Do hummingbird feeders work?

[Mousefield]

We put ours up just before they are expected to arrive in mid March. If you put them up later then they have already found other food source, so you will not get as many. Got lots now as the babies are growing up and are at the feeders.
Once they find you they will come back year after year.
Make sure you clean the feeders once in awhile, dirty feeders can kill the little guys.

 

[turnkey4099]

We have had one up since 1977. Always only one pair except occasionally a mob during the migration.

On decrease of hummers: Odd fact here is that I had almos none of the usual bird flocks that overwinter here. I would usually go through several bags of feed, this year only one and I have a lot left over.

I asked about lack of birds on a couple of forums and replies ranged from agreement to normal with most in the 'agreement' category. Even e-mailed the local college about it but got no answer.

Harry K

 

[PatasColo]

So here's another piece of info: If you have a neighbor very nearby who is mixing the stuff much stronger than you are (and with several feeders), they will visit your place a few times and then be all over the neighbors' place. How do I know this? "Hey Charley, they water down the drinks heah... youse should head over to Elma's place, across the way!"

We raised the concentration of our mix to match the neighbors', and they come around plenty now.

One other note: Has anyone else noticed this? When our feeder is in the direct sun and there is 1/4 or more air in it, it seems the expanding air will push out some of the liquid as it heats. With the strong Colorado sun, this can end up being a significant amount of the liquid over the course of late morning and afternoon (you can watch it drip once the heat gets going). I will be moving the feeders to the shade soon.
-Mitch

 

[JerryK]

The 4 to 1 ratio of water to sugar is close to the natural sugar concentration of flower nectar. Using anything stronger than that may not be good for the birds, and if someone is doing that to bring in more birds.... I would question if they are doing it for the birds health or their own purposes... Just my 2 cents... After all, we are feeding the birds to help with the health of the population.... are we not....

 

[PatasColo]

The 4 to 1 ratio of water to sugar is close to the natural sugar concentration of flower nectar. Using anything stronger than that may not be good for the birds, ...[deleted].

Neither is true... It would be surprising were it that black-and-white. See this article: Hummingbird Feeding
Fascinating, informative, and written by two Profs of biology from Syracuse Univ. who have been studying hummingbirds for over 25 years.

Here is an interesting quote (among many other interesting points in the article): It helps if neighbors coordinate changes in sugar-water concentrations because hummingbirds always prefer a higher sugar-water concentration. By studying the feeding behavior and physiology of hummingbirds in relation to flower nectar sugar concentrations, it has become obvious there is no best or most healthful feeder solution. Regardless of what sugar-water concentration you use, be sure to keep your feeders clean and your nectar fresh for the birds.

-Mitch

 

[Johnp33]

We live on the south side of the Valley, and use maybe 20 lbs of sugar a year at the feeder, a friend of mine lives on the north side and he goes threw over 60 lbs.
We get photographers sitting at the picnic tables photographing them, they are amazing to watch, we have three feeders, they seem to like the one location a lot more than the others, and battle over position.

 

[jonyyuma]

Neither is true... It would be surprising were it that black-and-white. See this article: Hummingbird Feeding
Fascinating, informative, and written by two Profs of biology from Syracuse Univ. who have been studying hummingbirds for over 25 years.

Here is an interesting quote (among many other interesting points in the article): It helps if neighbors coordinate changes in sugar-water concentrations because hummingbirds always prefer a higher sugar-water concentration. By studying the feeding behavior and physiology of hummingbirds in relation to flower nectar sugar concentrations, it has become obvious there is no best or most healthful feeder solution. Regardless of what sugar-water concentration you use, be sure to keep your feeders clean and your nectar fresh for the birds.

-Mitch

The FIRST time I have ever read anything different from the general feeding rule??Start at 3 to 1 ratio and then change over to 4 to 1????How would anyone be able to feed them 1to 1 ratio..that sounds like the Clear KARO syrup I was raised on as a small kid?? BTW. Karo still makes the best lip-smacking Pecan Pies>>Yuuumm, Slurp,,Back to Hummers..

 

[Bird]

The first year I put out a hummingbird feeder, I filled it with the red colored hummingbird feed from the store; never saw a single hummer. But after doing a little reading on the Internet, I started mixing a half cup of plain granular sugar with 2 cups of water. The first time I boiled it, then let I cool because I read somewhere on the Internet that boiling would get rid of any chlorine or other impurities. However, I keep bottles of distilled water on hand, so I started using that; just stir it enough to dissolve the sugar; no heat. And now I see hummers every day; usually several times a day. This morning I took the feeder down to wash it and refill it, and when I was hanging it back up, I had a hummer in a holding pattern a foot from my elbow waiting for me to get out of the way.

 

[Bird]

Karo still makes the best lip-smacking Pecan Pies>>Yuuumm, Slurp

Do you mean to tell me some people make pecan pies without using Karo? Never heard of such. But I still can't decide for sure whether I prefer the dark Karo of the light Karo.

