Ruby Throated Hummingbirds

Bob Luken

Are any of you enjoying the migration? They are really swarming my feeders as they make their way south for the winter. I put two new feeders up around the first of September, miles away from any of my other feeders and within an hour I had one coming to drink and within a few days they were swarming them. (8 or 9 birds at a time) And if I stand real still next to the feeders they will come in and feed while hovering just a foot away from my face.

raisindot

You southerners kill me!

I spend upwards of $100 a year planting all kindsa hummingbird-attracting flowers and keeping my feeders filled and I'm lucky if I see one more than a few times a week during the spring and summer. Haven't seen one since the last week of August--they high-tailed out of my town weeks ago.

RBeckom

Bob Luken:

Are any of you enjoying the migration? They are really swarming my feeders as they make their way south for the winter. I put two new feeders up around the first of September, miles away from any of my other feeders and within an hour I had one coming to drink and within a few days they were swarming them. (8 or 9 birds at a time) And if I stand real still next to the feeders they will come in and feed while hovering just a foot away from my face.

Been here for weeks now, soon they will be gone for the winter.

Bigshizza

We had a ton in summer but they left about 3 weeks ago...I miss them, they're smart to get out now!

LiquidChaos66

I only get the stupid all green ones! Lol little turds don't like any only feeders. I have a couple differed kinds and they rarely hit them.

RBeckom

LiquidChaos66:

I only get the stupid all green ones! Lol little turds don't like any only feeders. I have a couple differed kinds and they rarely hit them.

Plant flowers of the kind that bloom red and they will come.

Bob Luken

Not sure what kind of hummingbirds you guys on the west coast are used to but from the little research I've done it seems ALL of the females of different species look alike. They have a plain similar green pattern while the males have the fancy feathers that help us tell the different types apart. I only seem to get Ruby-Throated Hummers in my area as they dominate the eastern US during warmer weather.

Tips for attracting more hummingbirds.

Nectar recipe - 4 cups water to 1 cup plain white sugar. Do not use raw cane sugar or honey, EVER. Also no red food color dyes. It's positively not needed and might be bad for the birds.

Clean your feeders and change your nectar often or it'll ferment, and or get moldy. If the weather is warmer you'll need to change the nectar more often so it doesn't ferment. If you allow your nectar to ferment, they just won't drink it. I guess "Drunk" and "precise hovering" just don't mix.

If the outside temperature stays below 70 degrees, changing your nectar once a week will be enough. Once the temp. climbs above 70 degrees you can use the chart below as a guide to how often you will need to change your nectar to keep it fresh and mold free.

High temperatures............Change nectar after

71-75 degrees .................................6 days

76-80 degrees ................................5 days

81-84 degrees .................................4 days

85-88 degrees .................................3 days

89-92 degrees ................................2 days

93+ degrees ....................................change daily

http://howtoenjoyhummingbirds.com/

LiquidChaos66

We have quite a few plants with red blooms in our yard. They prefer those over the feeder even when the flowers are no longer around. I'm planning on planting more next year... After I dig a pond and finish building some raised beds for veggies and good stuff. Suggestions on good flowers for humming birds?

raisindot

Monarda (Bee Balm) is just about the best flower for hummingbirds, and it's a perennial. The few hummies that I got this year also went for Wendy's Wish, a kind of salvia that grows like crazy with almost no car needed, although it is an annual. They also liked our butterfly bushes and other red salvias and occasionally dabbled in our flowering Hostas. The key, if you're in a northern state and/or not very close to woodlands, is to get red and pink colored flowers planted or growing as soon as possible in the spring to attract them as they migrate north, even if the flowers themselves aren't hummie-friendly. I generally plant tons of red tulips in the fall in my hummie garden so they'll bloom in April and early May, and then will buy whatever tubular red plants I can find and plant them to keep them around until the perennials start blooming again. .

Imgembo

I see them daily on my balcony.

raisindot

Just when I was seething with "ruby-envy," I saw one hummie in my hummie garden yesterday evening. I really thought all of them were gone, but this little fellow hovered around for nearly 10 minutes, getting it all it could from my Wendy's Wishes (didn't touch the feeders at all).

On a somewhat related note, did any of you get any Monarch or other "large" butterflies visiting your gardens this year? I head that something disrupted the migration patterns of the Monarchs and very few made it north. Usually I get several hovering around my butterfly bushes every day in August and September, but this year I didn't see a single Monarch or any other colorful butterfly. Hope this isn't the start of something bad....

curtpick

Just now leaving My Area.
Here is one I shot last year.
https://www.pond5.com/stock-footage/4276445/humming-bird.html

Bob Luken

raisindot:

Just when I was seething with "ruby-envy," I saw one hummie in my hummie garden yesterday evening. I really thought all of them were gone, but this little fellow hovered around for nearly 10 minutes, getting it all it could from my Wendy's Wishes (didn't touch the feeders at all).

