We have three humming birdfeeders on our windows. We have counted as high as 22 humming birds feeding from them. We are going through about a gallon and half a day of the juice. It cost me $30 a month to feed them. We like them and have only had five at the most till now. I like the humming birds because they come right up to the window. They are fun to watch. They can fight also. You will be sitting watching TV and hear one hit the window where they are fighting. Do any of you have them and that many? I got a vidio of them, but I can't get a picture of them. Because of our dark screen the pictures don't turn out. If I go out to takethe picture they fly away.


We are feeding other wild birds also, along with squirels, deer, and rabbits. Plus the dogs and cats. Wal mart loves to see me coming to buy animal and bird food. I bet I spend $200 a month on feeding all these beautiful creatures.

We don't see the numbers you do, Elaine, but we're quite a bit further north.

Ever have one just hover and bitch at you? Scares the crap out of me because I know how fast they can move. I just know those little suckers could poke my eye out in a fraction of a second. And yes, they make the same noises when they're fighting and jockeying for territory. Amazing little creatures.

Elaine, save yourself some money.



There's no need to buy expensive hummingbird nectar - make your own, from this simple hummingbird syrup recipe.




Hummingbird Nectar Recipe

1 part sugar/4 parts water

Boil the water first, then measure and add sugar, at the rate of 1/4 cup of sugar to 1 cup of water.

Let cool and store excess in refrigerator until ready to use.


Now if only dogs and cats were that easy to save money on their food.

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shoot, I will try to resize larger when I get home this evening.

I don't have any that live in my yard but my yard is on their feeding route in the close neighborhood.

Charlotte

ps here is a sumi painting i did from a book that is similar to my hummingbird.
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I have lots of hummingbirds!  They are fiesty little creatures and I feel like I am getting to know each of them.  The males are very aggressive and swarm each other mostly, and the females who try to feed.  The males will perch nearby and wait to attack any others that try to feed.  It is quite a show I enjoy watching everyday.

When I change out the empty feeders they still come up to the windows and doors and hover until I get more food out to them.  I make my own hummingbird food from water and sugar.  FYI.....don't leave the room if you are cooking humingbird food..........I did (to do laundry) until the smoke detectors started going off, the kitchen was filled with smoke and my pan was ruined.  It took two weeks to get rid of the burnt marshmallow smell.  :o

Beth

I left the kitchen today Beth and was just heating up water. I caught it before it evaporated and burned the pan. I thought I was the only one who did things like that.

I do make my own food for them a lot. Our sugar has gone up so high here. When the sugar plant burned down our sugar went up and keeps going up. I make my dogs food, I still have to buy cat food and cat litter. I make treats for the wild birds a lot. JD likes to help me do that. My problem is time. I feel like I spend my life in the kitchen.

I enjoy so much watching the birds. I try not to feed the deer because we have so many deer hunters here, I don't want them trusting people. It would get them killed. My rabbits now. They trust us. They come to our gate in the early morning and just sit there looking at the house. They know we will bring out bread and lattice, tomato skins, left over produce. It is fun to watch them. They get about a yard away from us and watch us with their big eyes. They have learned they can't come into the yard because of the dogs.

I just love Gods Creatures I guess and think they are interesting to watch.  

HappyElaine wrote on Aug 12^th, 2008 at 4:18pm:

I left the kitchen today Beth and was just heating up water. I caught it before it evaporated and burned the pan. I thought I was the only one who did things like that.

You're not the only one Elaine.  I have to confess that that was not the first time I did that.  The first time I actually ran out the door to pick up my daughter with the pot on the stove.  I almost ran into Walmart, and it is a good thing I didn't.  When I got home the entire house was filled with smoke, alarms screaming, pan was on fire and red hot.  I think I was less than 5 minutes away from getting a new kitchen......LOL  It's funny now cause I didn't burn the kitchen down.

Last summer I bought a humming bird feeder and the syrup.  I was so happy because I was going to attract all sorts of humming birds...even had trumpet type flowers for them to stick their little beeks in.

All I attracted was ants.  Just gotta keep trying, I guess. LOL.  Heck, I can attract ants just by not washing the cracker or bread crumbs off my counter........no talent there.   :D

Full-scale hummingbird wars in the backyard right now:  You can hear their battle cries all day long.

The population shifts all the time as new ones come in, and familiar ones move on.  Today we have four or five blackchinned hummingbirds hanging around, including what looks like a first-year youngster.  (Small, with a very short, stubby tail--but he exhibits the characteristic tail-flipping motion that blackchins make.  Otherwise I'd think it was a calliope hummer.)  