 

[kco]

My wife is in charge of our hummingbird food supply. She uses 4:1 water to sugar dissolved with hot (filtered but not treated) tap water, cools it, and stores it in the refrigerator. She says the food gets too hot on hot sunny days. In the late afternoon of such days she changes out the food with cool food from the refrigerator. She says a lot more birds feed as soon as the feed is changed.

I posted photos in this earlier thread:

http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/...mingbird-feeders-post3256597.html#post3256597

.....hummingbird feeders do work!

 

[PILOON]

Our humming birds actually come to the windows begging for food.
Come spring the little fellows fly window to window to announce their arrival.*
Yes they get very tame and will try feeding in your ears if you wear a red hat.

*Thus proving that they are excellent navigators and have good memories.

 

[Branchchipper]

We are in the Cascade range foothills... We have 2 species- Anna's year-around, and Rufous from spring through early fall.
They do not get along well, so this time of year, our 3 feeders are in need of air traffic control (and anger management). It is all pretty entertaining, but we have a hard time keeping the feeders full. (Homemade clear sugar water, changed frequently in warm weather, and rinsed with vinegar before refill- don't use soap). Our feeders are located to minimize competition and predation, but we have had problems with the h-birds getting trapped in the garage or barn when doors are left open. They are attracted by a brightly-colored item, then can't figure out how to exit. Best solution is to keep doors closed.

 

[QRTRHRS]

We went from a slow start to also needing an air traffic controller about mid June. We have eight of the flat "saucer" style feeders. More work cleaning those but less waste as with the large "tankers". We also use cane suger, 1 cup to four cups of water. We bring the water to a boil, add the sugar and stir until disolved. We let the refrigerated water warm to room temperature before cleaning and filling the feeders. It is still about twenty degrees cooler than outside as of late. Hanging flower baskets close by the feeders help to draw in the birds especially when starting out. The also give the birds a close by perch while they rest between tanking up and fussing with each other. We really enjoy sitting in the evening while they frantically vie for sipping rights.

We are not sure if they nest closeby in our Bartlett Pear trees or not. We have plenty of trees but they are 200 or 300 feet away from the house. We had lost three of the six around the house in the last two years due to wind and now about 3/4 of the one closest to our feeders. The hummers still fly into the tree on the ground but I cannot see one of the super tiny nests. Wife won't let me clean it up just yet.

 

[JerryK]

I try not to do any tree work in the summer, nests are hard to see and anywhere from 10 to 40' up all over the place. Them little birds sure have us trained....

 

[oosik]

I have the normal 6-10 pair of humming birds. There are no wildflowers blooming - so I have to refill( two cups) the feeder daily.

 

[RobertBrown]

Our humming birds actually come to the windows begging for food.
Come spring the little fellows fly window to window to announce their arrival.*
Yes they get very tame and will try feeding in your ears if you wear a red hat.

*Thus proving that they are excellent navigators and have good memories.

Who else wants to see a picture of a you in a red hat and a Humming bird with it's beak in your ear?
Please get a shot of that and post it here. Let us know what that sounds like too. Thanks

I do not have a feeder but I have tried them in the past with no results. The sugar attracts fire ants so it just doesn't work out well for me.
I occasionally see humming birds feeding on my mimosa tree blossoms and red honey suckle vines.

 

[Billrog]

Not sure how many hummers here but they go through 4 quarts of syrup every couple days when in full swing. Took these pics. of my youngest sister who was so intrigued by them she stood there for hrs. every day.

 

[fordmantpw]

When I was a kid, I would stand by the feeder and let the hummers get used to me. Then I tried putting my fingers on the perches and the birds were so tame they landed on my fingers. Really cool!

Last year, while building our new home (before we had our feeder up), we had a hummer get in and she couldn't find her way out. I went the next morning and found her near death on the steps. She couldn't even stand up. Took her to the neighbors and put her on the feeder. After a few drinks, she had her strength back and was flying around fighting the others for food. It was great to bring her back from the brink!

Now we have our own feeder and have them out there pretty much all day. I have it outside my office window so I can watch them when I need a break from writing code.

 

[cat fever]

I was at my Aunt and Uncle's cabin, southern Utah. The hummingbirds were feeding at the feeders. My aunt said hold still and put your finger out. I did and they would land on my finger, just for a second or two. Pretty cool.
Sorry no pictures to prove it.

 

[Billrog]

I have 1 feeder outside my office window as well for entertainment.
When it's cold in the spring they fly until quiet dark.

This baby fell asleep on the perch.

Once there were so many on the feeders some were sharing the same hole but I never got a pic.



This one got very tame when I was watering in the evening it would come sit on my hand and drink form the hose.

This is the only time I've seen a bee and hummer at the same time on the feeder.