeder for Outdoors - 8 Oz Leak Proof & 5 Bee Proof Feeding Ports, Red : Patio, Lawn & Garden
www.amazon.com
By and large excellent reviews. Neat stuff:
Looks like it can't leak
A real moat to keep ants out
The moat + nectar tray lift out easily for maintenance
People say the suction cups are real good, mostly
con: Says holds 8oz but one reviewer said more like 6oz.
This kind of design doesn't allow nectar to be stored in a cylinder, so when the nectar gets too low the birds won't reach the nectar.
Got the 2 pack so I can prepare a feeder and swap with the old one any time of day. Last year I cleaned etc. the window feeder and saw a little one settle on the perch and get real frustrated because it couldn't find its juice!
- Mar 1, 2014
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Well, they are back. 3 feeders are lasting about 1 day now.
One Costco that we go to is in a snooty town and they do not have 25 pound bags of sugar. There is another one that has the 25 pound bags, but unfortunately they might be switching out to 50 pound bags of sugar. I mean I will go through it, but I don't have a real good way to dispense the sugar from the 50 pound bags. Maybe this should go in First World Problems.
One Costco that we go to is in a snooty town and they do not have 25 pound bags of sugar. There is another one that has the 25 pound bags, but unfortunately they might be switching out to 50 pound bags of sugar. I mean I will go through it, but I don't have a real good way to dispense the sugar from the 50 pound bags. Maybe this should go in First World Problems.
BoomerD
No Lifer
- Feb 26, 2006
- 66,271
- 14,692
- 146
My favorite and most expensive feeder has been leaking. https://hummersheateddelight.com/heated-feeders/32-oz-heated-hummingbird-feeder.html I like that it's heated so I can feed all winter, but not at the cost of the juice leaking out on the ground.
Kind of a poor design, so I bought a pair of these:
Only 16 oz., so I have to refill them more often.
With the smaller feeders I have, I have to refill at least once per week. The Rufous are back and drive off the Anna's whenever they can.
Muse
Lifer
- Jul 11, 2001
- 40,874
- 10,222
- 136
Those all red ones should attract them super. My favorites are these cheap-ass ones I bought off Walmart, I have 3 of them. They don't leak and the HBs like them. Easy to clean, for me more than adequate capacity. Don't come with ant protection, so I made my own featuring hanging hook:
First Nature Hummingbird Feeder, 16 oz, Red, Plastic
https://www.walmart.com/ip/seort/22889949
My new 2 pack window feeders look to be super design. Can't possibly leak, good visibility. Only problem is capacity is maybe 8oz and if gets low the bird's beak may not reach the nectar. But in my yard may not be much of an issue. I deployed one 4 days ago and saw a HB on it yesterday.
Amazon.com : Kingsyard 2 Pack Window Hummingbird Feeders with Ant Moat, Strong Suction Cup Hummingbird Feeder for Outdoors - 8 Oz Leak Proof & 5 Bee Proof Feeding Ports, Red : Patio, Lawn & Garden
Amazon.com : Kingsyard 2 Pack Window Hummingbird Feeders with Ant Moat, Strong Suction Cup Hummingbird Feeder for Outdoors - 8 Oz Leak Proof & 5 Bee Proof Feeding Ports, Red : Patio, Lawn & Garden
www.amazon.com
BoomerD
No Lifer
- Feb 26, 2006
- 66,271
- 14,692
- 146
Muse
Lifer
- Jul 11, 2001
- 40,874
- 10,222
- 136
Last couple weeks the HBs have come back to my yard in force. Didn't see them except at the kitchen window feeder at the sink, but saw the other 3 feeders' levels dropping, the sign that they have been out there. Now I see HBs in the yard. Changed all the nectar today. A few minutes after changing the window feeder nectar a HB started feeding and a couple minutes later another joined it. First time I've seen 2 birds feeding at same time on that or I think any other of my feeders, see below.
The window feeder: I have a clear glass window pane leaning against the window from the inside with one way film taped to it. The HBs don't see me through it, maybe ever. With the pane pulled to the side they usually won't even land, just fly off without feeding. This feeder is light years better than my previous window feeder, which began to leak pretty badly. This one is totally leak proof.
The window feeder: I have a clear glass window pane leaning against the window from the inside with one way film taped to it. The HBs don't see me through it, maybe ever. With the pane pulled to the side they usually won't even land, just fly off without feeding. This feeder is light years better than my previous window feeder, which began to leak pretty badly. This one is totally leak proof.
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- Mar 1, 2014
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Love the close up of the birds.
It is getting to be crazy time here again. This is what happens when only 2 of the feeders have food in them. (Sorry, Imgur is giving me grief right now so I have to try this link while I figure it out.
hummingbird video
It is getting to be crazy time here again. This is what happens when only 2 of the feeders have food in them. (Sorry, Imgur is giving me grief right now so I have to try this link while I figure it out.
hummingbird video
Muse
Lifer
- Jul 11, 2001
- 40,874
- 10,222
- 136
That is fabulous! Flying room only. I have one of those Kingsyard feeders but am not using it (my new window feeder is also Kingsyard). Another picture of my new window feeder, in which the one way film covered glass pane is more clearly seen, taken just before the shot shown above:
- Mar 1, 2014
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- Mar 1, 2014
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I am trying something. I wrapped the bottom in plastic wrap and poked holes for the yellow flowers. You can see the bees trying to get to any leaks in the feeder. Just trying to keep the little buggers away from the hummingbird feeder. I don't want to kill them. Heck, when I see a bee in the pool I pull them out of the water and let them dry off.
Muse
Lifer
- Jul 11, 2001
- 40,874
- 10,222
- 136
I saved a bee's life last time I went to Costco. I was putting my stuff in my car from the cart and a bee had found its way into a 3lb bag of apples through one of the tiny ventilation holes. I slashed the bag open with a retractable razor I keep on my key chain so it could escape.
I wasn't having good luck with that Kingsyard HB feeder so I stopped using it. I now have that Kingsyard window feeder seen above and 3 cheap Walmart-bought (and shipped) feeders, that so far have worked really well for me. No leaks AFAIK. They are 16oz capacity but I only fill them with 10oz nectar because (so far) not that much demand out there.
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bbhaag
Diamond Member
- Jul 2, 2011
- 7,334
- 2,914
- 146
Just saw this little guy getting a late afternoon snack. Him and his mate have been all over the cuphea lately. It's fun to watch them together. They take turns coming to and from the plant.
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