All was relatively peaceful (in hummingbird terms--meaning not all that peaceful) until a day or so ago when a rufous hummer showed up and began perching near the feeders in order to chase off all comers.  They're a teensy bit bigger, and much more aggressive than the black-chins.  I expect things will calm down again when he moves along--rufous hummers are extremely nomadic, and never hang around any one place for very long.

They're all so extraordinarily beautiful in the sunlight--the blackchins are a sort of shifting, irridescent green-black, and the rufous is bright, glittering copper, with a vermilion throat patch.  

No photograph or video I've ever seen truly does them justice.  Until you step outside among them, hear them whistle past your head like bullets, and see them hover inches from your eyes, you've not really experienced them.  

They're magnificent and uncanny--fearless little creatures with the hearts of lions.  I'm always sorry to see them move on in the fall.

Best wishes,

George

wrote on Aug 12^th, 2008 at 6:30pm:

Last summer I bought a humming bird feeder and the syrup.  I was so happy because I was going to attract all sorts of humming birds...even had trumpet type flowers for them to stick their little beeks in. All I attracted was ants.  Just gotta keep trying, I guess. LOL.  Heck, I can attract ants just by not washing the cracker or bread crumbs off my counter........no talent there.   :D

What you need is an ant barrier.  A thick layer of petroleum jelly on the hangy-down part will do it.  

Best,

George

George Thanks for the idea about the ants. They get on ours also. Now how to keep the Bees away? We are not only covered with humming birds but yellow jackets as well. I have bad reactions to bee stings so I am very careful. They swarm around my head like the humming birds do. I feel like a bee keeper LOL.

I am going to have to read up on these humming birds. Buddy he enjoys just watching them in the evening. He calls me from work to check on his humming birds. We will miss them this winter.

Beth I could tell you some stories for sure about me and the kitchen. Thats another thread in itself. LOL

George, I am jealous of all the different types of hummingbirds you get to see that I have only seen in pictures :P.  The only species we have here are the ruby throated.

Beth  :)

I took these pics for Bente. The chubby lil bird just sat there and let me take pics.
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We have so many. But lil chubby dominates the feeders.

I don't have any feeders but I grow plants for them to enjoy.  They adore Honeysuckle vines (lonicera).  Several males had me pinned under the vine while they fought over my head (I was weeding)!  I finally jumped up and scolded them so I could get back to weeding - the sounds those little critters made were amazingly loud!

They like Milkweed (asclepias), lilies of any kind (mine love the common tiger lily), impatiens (especially the deep reds), Phlox, and Monarda (bee balm) here in Wisconsin.  

The nice thing is that the Tiger and Pipevine Swallowtail butterflies, as well as the Monarchs, like all those plants, too.  The garden is a great place to be these days  - lots of activity!

We have a few - we have cape honeysuckle which they feed from - it is not related to the other honeysuckles at all but is a fast growing shrub that will provide 8 feet of privacy in a year or two. The asclepias is in bloom now - haven't seen them there, but lots of butterflies.  I didn't know they like monarda - a patch of that went in for bees earlier this year, hasn't bloomed yet.

Monty - they especially like the red version of Monarda.  I have a stand of it outside my bedroom window and they buzz around in there a LOT!

wrote on Aug 12^th, 2008 at 8:13pm:

George, I am jealous of all the different types of hummingbirds you get to see that I have only seen in pictures :P.  The only species we have here are the ruby throated. Beth  :)

Blackchinned hummingbirds are closely related to ruby-throats--very similar in appearance and behavior.  So you'd find them pretty familiar.   :)

Calliope hummers are the smallest North American hummers--they're very common around here, but you almost always see them in the mountains, and not here in the valleys.  

Rufous hummers are pretty commonly seen around here as well.  We also get Broad-Tailed hummingbirds, and an occasional Anna's Hummingbird, but I've only seen a couple of Broad-Tailed hummers, and I've never seen an Anna's here.  Anna's are pretty common elsewhere in the west.

(By the way, it's just getting dark here.  The back door is open, and you can hear major fighting going on--lots of wild chittering. )  

Best,

George

What a delightful thread...I once worked as a busboy at Chuckanut Manor on Chuckanut Drive (between Bellingham, Wa and Bow). If ya ever get to WA, you gotta take that drive. It's a beauty...

