Ask The Hummingbird Expert

If nothing drastic happens between now and then, week after next, I'm heading to a hummingbird banding and lecture day.

Several experts will be on hand to give short programs and answer questions.

What would you ask if you could have the ear of a real expert?

I plan on doing a series of articles about my day...(and everyone here will be able to read them)

I'd like a list of questions about what's on your minds. This would help with getting my thoughts together.

I'm doing one with a lepidoptera expert, and your input has been extremely valuable....now the chance has come up to speak with a hummer person.

One of my questions will be about this year's Great Easter Freeze, and if it hurt the population any.

What else can you think of?

Since I still don't have any hummers after 2 years ..... I'd like to know what would be suggested to attract hummers. To narrow it down ..... what one or two things should all yards have to attract the little winged jewels? (Especially from high in the sky as they are passing overhead.)

The "horrible" Easter Freeze is definitely a good question. We had hummers here fighting over the feeders, plants, etc., all the time last year, and now, it's an occasional visit. And, last year, they really showed no interest in the plants (Hibiscus, Mandevilla, Brugs, Butterfly Bush, Cherry Greggii Salvia) and would mainly stake out the feeders.

So, do hummers change their preference in nectar sources from year to year? This year, they've seemed to have changed their preferred food source -- Salvia, Butterfly Bush, Mandevilla, Hibiscus, and don't touch the feeders.

Those are great!

I'll be sure to ask specifically what it takes to get hummers when all around you have them and you do not. I've had several neighbors down the road asking the same thing...mine drain a 16 oz feeder in 1 day. I really need to get a couple more.

Actually, mine sprang a leak a few weeks ago, and I bought a new one but lent it to my cousin's family who were visiting from Norway. They had a house they were renting for a month....the little girls hung up the feeder and they had hummers before they went back inside....go figure.

My hummers like the Coral Honeysuckle, Bee Balm, Cardinal Climber, and Crape Myrtle as well as the sugar water. I've always got about a half dozen on any given day.

Am curious if the colored (red dye or the strawberry flavored) nectar sold in stores is really bad for hummies?

I use a solution of water and regular table sugar of 4:1 ratio...but still wonder if anyone has any valid scientific data that the red stuff really does harm hummies. Have read lots of stuff about possible harmful effects and suppositions but never found any valid documented studies against it.

~ Cat

If you don't mind, I have a question or two.

1. Every year more and more hybrids are being created. Gardeners are puttign more and more of thes e plants into their yard. While they make look pleasign to the gardeners eye, how much nectar are they providing if any for the hummers?

Which plants provide the most nectar and in what quanity of plants per hummer do you need on a daily basis for each hummer present?

2. As more and more gardeners are using pesticides, insecticides, and fungicides, not only on the plants but systemicially too, what effect if any is this having on nectar production and is the residue from thes e products beign filtered out into the nectar and causing posioning of the hummers, thus reducing their population?

Hope ya have a good time and wish I coudl go with ya. : )

Those are Wonderful!!!

Adding them to my list right now!

I finally remembered what my other question was.

Besides the plants and the sugar water feeders, is there anthing else we can put out or provide that il provide the hummers with a more balanced diet and perhaps improve their quality of life?

Hi, Mel

I have hummingbirds and they love my daylilies and other flowers too, but my question would be. where can a person buy a large mouth feeder that is not impossible to clean!

Another would be is there anyway we can encourage them to nest in our yard?

Have fun,
Teresa

I got a wonderful feeder at Wal-mart this summer...the whole thing comes apart. The base even separates so that you can clean the ports from the underside. Cost about 5 dollars and has a nice sized liquid container...holds about a quart. It has a square sided bottle with a wide mouth that you can even get a cloth down into. I've been really pleased with how easy it is to fill and to clean.

I'll try and get a picture of it today and post.

Yes, I bought 2 of those feeders from Walmart. (Magpye recommended them and has a whole thread on them if you do a search...) The birds love 'em and they are so easy to clean.

The other feeder that is so easy for us is the little square Hummingbird snack buffet feeder that has the suction cups for the windows. A great little feeder--easy to fill and easy to clean--and by far the favorite feeder here.

I am interested in the answers to the questions above, too. The hummingbirds seem to be fickle about which plants they nectar from!

Is it the guy from Hilton Pond?

Have fun.

Yep that's him!

I don't have a question Melody...still thinking on it...

The Hummzinger is the easiest to clean and has a moat:

http://www.hummzinger.biz/hummzinger.htm

Rox - Do the hummers actually use your hummzinger feeder? I ask because that is one of the kind I have and I had read on a thread somewhere that the hummers didn't like that brand. So I went out and bought another kind.

At first they didn't, maybe they had to get used to it....but now they use it regularly. There's probably others similar to it, I just like the ease of cleaning it and the deep moat....I had ants really bad.

Thanks for your experience with the Hummzinger. I do like everything about that feeder especially how easy it is to clean! :-) Since I've yet to get hummers, I really didn't know. I shall be using both feeders again soon in the hopes that some passing birds find me!

