Wow, ju, February! Do you know what species of hummer it was?
I rely on my plants as well and we have lots that they like to dine on. I prefer that to feeders but do supplement with them when there are a lot of hummers in the area. I have one neighbor who also has feeders out. Due to the small number of them this year, we probably have them covered. I will put out more food when its time for them to fatten themselves for the migration. We have Ruby Throats.
Hummingbirds in the Southeast yet?
Most here are also Ruby Throated , contrary to info on the web and several demanded idea there are others here besides Rufous..
The truth being some are rare birds .
I looked it up , and found that some hummers will live in attics or such places during winter .
During warm years and last year was they will and can stay . oops heated attics and intermittent frozen tree pollen as sap .. is how ..
The one I saw was a Ruby or a Bee -Tail which I can no longer find info on the web about ,
This message was edited Aug 23, 2013 4:37 AM
Ah, it was living in the attic then?
I am not familiar with the Bee Tail. Does it have another name as well?
You know I saw three or four of them two or three years ago , not any or any info since about them either , I feel like I am being played with .
The male is small and about the size of a Ruby, camoflage , multi colored brown with a 41/2 inch beak , the female averages three times the size of a Ruby with black and white tail opposite of the the ruby coloration ..
I believe I read that was how they could , I don't know for sure , only that I saw that Hummmingbird and a Mourning Cloak at the end of last February , Way early and way wrong for either here ...
I watched one at my Mexican Cigar the other day, and when he pulled away from the flower, it came off and got stuck on his beak! I was worried about how he would get it off, but I watched him, and it did finally fall off. That was just the strangest thing to see happen, though. But that is one plant they really seem to enjoy, as well as my Black and Blue Salvia.
I would be inclined to believe that perhaps the migration path has shifted. Since we have so many right now a month early, I would say that something is driving them south. Perhaps too much rain? We only get them during migration and since we have been in a drought for the last six years, the only way for us to feed the numbers that pass through on the way to Mexico is with feeders.
I had hundreds at our old farm and really hated abandoning them when we moved out here especially since it was several years before I got any at all here. Last two years we have been blessed with multitudes and feeding a gallon a day of sugar water for a period. It is interesting that the spring migration is much smaller for us. All we get are Ruby Throated, all the others use a different highway.
Being there in TX you would definitely be in their flyway for the migration. A gallon of sugar water a day is a lot, Joy! But, then, you know that. :) What did they like to visit at your farm? You had plants or feeders there or both?
happytail, they do like those tubular flowers here as well. I've never seen one stuck but I can imagine it might take some doing to get it off that long bill!
They love my desert willows, my Cowpen daisies, cosmos, and occasionally my salvia. It is easier for them to tank up at the feeders, and when they get here they are extremely hungry. I have been told that individuals hang around for a while at a "rest stop", resting and storing up for the next long jaunt across the Gulf. So we try to keep feeders full this time of year, adding more as the hummer numbers increase. Right now I have four quart size feeders up and will add two to three more soon. The biggest problem we have is getting enough stations, we can have every one full and more hovering, waiting for an opening.
In the spring they are more relaxed and take time at more of my flowers.
That's a beautiful photo! I'm very glad to hear that you are feeding them so well and helping so much with the migration. The rest stops are very important, especially as they prepare to cross the Gulf. The hummingbird migration is just amazing, isn't it? They are so small and they travel such a long way. And through all sorts of circumstances.
RE: Fuschia
There is something called California Fuschia (or Hummingbird Trumpet or Fire Chalice), Zauschneria garrettii or Epilobium canum ssp. garrettii. It is native in the Great Basin as far north as Idaho, and will grow here in Colorado in Zone 5.
I don't know whether or not it is related to tropical Fuschia - it doesn't make Tutus. It is low-growing and is visited by Hummers that don't mind foraging down low.
Ugh.
I watered some plants with water I drained from a fishtank. I didn't know it was going thru a cycle and I think burned a couple of the more delicate plants, including my precious fuschia. :/
I cut the tips off to try to save the plant, and I thought what the heck and put some growth hormone on the cuttings. I'm not the best with cuttings, keep your fingers crossed!
One hummer has feasted at the feeder and from the 'Alabama Crimson' honeysuckle for awhile now. Two more arrived and the aerial acrobatics have been fierce as he defends his territory. Can't say as I blame him. He's had a cushy time of it up until now.
