Who wouldn't love these little guys?
Another reason to love hummers.....
Give you little goose bumps don't they!!! Little darlings!!
I love the hummers!!! For such little guys they sure do have big mouths...such a ruckus they kick up!!
What a great picture!
What kind of h'bird is it?
We only have ruby-throated around here.
That is what it is. Rubythroats are the only kind we have. One year we had one that was a rust color all over, but only one and it didn't come back the next year. I have no idea what kind it was, but the poor thing probably had a complex after living among all the Rubythroats for the summer. Can't wait for them to arrive again. I don't think there is a bird that I enjoy as much. The bluebirds are a close second though.
I love hummers. My yard is 1 acre and 3/4 of it is in flowers and plants. I have flowers blooming non-stop from spring till frost. I also have lots of places for them to nest and I always have a couple pairs nest in the yard. I have never seen more than 4 or so in my yard at one time.
The lady across the street has NO trees and NO flowers in her yard. All she does is feed sugar water and she doesn't even color it anymore. She has had as many as 12 hummers at her feeders at one time! I saw them. She has non-stop hummers all summer. The little snots have become addicted to sugar water. LOL! The entire situation really amazes me.
Every year we purchase another feeder for the hummers,we love them' Last year we identified another breed,now have 5 that visit us' http://hummingbirdwebsite.com/
Brugie,your hummer was a Roufus and they are around all over the eastern part of the US.Their main territory is up the west coast,,even as far as Alaska,but we do get them occaiaionally.
There's no need to color the sugar water..nectar is clear.If you want to attract them ,get some surveyor's tape and tie it around your yard in a couple of weeks.They can see the bright colors from a mile away and will investigate.
Right now they are migrating north.I have already hung my feeder here in South West KY. Change your sugar water every 4 days and wash your feeder with hot water..no soap and no dishwasher.If you have to ,put a few drops of bleach inside and rinse.The sugar water will neutralize it.
Use 1 part sugar to 4 parts hot water.No need to boil.Just let cool and fill your feeder.I only put just a little in mine till they start coming regular,then fill it up.
I usually get my first hummer the first week of April.I've had them as early as the 20th of March.They migrate by the daylength and flowers have nothing to do with it.They eat tiny insects and the nectar is a second food.
You can track their migration by going to www.hummingbirds.net
There is a Hummingbird Festival near me the first week in August and I go nearly every year.They catch and band hummers and you can 'adopt' one.You are then allowed to hold your hummer before you get to release it.It's little heart beats about 250 times a minute,so it just buzzes in your hand.
Bob Sargent (high guru of everything hummer)comes and gives lectures.If there is enough intrest,we might get a DG Field Trip together and meet there.
Melody, thanks so much. For all my life, because someone told me, I've been calling them Ruby Throats. Guess we are never to old to learn. Will check the web site to see when to expect them. I usually see one of the males and then put the feeders out. For some reason, he always comes to the kitchen window and I don't even put a feeder there.
After studying some picture of the Rufous and the Ruby Throat hummers, especially the females, I'm now positive that what we have here are the Ruby Throats. Wish it were the others as they seem to be more rare.
The Roufus are a rusty brown,and that's what I thought you were describing. A female Ruby Throat does look a little like the roufus tho.
The gorget(red throat) develops on the males as they get older.You will see juvenile males on their way south this fall with just a speck or two of red.The one year olds will have a small patch when they come North.I think they have to be two before their full throat is colored.
There are several species that will stray into our area,Anna's have been seen several times and I think there have been 6 or 7 species documented in the Eastern part of the country.
The Ruby Throats are the most common by far and I've counted as many as 15 around my feeders in the fall during the Southern Migration.
Okay, I forgot that I had mentioned the rust colored one in one of the above posts. Thought you were talking about the one in the picture I posted. Yes, you are probably right about the other one being the rufous. Will have to look at the pictures closer while keeping my mind focused. So much to do these days that I can't keep focused at all. Thanks for mentioning the Rufous. I will check into it. It was a pretty hummer. Hey, they are all pretty and when there are a dozen of them fighting for food, it is fun to watch. I will have at least 5 feeders this year, space so that they don't have to always fight. Thanks for all your information. Especially the web site.
S.