On a somewhat related note, did any of you get any Monarch or other "large" butterflies visiting your gardens this year? I head that something disrupted the migration patterns of the Monarchs and very few made it north. Usually I get several hovering around my butterfly bushes every day in August and September, but this year I didn't see a single Monarch or any other colorful butterfly. Hope this isn't the start of something bad....

I hope the monarch butterflies are gonna be OK. I watched a show about them a while back and their journey is an amazing thing. It takes five generations to make the round trip.

I'm glad you got to see your hummingbird. As for your hummers ignoring your feeders, are you changing the nectar often enough and cleaning the feeders often? If it spoils/ferments or develops mold they will learn that those particular feeders are to be ignored. Or maybe you've spoiled them with your selection of natural nectar sources.

Did you know, they are omnivores? They are mainly predators of insects. Gnats and mosquitoes. They consume nectar as their energy drink but insects, it's what's for dinner.

raisindot

This whole thread reminds me a story about a group called "The Dull Men's Club" in Pembroke, Massachusetts. It's a group of mostly older guys who meet at a restaurant every week or so to discuss ordinary things. To quote from the article:

"Attendees have discussed hummingbirds and studied park benches around the world. They debated raking leaves versus letting them lie."

LOL. I guess this is kind of a dull man's topic.

Bob Luken

raisindot:

This whole thread reminds me a story about a group called "The Dull Men's Club" in Pembroke, Massachusetts. It's a group of mostly older guys who meet at a restaurant every week or so to discuss ordinary things. To quote from the article:

"Attendees have discussed hummingbirds and studied park benches around the world. They debated raking leaves versus letting them lie."

LOL. I guess this is kind of a dull man's topic.

Ha! Still jealous huh?

raisindot

Bob Luken:

raisindot:

This whole thread reminds me a story about a group called "The Dull Men's Club" in Pembroke, Massachusetts. It's a group of mostly older guys who meet at a restaurant every week or so to discuss ordinary things. To quote from the article:

"Attendees have discussed hummingbirds and studied park benches around the world. They debated raking leaves versus letting them lie."

LOL. I guess this is kind of a dull man's topic.

Ha! Still jealous huh?

Jealous and dull, LOL.

Bob Luken

curtpick:

Just now leaving My Area.
Here is one I shot last year.
https://www.pond5.com/stock-footage/4276445/humming-bird.html

Nice video. Thanks for sharing. Very exciting. Not dull as some people believe. LOL

Bob Luken

Sorry about the crappy focus but I thought this was all really cool. Those little hummingbirds were everywhere today. A dozen or maybe two dozen sparring and chasing each other over who claims ownership of each of the six feeders I have out. Literally zooming past my nose or hovering near my head on several occasions. I wore a red cap on purpose.

jsnake

We have had them here for about a month and the chase each other and come right up to us. We have 2 feeders attached to our second story deck. They are not shy at all and fly right up with us there and even come right up to us like they are checking us out. My wife has some great pics. We find they like sugar water better then the store bought red stuff.

raisindot

Wow, can't believe this thread is a year old already! Love that photo the the little guy. This year, all my hbird investing paid off. I had a pair hang all from mid-June through early September. They ignored the feeder mostly because they had at least 8 different kind of hbird flowers to choose from. They even sat on a little perch thingie I got. I was able to videotape about 20 minutes of footage of the little suckers that I'm goinna edit down to a minute or so and post one of these days.

Bob Luken

raisindot:

Wow, can't believe this thread is a year old already! Love that photo the the little guy. This year, all my hbird investing paid off. I had a pair hang all from mid-June through early September. They ignored the feeder mostly because they had at least 8 different kind of hbird flowers to choose from. They even sat on a little perch thingie I got. I was able to videotape about 20 minutes of footage of the little suckers that I'm goinna edit down to a minute or so and post one of these days.

Glad you had better results this year. This summer I moved and I didn't put out any feeders until a few weeks ago. I can count on an easy time of attracting them at this time of year in this part of the country. I'm like the big gas station on the corner with lots of fuel for them to fill up on as they work their way south. I spent all afternoon Sunday smoking and watching. They are so mean to each other. They hate to share. It was very entertaining.

First Warrior

We keep at least two hummingbird feeders out all summer. I guess we have about three pairs coming in. A year ago I found a nest behind my studio in the late fall. The nest was about as big as a silver dollar and not in use when I found it. Never mess with nests when the birds are raising their young. Will take the feeders down in a week or so so the birds can get a hint to leave and not get trapped by the changeable weather of these mountains. Had a bird in my studio a couple of years ago. It got tired and I taped a piece of coat hanger to a long stick and got the little guy to perch on the wire and carried him out the door. I now hang a screen arcoss that door.

