Hummingbirds
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Post Fiend
Joined: Jun 2005
Posts: 7,047
Likes: 2
From: North west La
Hummingbirds
Does anyone feed these crazy birds? We have 3 feeders. They are fun to watch. They fight like wild. It hard to believe how noisy & bossy the little things are. They know me now& let me get very close as they feed. If a stranger stops by they are shy & don't feed as much.
FTE Remembers
Joined: Jul 2005
Posts: 65,938
Likes: 1,432
From: Millersville, MD
While in the Navy, was stationed at Whidbey Island, WA. Lived in Navy housing outside the base. Had feeders up and they kept coming back year after year - THE SAME ONES. They were so smart, when they arrived in the spring, they would tap on the kitchen window to let us know they were back.
We went thru GALLONS of the sugar water. There were so many at the feeders that we could put our finger up near the feeder and they would land on our finger and drink!
They would dive bomb the mailman as he tried to duck under the feeder to deliver the mail....LOL
We went thru GALLONS of the sugar water. There were so many at the feeders that we could put our finger up near the feeder and they would land on our finger and drink!
They would dive bomb the mailman as he tried to duck under the feeder to deliver the mail....LOL
Lead Driver
Joined: Sep 2007
Posts: 8,180
Likes: 669
From: Scio, OR
My first one arrived about two weeks ago. So far, just one or two a day. By late fall, they will be lined up around the block for a chance at a spot. I have three large feeders and when they all really get going I go through about 1/2 gallon of sugar water a day.
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Post Fiend
Joined: Jun 2005
Posts: 7,047
Likes: 2
From: North west La
Ours came back last month. Local flowers will draw them away at times. We have 3 large feeders. They will drink 1/2 gallon a day at times. I've read that you have 6 times the number you see at your feeders. I have 25 or more at the feeders at times. My Mom has fed them for years. Hers know her well. Ours know my wife & I. They are curious birds. They check our our dogs. They fly right into their faces to check them out. I'm glad they aren't any bigger. They would be dangerous.
Lead Driver
Joined: Sep 2007
Posts: 8,180
Likes: 669
From: Scio, OR
They are fun. I look forward to them coming back every year.
During the summer, the biggest bird will pick a feeder and run the rest away. Smaller birds will tag team him. One will charge the feeder and draw the bigger bird away while his partner runs in and feeds for a few seconds. Then they'll change places. The later it gets in the fall, the more cooperative it gets until there will be a bird feeding at all 18 holes (3 six hole feeders), with dozens and dozens more hovering around waiting their turn. Then one day they will all disappear at once and migrate.
During the summer, the biggest bird will pick a feeder and run the rest away. Smaller birds will tag team him. One will charge the feeder and draw the bigger bird away while his partner runs in and feeds for a few seconds. Then they'll change places. The later it gets in the fall, the more cooperative it gets until there will be a bird feeding at all 18 holes (3 six hole feeders), with dozens and dozens more hovering around waiting their turn. Then one day they will all disappear at once and migrate.
Postmaster
Joined: Jun 2006
Posts: 2,834
Likes: 3
From: Kzoo
Ours just got here actually. We were sitting out on our porch and they flew up to where we normally have the feeder and flew away. That's the universal "Where is my grub?" sign.
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Cargo Master
Joined: Apr 2003
Posts: 3,476
Likes: 224
From: Frequently frozen MN
We don't see many, but my wife found an injured one. She kept it in our bedroom, and she claimed that the darn thing would start peeping when she would come in with food.
We called up someplace to ask about care, and they said "Oh, they're protected, you can't keep it. " But, they were nice about it and we gave it to their rep. She told us that it was too late in the year for it to migrate, so they would keep it over the winter and reintroduce it to the wild in the spring.
hj
We called up someplace to ask about care, and they said "Oh, they're protected, you can't keep it. " But, they were nice about it and we gave it to their rep. She told us that it was too late in the year for it to migrate, so they would keep it over the winter and reintroduce it to the wild in the spring.
hj
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Cargo Master
Joined: Jul 2006
Posts: 3,014
Likes: 91
From: Concord, CA
My yard is all California native plants. So the yard attracts many birds, native bees, small lizards and hummingbirds. They particularly like native sage plants. There have been times when out weeding I have heard a buzz and slowly turning my head there was a hummer no more than 3 feet away just looking at me. The sage below is now 10 feet in diameter and the flower spikes almost 6 feet tall. Then find the hummer below me in the next shot.
Post Fiend
Joined: Jan 2006
Posts: 20,589
Likes: 2
From: Charlotte, NC
There was a member here who used to post professional-grade photos of close-ups of hummingbirds........He was kinda a shutterbug, but they were done so well, you could see amazing detail....including the wings.....Oh...it was 4 or 5 years ago anyway......
FTE Leadership Emeritus
Joined: Sep 2000
Posts: 7,298
Likes: 45
From: Southern California
A few years back I got a feeder and put it out. We got so many little customers, I bought two more. All sumer long we filled three feeders twice a day. Sometimes I counted over 25, taking turns at the feeders. The bossy birds seemed to get less to eat that the rest of them. Since they spend all their time chasing others away from the feeders. The hotter it got, the more the birds would drink.
In the fall most of them migrated except for a few of the locals. We never have gotten as many as we had that one year. One feeder is all we maintain now. We have a lot of flowering shrubs and a bottlebrush tree that keeps them busy too. It is really sad whenever the cat catches one.
Lead Driver
Joined: Aug 2006
Posts: 5,259
Likes: 17
From: Gambrills
My Mom had a bunch of them that came back every year, she loved it/them.
I use to mess with her and say I was going to put an electric pencil sharpener out there and paint the inside red like the water she put out, lol.
I would NEVER do anything like that in reality
I use to mess with her and say I was going to put an electric pencil sharpener out there and paint the inside red like the water she put out, lol.
I would NEVER do anything like that in reality