Hummers here?

Have 2 or 3 hummers visiting the feeders morning and afternoon every day now. So happy they are back.

Also, for those who are thinking of putting up feeders, I read on the Hummingbird forum that Walmart is stocking some inexpensive feeders ($9) that have a wide-mouth for the nectar jar and are much easier to clean without so many picky parts.

And here's a favorite little window feeder of ours. It's easy to clean too, and loads of fun: http://www.bestnest.com/bestnest/RTProduct.asp?SKU=ASP-004 Sometimes we have 10 or 12 HBs waiting in line at this one!

One more bit of info about HBs that I thought was interesting: A study of ruby throated hummingbirds at a feeder here in Ohio showed that the researchers banded 60 HBs in sequence coming to the feeder without coming across one that they had banded earlier in the day. In other words, they had at least 60 birds feeding on the one feeder until they got a duplicate visitor. They were really surprised! And so am I!

So, that's all I know about HBs for now! Just had to share! t.

Hummers have been here for a few weeks now. I have already had to refill the feeders four times!!

I am sending a warning to everyone... The Hummers are hungry this year, so be prepared to make many trips refilling the feeders.
:-)

I saw one in our garden (near Charlotte, NC) last week. Near some Columbines.

Saw the first one buzzing around thursday evening so the feeder went out the next day!

This has been a crazy winter,saw one in Jan. and thought I was seeing things. Put the water back out and sure enogh one can around again.So I guess they are here year round somethimes.

Lavina

My husband noticed two hummers the other day looking for our feeders. We put three up each season. We have put up two about half full of nectar to see how prolific they are at this time.
We see two varieties, one being the ruby throat and the other an undetermined variety. We get so many that I am filling the quart feeders as much as once a week. We are thrilled to have so many to enjoy and it's laughable when they chase each other off the feeder so that they can get to it. They are not to good at sharing :)

Hummers have been at our feeders for about 3 weeks now.
20 to 30 regulars so far. Located at Lake of the Ozarks in MO.

Saw the first one this AM. Usually don't see any until the quince opens but the peach tree is flowering and one hummer was right there today. Seems quite early to me.

No Hummers yet! But this is the flower that bring them galore every year. Pink honeysuckle vine. They seem to totally ignore the feeders and flock to this vine.

I heard a hummer fly by me on Tuesday but saw my first one yesterday! A sweet little one at my feeder. Buby throated hummer. I was surprised by how small this one was. Usually they sit on a wire we have running way up high in the back yard. Never saw them sit for so long until we moved here. Last summer was our first summer here and that's when I saw them sit for so long. Yahoo! Life is returning to normal! Summer is definitely my favourite time of year.

Happy Gardening all!

Elaine

We put up the feeder on Sunday and saw the first one on Monday!!

I saw my first last Saturday, the poor thing was inside a greenhouse at the Nursery trying to find a way out. Nothing is blooming here at the house yet, the apples are done, my first Iris's are opening but I have never seen a hummer around those.

LOL some good HB stories, here!

BSD, What a voluptuous looking honeysuckle! I wish my coral honeysuckle worked as well as yours!...my HBs seem to ignore it. ...Seems strange.

I also read that fuschia 'gartenmeister' was a big favorite plant. That's the old- fashioned version of fuschia. The newer hybrids must have the nectar bred out of them...I saw gartenmeister at Home Depot last week.

My skinny little HBs are fattening up daily at the feeders. I put the sprinkler on in the evening and they love that.

Thanks Tabasco. This came from my neighbors yard. Root easily. I think that it is Harlequinn Honeysuckle. The HB's do love it so I assume it has sweet nector. I have had the orange also but never saw a Hummer on it.

Tabasco, they take a shower in the sprinkler? How cute! Any way you can take a picture?

KyWoods, Sorry, I am no good at bird photos--I can hardly take a pic of a stationary flower! Must learn to take pics of moving objects this summer, though!

The HBs do like water spray and there are several kinds of 'misters' on the market for them...http://www.humming-birds.com/waterpdt.html

And I think you can easily make one from parts from the irrigation aisle at Home Depot, too, or some just use the hose nozzle--turn the faucet on to a trickle and set the nozzle on fine spray then hang it on a shepherd's crook or tree limb. I have done this where the garden needs some water anyway, generally in the evening near where they are feeding.

FYI a nice article on 'Top 10 things to do to attract Hummingbirds': http://www.plowhearth.com/magazine/hummingbirds.asp

I saw my first hummer the other morning. So I hung the feeder. Before I could quite finish hanging it, a ruby throat came calling and I'm sure he was upset that it wasn't filled yet.

What wonderful websites, tabasco--thanks!!!! I hope everybody checks them out! :)

Just saw one at my feeder a few minutes ago..but actually they arrived at my neighbour's on Sat.

Someone mentioned how hummers are not in Hawaii and how it would ruin the pineapple crops. Wondering how this could be true when other places produce pineapples and have hummers I researched it and found this link. Pretty interesting!

http://www.madsci.org/posts/archives/may98/892736241.Bt.r.html

Ya know, I lived in Hawaii for four years, and now it occurs to me that I don't ever remember seeing a hummingbird--now I know why! Fascinating! That article says that cross-pollination by hummingbirds would produce lots of seeds in the fruit, and that would make them difficult for us to eat, whereas self-pollination produces no seeds. I do know that Hawaii is extremely protective of it's ecosystem, and even pets must undergo a very lengthy quarantine upon arriving in the islands. I was in the military there, and that always upset those that had their pets shipped over. Heaven forbid their cash crops become altered! I used to love seeing the endless fields of pineapples and sugar cane.

ky, thank you so much for the summary of the article! I know I'd heard you couldn't even TAKE pets over there that weren't born there. Nice to know you can.