Oh Cville... I am hoping next year brings you more hums. I think it is a good theory that habitat is changing and is less attractive to them. In my area a highway widening project that has been stalled for almost 20 years is finally going. In a matter of one week over a mile of roadside trees, dogwoods, rose of sharon bushes, large, long established clumps of campsis radicans(devils trumpets) and open areas with milkweed and a zillion wildflowers...Gone. So sad. It is less attractive to ME so I can only imagine what hummingbirds ,butterflies, and songbirds, and other wildlife would think.
Yes, habitat and other changes are affecting a lot of things. :( I usually only see about 4 or 5 so this is probably the entire group. I went out to check the feeder last night and "my" hummer came right up to me eyeball to eyeball. After looking over the situation, he flew back to the tree perch where he watches the feeder constantly when he isn't doing other hummingbird stuff. So no major changes in numbers here except they arrived much later this time.
I noticed this week they are feeding less on my feeders and more on my plants. Didn't make the new batch any differently... I wonder if this is related to migration?
Will make a new batch of sugar water tomorrow and see what I can see.
I hate watching "progress." I'd never seen such a thing till I moved south. I figured we'd already razed all the forests up north.
Has anybody heard this stuff about mixing the sugar water 3 to 1 as the season winds down and the hummingbirds are getting ready to migrate? I guess the idea is that they need to store up and need more energy for the trip. what is the consensus of our group?
Yes, I mix a 6 to 1 ratio during the summer when blooms are in abundance and a 3 to 1 ratio about a month or so before time for the migration.
I haven't seen any for about a month now . Only I came here as a threadbuster anyway , not in the southeast , so who cares ...lol
I did get to see a few this year though , could of easily been none ..
You can be in the SE in your mind!
I read that a weaker solution will result in more trips to the feeder, thus more sightings. So, I guess a richer mix will get them ready for a Loooooonnng journey. I will start this with my next batch.
Thanks. I know they are still here as I see them feeding all over the yard. I made a new 4 to one batch today. Will try the 3 to 1 in the other feeder out front tomorrow.
I just saw a female on the honeysuckle next door.
Question:
Do I remember reading something about filtered or spring water being bad to use in our sugar mix?
Was about to stir up a fresh batch and wondering if she/they don't like the new formula or what.
I do know that there are very low but measurable levels of ammonia in our tap water, chlorine, chloramines, fluoride, etc.
Can I use filtered water, I mean just drip thru a brita pitcher? I know for a fact that distilled water for any living thing is a no-no (if you need to know why search World Health Organization).
http://wateruse.org/why-drinking-distilled-water-is-bad-for-your-health-and-well-being/
Thoughts?
p.s.
I know what I know about our tap water due to my work with my fish tanks!
AND
I did the research on distilled water when a friend's French bulldog had inexplicable and seemingly incurable bacterial/fungal infection between the folds of skin on his face.
I use tap water - I thought there was two reasons for boiling it: 1) so the sugar will dissolve & 2) so the chlorine (& any other volatiles) will boil off. I always start with slightly more water than I need to allow for evaporation during boiling. I agree with not using distilled water. I used to work for a company where part of the building was plumbed with distilled water. I was told not to drink it - that it created sort of an osmotic vacuum and would suck the minerals right out of your teeth.
I never boil the water, experts say it isn't necessary. What I do is, heat half the water I need just hot enough to melt the sugar, then take it off the stove and add the second half of cool water so that I can use it immediately. When we are feeding the multitudes, I heat a gallon of water adding 8 cups of sugar. After it dissolves, I add the second gallon.
I know everybody has their own way of doing it and experts disagree. In my old law practice at trial when an issue relied on expert opinion we called it a pissing contest.
I prefer to boil both to completely dissolve the sugar as well as (from what I remember of my research a thousand years ago) to retard the growth of bacteria and/or stave off the fermentation process in heat or sunlight?
What I know of tap water is that the chemicals added to municipal drinking supplies kills bacteria. As an aquarist, we used to keep containers of water overnight for 24-48 hours and certain additives would disperse into the air as gas. That does not work anymore.
My understanding now is that chloramines (chlorine+ammonia) do not dissolve or disperse. To make water safe for marine life, including the beneficial bacteria that inhabit the tank and keep the water chemistry in check (think acidophilus for people) additives are necessary to remove chlorine and chloramines. I must add "water conditioner" before I add tap water to the tank.
Said city water is not safe for people with weakened immune systems, people with kidney disease, or aquarium fish. The City of Greensboro annual water report is published online and distributed hard copy to residents by mail and these warnings are set forth in the report.
This all just to say that removing those things considered harmful to people like heavy metals, chemicals, etc., could only help make it better for the birds. It is not the same type of process like distillation that strips water of its minerals and beneficial elements.
Unless someone says not to, I'm thinking that filtration could only improve the quality of what I offer as the bird's system will not have to process those chemicals.
