Here's a copy of a post I just made over on Treehugger. A prius is cool but no match, IMHO, for a hummingbird. The other day when I was at Walmart I purchased a very simple yet elegant hummingbird feeder. Within 10 minutes of filling and placing the feeder in my vegetable garden hummingbirds were visiting...Ruby Throated. No pictures yet. This morning a hummingbird buzzed inches by my head on its way to the feeder. I was only about 3 feet from the feeder as the little Ruby Throat fed. Yes, the feeder was made in the USA and its cost was <$5. Anyway, Here are some Hummingbird facts from the brochure. Hummingbirds are found only in the Western Hemisphere Sixteen species are known to breed in the United States Hummingbirds can consume 2/3 of their body weight in a day A major part of their diet consists of small insects and spiders...up to 500 per day Hummingbird wings beat 50 to 60 times a second in normal flight Males and females have separate territories and meet on neutral ground Most North American species migrate over 1000 miles annually The oldest known hummingbird was a female broad-tail, banded twice, 12 years apart Hummingbirds build their nests from spider web and lichen Hummingbird's heartbeat may reach 1200 beats a minute Females lay only two eggs, but may nest up to three times a year in the south On cool nights they enter "torpor", a form of hibernation Hummingbirds cruise at 25 mph and may reach 60mph in short bursts A figure eight movement of their wings allows hummingbirds to fly backwards or upside down Hummingbirds often come back to the same location year after year The first commercial feeder was invented in 1929 and offered for sale in 1950 Birds can double their weight before migration by putting on fat Courting males frly a "U" pattern, often with loud buzzing Hummingbirds must eat every 10 minutes or so during daylight hours If you would like more information on hummingbirds visit the Patuxent Wildlife Reasearch Center . For more information on the feeder visit First Nature.
I make my hummingbird nectar from NutraSweet, just to make sure our neighborhood hummingbirds stay trim and sexy looking. Tom
Tom Maybe I should try that recipie myself. At this point I'll try almost anything to get rid of my fat nice person jay
I think you might have better results with less sugar, including substitutes. Try riding your bike to the hobby farm on weekends. That should help.
They are pretty interesting animals, we have about 3 feeders that are on our back deck and during the summer all you can hear is a buzzing sound. I find it interesting that they can only eat at the feeder one at a time, and sometimes they will chase each other.
Hummers in my area do not know the meaning of "share". Over the years, I've noticed that it is usually the females that stand guard and run other hummingbirds off their feeders. If you walk up to the feeder very slowly, the birds do not seem afraid, and will fly quite close to you.
I bought a feeder, but not very many visit hummingbirds visit it (at least when I am watching). I didn't want to feed them commercial nectar (which has dyes and all). So I dissolved sugar and water. May be I should try something else. Perhaps something colorful. Anyone tried honey and water?
I house-sit for a couple who are avid birders, and they have several hummingbird feeders. They use sugar in water but they heat the mixture first, they always leave some for me so I've never had to make it. Hummingbirds are very cool little critters; I was at the Sonora Desert Museum in Tucson a couple of years ago; they have a hummingbird habitat that you could walk through, and one of the birds was very interested in the orange hood of my jacket and landed on me! Took off when it realized it couldn't eat my jacket but it was very neat.
MichGal, The sugar will dissolve better in warm/hot water. A couple of drops of red food dye (harmless) will attract their attention.
The red plastic on our feeders is more than enough red to get the hummers' attention. Oddly it works as well for our oriels too. Many oriels nest in our trees. At one time they only migrated through our area, but now stay for the summer. Obviously they have adapted to hummingbird feeders. Some will feed from our orange oriel feeder, but many prefer the red hummingbird feeder. They always announce themselves when landing to feed, at which point any hummers scatter. I try to tell them that there is plenty for everyone, but they just don't listen. We use a simple sugar solution. We boil the water to kill any bacteria and spores, then dissolve the sugar in the hot water. Extra "nectar" is kept in the refrigerator to retard the growth of nasty things. Right now a big, bright orange male oriel is feeding from the hummingbird feeder. Okay, now he just jumped over to the oriel feeder - I suppose he has to try all of the "flowers". He's gone, now a female is on the oriel feeder. Did you ever notice with hummingbirds how they never fly straight to their nests? They always go up to a perch and sit, then move off. Sometimes they make several misleading moves before heading to their nest. Clever little guys. Tom
Honey is not good for them. Nutrasweet isn't either. I guess if heart was beating 1200 times a minute I'd want the good stuff too. Here's a site which discusses. Feeding Hummingbirds
You don't feed them NutraSweet because it's good for them. :evil: Another good technique is to put a feeder just outside your window for about a week. After that you move it just inside your window. ound: Tom
NONONONONONO! Very BAD for Hummingbirds. Please use either the prepackaged hummingbird nectar you can buy or boil sugar water. Also keep their feeders very clean. Only clean with water. Do not use bleach. Artificial sweeteners can kills hummingbirds.
Or maybe the local hummingbirds made a candy cane made out of spiderwebs and lichen and hung it outside his window.
That was my intention. Didn't you notice my evil grin: Hummingbirds are great for stuffing. While they are very small, they fit perfectly inside a piping plover, which in turn stuffs into a spotted owl. The whole ensemble is much like a small turducken of Thanksgiving football fame. Yum, my mouth waters just thinking about it. Tom
Why, in the 21st century, have we still not developed the perfect hummingbird feeder? One that the hummers will use, but will repell bees and ants. One that is easy to clean. I am tired of narrow-necked bottles and bee screens that can never be scrubbed really clean. A kitchen full of various brushes and there is still a spot you can't quite get. In the end, I think my best plan is to plant flowers they like, rather than giving them a free handout.
we have a feeder but haven't had any visitors here. very few at our last place, but the place before that was a very popular spot. i felt bad when we moved, that they'd have to go elsewhere. we also had a lot of them at the apartment in the woods, to the point where it was downright noisy!
Looks like most folks like to watch hummingbirds and one person wants to eat one. Anyway, appreciate the tips on boiling water sugar mixtures. How often does the sugar water need to be changed? Once a week? Hey here is another hummingbird tip. Put a old bananas or a bannana peel on a rock near the feeder once you start seeing hummingbirds. The hummingbirds will eat the fruitflies. Maybe if I stand next to the feeder the hummingbirds will eat the mosquitos and sand fleas.