Outside the bar (on the side of a mountain overlooking a bay) through
picture windows were a dozen humming bird feeders. At any one time, there must have been 30-40 of these delightful zippers. Fascinating, to say the least, and we sold LOTS of beer and cocktails (better than TV if ya ask me)...I was a busboy, 18 yrs old and had a crush on "Sally", a busgirl. Used to walk into walls looking at her. My first experience at love lost. She once told me, "I saw you in town today". I asked, "why didn't you say hello?" She: " I was with my friends, didn't want them to know I knew you".  Oh my, "didn't want to admit she knew me." story of my life... I...was...crushed...but then, I digress...

Previously, at my friends house, we discovered a humming bird nest.
The chicks looked like little black worms with tufts of feathers...I was awestruck.

Later, and still, I enjoy sitting out by the feeder and listening to them go by, a chirrr--ip, a buzz, have even been eyed...Yup, tiny bodies, GIANT hearts...

Best,

Jon

We have a circle of flowers in front yard and I was weeding them last month and granddaughter was trying to catch this large insect only to find that it was a humming bird I got within 2-3 feet of it with the butterfly net BUT just left it alone its been there off and on all summer too. Terry DavCon Iowa

jon019 wrote on Aug 12^th, 2008 at 11:12pm:

Previously, at my friends house, we discovered a humming bird nest. The chicks looked like little black worms with tufts of feathers...I was awestruck.

The little teacup-sized nests lined with soft spiderwebs are a splendid little thing of beauty, aren't they?   :)  And the chicks--always two of them--never more or less.

I think the most interesting thing I ever learned about hummers was how their metabolism changes--on cool nights, they enter a state of torpor, descending near death, only to reemerge into full, glittering life every morning when the sun warms them.  And they can do it year after year--they live longer than one might imagine.  

Living at the edge...against all odds.  How extraordinary these ordinary creatures are...   ;)

All the best,

George  

I usually get them only very late in the summer.  Sometimes not till September.  I haven't even filled my feeder yet.  I think I'll do that today!  

Jeannie

Do any of you have any humming birds?


Nope! Most of the birds by my house know the words to the songs! ;D

Seeya,

Jimmers

Living 25 miles South of Washington DC we are well off the flyways so don’t get high numbers or variety of hummers like you and George.  Most of the high traffic hummer flyways are either out on the Atlantic coast to the East, or along the Blue Ridge Mountains 80 miles West.   Our home is located on the edge of a 150 yd wide and mile long heavily wooded green belt that leads to the Occoquan River that runs for 15 miles West to Manassas, VA.  

What few hummers there are in the area appear to cruise the tree line looking for flowers with nectar. The most we see at any one time are 3 to 4.  These are usually the summer resident Ruby-Throated hummers and all are female.  

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Female Ruby-Throated hummer perched on feeder

We do have a lot of fly through visitors, mostly male Ruby-Throats that pass through on a daily basis as we go through 2 liters of feed syrup a week keeping two big feeders filled.  I’ve also planted a number of red honeysuckle vines around the back yard and next to the arbor that leads into the garden.

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Female Ruby-Throated hummer feeding on Red Honeysuckle

We use the standard 4:1 sugar to water mix for hummer feed syrup and found it’s not necessary to boil the mixture.  The little beasties have all kinds of pollen and wild yeast on their tongues that would cause even boiled syrup to cloud over in 3 to 4 days if it lasted that long.  

I make my own ant guards out of 35 mm plastic film canisters and a short length of coat hanger.  I bend the coat hanger with a loop at the top then heat the other end over a candle and plunge through the base of the film canister to get a tight rain seal.  Then I bend a flat loop in the middle to suspend the film canister and a hook at the bottom to attach the feeder.  

I mount the ant guard as shown in the photo below and stuff the underside with cotton balls so they’re protected from the rain then give them a shot of Ant & Roach killer.  No ants on the feeders for the last five years.

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Home-did Ant Guard

With the woods only a few feet from the deck, we see a lot of local wildlife day and night.  Alvin was a newcomer this year and has been a constant source of amusement each day as he is twice as fast as the local tree rats and easily out races them to the peanuts we drop off the deck.  As you’ll see in the sequence below, Alvin is very adept at stuffing his cheeks with peanuts.  You can alnmost hear the critter talk...

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Hey there… I’m Cool Hand Alvin and I can stuff 3 whole peanuts in my cheeks and still leave room for one more in case I want to set a new Olympic Record

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Two down and one more to go

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Lets see…  Does the big end go in first…  or the small end?