Bob Luken

Don't take your feeders down. The hummingbird experts say not to take your feeders down until a week or two after you see the last bird. The hummingbirds know when to leave based on the changes in the weather but they need to fuel up first and store up fat reserves by feasting on the sugar water we provide them. here's a link you can click on that will take you to a website that has lots of info on this very subject. When to Stop Feeding Hummingbirds? And they eat a lot of spiders, mosquitoes and gnats too.

jd50ae

Bob Luken:

Don't take your feeders down. The hummingbird experts say not to take your feeders down until a week or two after you see the last bird. The hummingbirds know when to leave based on the changes in the weather but they need to fuel up first and store up fat reserves by feasting on the sugar water we provide them.

Our feeders don't come down until no bird has been spotted for 3 weeks or better, and there is a sustained weather change.

First Warrior

Thanks for the info. I'll leave them up.

raisindot

Bob Luken:

raisindot:

Wow, can't believe this thread is a year old already! Love that photo the the little guy. This year, all my hbird investing paid off. I had a pair hang all from mid-June through early September. They ignored the feeder mostly because they had at least 8 different kind of hbird flowers to choose from. They even sat on a little perch thingie I got. I was able to videotape about 20 minutes of footage of the little suckers that I'm goinna edit down to a minute or so and post one of these days.

Glad you had better results this year. This summer I moved and I didn't put out any feeders until a few weeks ago. I can count on an easy time of attracting them at this time of year in this part of the country. I'm like the big gas station on the corner with lots of fuel for them to fill up on as they work their way south. I spent all afternoon Sunday smoking and watching. They are so mean to each other. They hate to share. It was very entertaining.

They are quite aggressive, aren't they? Usually most birds panic off in a stampede when I come out the back door into the back yard. Not the hummingbirds. They'll come in and some hover within a few feet of me before getting back to bizness. Several times, when the usual sparrows rats were perching among the tall plants in the H'bird garden a hummer would dive bomb and chase them all away. Hilarious?

How long do they end up staying down there?

Bob Luken

raisindot:

Bob Luken:

raisindot:

Wow, can't believe this thread is a year old already! Love that photo the the little guy. This year, all my hbird investing paid off. I had a pair hang all from mid-June through early September. They ignored the feeder mostly because they had at least 8 different kind of hbird flowers to choose from. They even sat on a little perch thingie I got. I was able to videotape about 20 minutes of footage of the little suckers that I'm goinna edit down to a minute or so and post one of these days.

Glad you had better results this year. This summer I moved and I didn't put out any feeders until a few weeks ago. I can count on an easy time of attracting them at this time of year in this part of the country. I'm like the big gas station on the corner with lots of fuel for them to fill up on as they work their way south. I spent all afternoon Sunday smoking and watching. They are so mean to each other. They hate to share. It was very entertaining.

They are quite aggressive, aren't they? Usually most birds panic off in a stampede when I come out the back door into the back yard. Not the hummingbirds. They'll come in and some hover within a few feet of me before getting back to bizness. Several times, when the usual sparrows rats were perching among the tall plants in the H'bird garden a hummer would dive bomb and chase them all away. Hilarious?

How long do they end up staying down there?

At this point it's hard to say who actually stayed and who's passing through. And, I wish I had taken note of this the past couple of years but I just don't recall when exactly my last sightings were. I'm guessing it'll be within the first or second week of October. They say the last to leave are the juveniles who have never migrated. Ive read that if the juveniles don't get the idea to move on earlier, the first frost usually convinces them.

Bob Luken

Two weekends ago there were lots of them. Within a few days the numbers tapered off. Now there seems to be only a handful of them. I figure the numbers will continue to slowly drop as time goes by. I still see them but it's not wild and crazy anymore. There are plenty of feeders to go around now so, not not as much fighting and chasing going on. I'll try and make note of the last day I spot one.

Edit: Last sighting was 10/11/14

Bob Luken

They're coming!

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

raisindot

If they come up my way anytime during the next two months the only colored liquid they'll be able to find is gray slush and yellow snow.

Hmmmm, might be a good reason to put my hummingbird feeders out early this year...unfortunately, the five foot mounting poles aren't high enough to stick above the snowline yet...

First Warrior

i hung a screen over the door to my studio yesterday. Hummingbirds are attracted to the color red and i have a red fire extingusher right inside the door. I''ve had to catch and release a number of hummers before i put my screen up. Haven't seen any yet but got frog eggs in the pond and the other birds are pairing up.