This message was edited Sep 28, 2013 10:13 PM
Amanda I was not trying to get in a pissing contest with you. I know better than to argue with lawyers, it never goes well. I am sorry that you have bad water, if it is full of heavy metal, chemicals etc., I would assume that boiling would concentrate those things as the water evaporates. If your brita filter takes those things out, then I would assume it would be safe for birds as well. Otherwise you might consider bottled water.
I have been on well water for over 25 years, two different farms, two different wells. I had salt water tanks for years at the old farm and our invertebrate tank was awesome.
I threw out the expert comment because that was where I learned about our ruby throats, from those who make their living studying birds. Me, I am just a farmer who has successfully fed hummers for the lat 20 years or so as they migrate through our area.
BTW, a check with my acquaintance who study's hummingbirds in Tx. says that they have found that the microorganism that causes fermentation doesn't come from the water, it is brought in on the hummingbirds bills. That was something new to me.
No no no joy, dont be silly. That was not my intention. In other words we here don't have to debate whether to boil or not... I know you feed more than your fair share!
Very iteresting too about the organism responsible for fermentation!
That makes me think of the finches who suffer conjunctivitis from germs/illness they pass to each other by coming into contact with those feeding stations on the hanging tube feeders.
Thanks for this new information. I'm still tying to learn, is why I'm back in school AT MY AGE and trying to go in a direction where I'm not required to argue for a living. It did not suit me. So I am retired sort of with my licenses intact but on inactive status, just in case.
Much more fun playing with bugs and counting birds. Hope I can get me one of those jobs when I'm done next year. :)
So, I always did the boiling of the sugar water to kill any lingering bad organisms and to slow the fermentation. I am interested in the idea that it comes from the birds bills. Even without bird beaks, sugar water will ferment in the warmth of the summer days, so there must e an additional "germ" on the bills.(The finch conjunctivitis is so heartbreaking. I have thought about not feeding songbirds at all except in winter but have not decided yet.) Anyhoo, I bought a bottle of readymade nectar on sale a few weeks ago, and I hate to admit it is so easy to not have to wait for it to cool, or if I have made some ahead, I wait for it to come up to room temp out of the fridge. And..it was the type I mentioned earlier this summer that advertises the addition of calcium and vitamins to "Save The Babies!" so I can sleep better at night knowing I am not a hummer hater. ha ha.
have definitely seen a drop in hummer numbers in the last 2 weeks. I thought it was over and was goin to take my feeders down, but just saw 2 this morning at my blk & blue salvia and pineapple sage (which is b looming like crazy.. one of my favorites) so i guess i will keep them up for another month, for any stragglers.
Rouxcrew, I would just pass out if I had so many hummingbirds!
BTW- I want to replace my feeders for next year. I have a collection of different types, and they all have some design flaw which makes it hard to clean, leaky or whatever. I am considering 3 of the Humzinger saucer types...Any suggestions?
I have not tried those but have thought about it. I would be interested in the feedback.
I just cleaned out my feeder and hung it back up with water inside in it so see if it draws any hummers. It's red glass. I have plenty of Crimson Honeysuckle for them out in the yard. When I go out and hang up the feeder they always come to see what's going on. So if I don't see any hummers checking it out, I'm pretty certain they've left to head south.
I have used several different types of feeders and have hated a lot of them or the hummers wouldn't feed from them. I bought several saucer feeders and have thrown all of them away. Not one of them hangs straight so half of the stations have no liquid. I hang from short chains, but I got so frustrated trying to keep them level that I just chunked them.
I have used several of the plastic ones but worry about really cleaning them. I like to be able to break one down so that I can soak them to disinfect them. I also don't need a quart sized feeder that only has four stations, really, how long will it take to empty it.
I do have several types but I now have eight made by Cedar Works, four of which I bought this fall. The birds love them, they are stable, have six ports, and totally break down for cleaning. The flowers come off, the bowl snaps apart, the top rubber piece unscrews, and even the little white tube tips come off. They hold a little less than a quart and even have little perches built in to the flowers for resting, which my guys do a lot. Lastly, they are relatively inexpensive and last a long time. My first one is now four years old.
http://t.homedepot.com/p/Cedar-Works-Sipper-Hummingbird-Feeder-100080579/203271255/
Well, we've had a deep frost so my shrimp plant is in the living room in a five gallon bucket..........but...........does anyone know about its seed dispersion method? It seems to be "spitting" seeds all over the room, It is really weird, especially late at night when I am watching TV alone in the dark and I hear it "pop"..................my hummers loved it so I am trying to keep it 'till next year. We'll see if it works.
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