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It’s a stretch, but I’ve almost got it.  I’m sure glad I licked it first

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I’m so good…  Akk…  I hope they stay in

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Wow this is Cool!!  With my cheeks stuffed with peanuts like this, I can make like Demosthenes and practice speaking like Svenn with a Norwegian accent so I can say, “STFU My Friend…  If you’re not using Oxygen Therapy at a high flow rate to abort your cluster headaches and shadows…  Yer Reeealy Stuuupid!”

Although we don’t go through as much hummer syrup as you and George, we do go through 30 lbs of dry cat food a week feeding our pack of wild raccoons that come up on the deck to eat each night.

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A litter of four Kits and Sow (their mother)

The four kits above are part of an eleven-kit addition to the pack that came up on the deck to eat while Svenn and Bente were staying with us.  They tend to come up on the deck in shifts to avoid conflict, but they’re not always successful keeping their schedules straight. When an overlap happens, we can have seven to ten kits and a couple sows up on the deck at one time.  The kits all look so much alike, even to each other, that smell is the only reliable source of identification.  Half the time the nose-to-nose greetings end up with snarling and yipping back-downs and a quick run to hide behind their respective sows.

Batch those are some cool pictures. I remember seeing a picture of chuck with your raccoon friends. I love your cam what kind is it? That is my next big buy a new cam.

The humming birds are beautiful. My dogs won't let the squirrels stay to long in our yard. I think the squirrels like to play with our dogs. You should see our new dog trying to climb the tree after them. Its so funny. I think those squirrels are laughing as hard as I do at her .

Since Batch included his furry friends in this thread, I'll mention the fun we've had with juvenile Red-Tailed hawks.  

There are two "babies"  - each about 18" tall now - that strut through our yard regularly.  Mom is still feeding them and teaching them to hunt so they are pretty mellow - but huge!  They sit on the ground or in the trees and seem bewildered as to why the robins and goldfinches are dive-bombing and screeching at them . . . . last weekend the two juvenile hawks were running through the sprinkler in our front lawn having a grand old time!!

What I find really odd is that their nest is well within 50 feet of a Great Horned Owl's nesting area and a Cooper's Hawk nest.  Three LARGE predators in a very small area.  They don't all have their babies at the same time, so maybe that's why it's allowed.

Elaine, I've been a Canon fan since I bought my first SLR, the FT-QL in Hong Kong in '71.  I still have it and it takes excellent photos, but the ease and convenience of a digital camera and good printer have spoiled me so it stays on the shelf. The camera I used for the photos above is the 8.0 Megapixel Canon EOS Digital Rebel XT.  I used a SIGMA 70-300 on Alvin from around 8 feet away and a SIGMA 28-70 on the hummers from less than 3 feet from the feeder.  

I bought the camera with the two lenses, wireless remote control, and 1 GB memory card in a package deal from an outfit in New York after searching the Internet for the best all around digital camera and best prices.  Sam's and Costco carry them at a reasonable price, but I'd keep an eye out for sales.  Read the ads carefully.  If the price looks too low, it’s probably just the camera body without a lens.  I'd also pick up a good tripod if you want sharp images. I've messed up too many good shots with the long lenses trying to take them hand-held.  

The Canon Rebel XT EOS is smarter than I am so I have to force myself and the camera to do what I want it to do, instead of the other way around... The latest in the Rebel series is the 10.1 Megapixel Canon EOS Digital Rebel XS.  It has even more features including a bigger price tag.

MW, Having a yard full of raptors must be a thrill to watch.  I haven't seen a Red Tail Hawk in years. The only raptors we have around the house are a resident pair of Red-shoulder Hawks that worry the heck out of the tree rats, an occasional Osprey fly over riding the wind from the Occoquan to the Potomac and Turkey Vultures.

Here's one of the "babies" that hangs out at my house these days.
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Yes..but not y'all are reporting.

The Cardinals in the feeders prompt their attack.

Pound for pound toughest birds in the whole entire Universe. How does the F-30 Hummingbird sound?

Good photos.

Steve G

Pat, that is so cool!!  I love watching the birds of prey around here too.  

I love the photos on this thread, the humming birds are so cool, wish we had them over here,

Jenn what a fantastic photo of such a cheeky bird, that photo of yours Pat, it is great and Batch yours are a great mix, I add a traditional Jersey bird (rat with wings) to the mix, I am afraid it cannot compete with your birds






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Well, I hung my feeder but I'm not getting any birds!  I wonder if my roses not blooming has anything to do with it?  Also, I had to move the feeder to a new spot.  It's close to the house now at a window.  Will they come that close?  I'm very disappointed!  I miss my little friends! :-/

Jeannie

I think they do come close to the house, like all birds I am sure they just have to get used to the new feeder, hopefully you will get some soon, and when you do take some photos to share the joy around.  I just love these little birds, although I have only seen them once

I have my feeders right outside my window and I'm suprised they never crash into it.  I have had them almost fly into the house when I opened the window tho.  

