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

RBeckom

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

Bob Luken

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

curtpick

Bob Luken

raisindot

Bob Luken

raisindot

Bob Luken

Bob Luken

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

First Warrior

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

raisindot

Bob Luken

Bob Luken

Bob Luken

raisindot

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.