Jeannie, How long have you had the feeders out?  It may take a week before you start seeing many of them on a regular basis.  After that, you should start seeing more of them all day long.  I brought my feeders in when I went to Dallas and it took them about a week to come back when I put the feeders back out.

Beth

Beth,  I have only had it out a couple of days.  I wasn't sure where to put it.  We sided our garage.  There used to be an awning that hung from  it and I always put the feeder there.  It's gone now.   I saw a hummingbird last week and I think he was looking for it.  Maybe he remembered from last year?  I haven't seen him since.  Hopefully he'll find it!

Jeannie

what a cute little chubber, Jen
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I has hummingbirds Lainey! At least three that we know of. What do I need to do to set up feeders for them, and get pictures of them?

Love,
Cat

Well cat, you can get a commercial feeder, or you can make one yourself.  There are lots of different patterns for feeders you can make out of everyday materials on the internet.  I like the ones made out of glass jars, because you can run them through the dishwasher.

Use a solution of one part sugar and four parts water.  I prefer to boil it, but you don't have to.

That's it.  Trust me, the hummers will find it.   ;)  You can hang it just outside the window if you'd like--they're truly fearless, and they won't care a bit if you're close by.

As a bonus, if you have orioles in the neighborhood, they'll visit the feeder too.  If you get orioles, put out some cut-up fruit for them--they particularly like oranges.

Nothing simpler and more entertaining than feeding hummingbirds.

Best,

George

Cat put some red dye in the food just a drop or two will do. Mine won't touch it without the dye in it.

George wrote on Aug 21^st, 2008 at 1:11am:

As a bonus, if you have orioles in the neighborhood, they'll visit the feeder too.  If you get orioles, put out some cut-up fruit for them--they particularly like oranges.

Orioles also love eating grape jelly from an open jar about 6 or 8 feet from the ground.

I saw one today!   The feeder is right outside my window and a very slender little green one came right up to it!  I have never seen one that close.  I hope he tells his friends!  


Jeannie

Jeannie wrote on Aug 21^st, 2008 at 11:38am:

I saw one today!   The feeder is right outside my window and a very slender little green one came right up to it!  I have never seen one that close.  I hope he tells his friends!   Jeannie

Yeah for you :) get the camera ready

Yep....we got some.

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Gonna try to 'zoom' more later....

Hello Family,
   We have 6 feeders set up just off the front porch and sit and watch the antics for hours, Hummingbirds will attack each other if the feeders are spread out, but if you clump several together they will stop trying to defend their territory and actually get along and feed side by side,  when there is such an abundance of feeders they give up because they cannot defent so many.  I actually have them landing on the feeders when I am hanging them.
     Recently it was discovered that putting the red dye in the mix causes it to ferment and become alcoholic in nature and the experts now recommend you do not add the dye.
      Also the mixture will go rancid rather quickly, so only put enough in each feeder to last 1 to 2 days.    
      I would estimate that we have at least 30 to 40 birds visiting our feeders daily.  living about 8 miles from Cat, she just doesn't realize how many Hummies we have in this area yet! START PRINTPAGEMultimedia File Viewing and Clickable Links are available for Registered Members only!!  You need to or END PRINTPAGE START PRINTPAGEMultimedia File Viewing and Clickable Links are available for Registered Members only!!  You need to or END PRINTPAGE START PRINTPAGEMultimedia File Viewing and Clickable Links are available for Registered Members only!!  You need to or END PRINTPAGE

:), lovely photographs in this thread, looks as though you should keep those cats well fed pappy. andrew.

:D :D, One thing Cleo and Betty don't eat is bird's, LOL!  They seem oblivious to them.  They are 2 very happy, spoiled Kitty's  
        I guess after their Science Diet Sensitive Stomach and their Greenie Treats everything els is superfluous!      John ::)
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Great Pictures, Jackie that is a great Cam! Love it.

I don't have a fancy camera, but I did get a few pics through the window after a downpour last night.

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START PRINTPAGEMultimedia File Viewing and Clickable Links are available for Registered Members only!!  You need to or END PRINTPAGESTART PRINTPAGEMultimedia File Viewing and Clickable Links are available for Registered Members only!!  You need to or END PRINTPAGE