To keep ants out of your feeders, take a pipe cleaner..(or something similar) and coat in Vaseline. Wrap around your chain or hook. Ants won't cross it. I wrap in sort of a spiral to cover more ground. Seems like 2 or 3 inches of greasy stuff is your best bet.

Here's my hummer feeder that I like best. We actually got a sprinkle of rain early this morning...thus the water drops.

Okay y'all ..... I am getting antsy! I have a feeder like yours Melody and 2 Hummzinger feeders. Since I live in the south in Florida, when should I put my feeders back out? The end of August, beginning of September or October?

Melody - Maybe that would also be a good question for the expert ..... a map with suggested months to put feeders out for migrating birds?

Well, I can tell that they're already migrating here in KY.....I've got 3 males this morning and I haven't seen any all week till now. (I counted 9 total this morning, so I'm guessing there's more)

What type of area do you have your feeders in Becky? Mine are where there's several trees and bushes close by for cover and perching. They really like something within 10 feet or so of the feeders. I have a Coral Honeysuckle, 2 Crape Myrtles and a rose bush all in close proximity.

Melody - I have small trees, bushes, and a large Oak tree all within the confines of my backyard. I put the 3 feeders on shepherd's hooks located in different areas around the backyard. In Florida, plants bloom almost year round, so I think that is why I am having such a hard time getting them to find my yard. Many plants grow wild and any folks grow nectar plants here and I am competing with so many others for these little guys! I have quite a large number of blooming nectar plants, but the feeders were an addition to try to attract the little birdies. I've been at it for over 2 years now trying to get them to find my yard. :-/

I'll be sure and pose this question to the expert....you really should be getting some birds. Just about everyone around here has feeders too and there seems to be no shortage of hummers to go around.

I know that we do get hummers in my area. All the plant nurseries here get them and some of my gardening friends get them in their yards which are not too far away from my home. I'm at a loss as to what else I can do! This has been my most frustrating challenge since I started gardening 3 years ago.

Got a flag pole, Becky? I don't think the confines of your fence has anything to do with it but maybe if you "advertised with a red flag higher than your fence, the hummers would zone in on it. They can see red at least 1/2 mile away (I beleive I read that somewhere).

Nope .... a flag pole I don't have. :-/ But I have been hanging other red and colorful things around my yard. :-)

Mel - Sorry to have kinda hijacked this thread. Pardon me. :-}

No problem Becky....actually, it gives me better info to explain your situation. You seem to be doing everything 'right'....so you should have hummers. This will be a great question for my guy, and the details that you are giving will let me provide a thorough description of what you are doing. He can't say well, you should be doing 'this' if I've already told him that you are.

becky, here's a little range map of the RTHB and it shows nothing for central florida...is that where you are located?

http://www.shawcreekbirdsupply.com/rubythroat_hummingbird_map.htm

I don't have time to find the range map on the US gov. site, but maybe it would tell a better story...

Please tell the Hilton Pond guy I love his articles and web site. I had read he was going to be in the Louisville area.

Judy - I am in the "white" zone of that map! (It figures. lol) I have tried doing a search and can't get any info for my zone and location. :-/

becky--here's a Florida range map-- http://myfwc.com/bba/maps/rthu.htm

It definately looks like RTHBs are sparse in certain areas....

Looks like location may be one of your biggest problems, ( I looked up your town on the map) but if folks around you have them, then you should at least get a few.

Judy and Melody - Thanks for the info and map! Yes, there have definitely been RTHBs here but not sure what time frame they showed up. Spring for sure and I think also Fall. (But actual months ..... I do not know.) I don't know if any other hummers come here or not. Maybe the Rufus hummers.

becky ..
Any chance that you have a outdoor cat or a cat that is allowed outdoors some times -?-
Or, maybe your neighbors do -?-

When we lived in Louisiana, it was rare that we'd get even an occasional hummer to visit the feeders. The immediate neighbors to either of side of us would also report that they don't have any hummers visiting their flowers or feeders. However, folks that lived only a lil peice on down the road from us .. would have hummers 'galore'! We soon realized that it was our neighbors cats that the hummers were fearful of, and kept them spooked. One had indoor cats that were allowed outside on occasion, and the other had several outdoor cats. Being in what we felt was some what of a 'country' atmosphere (then) - there wasn't too much we could do about it. That's when we also discovered why we weren't seeing many of the other kinds of birds visiting the seed feeders around our yard.
The line was crossed big time, tho' .. when two of the cats raided the nest of a Summer Tanager that had nested in one of the Dogwood trees, very near the house. It was then, that we figured out that the cats had long been coming over, climbing the trees and sitting on our roof under the shade of the tree limbs and stalk all of the birds ...

Melody ...
( * Careful folks, you may not want to read all of the gory details I'm sharing here)!!
If you would please .. see what you can find out about the ticks that will definitely latch on to the hummingbirds! Just seems that their wee lil bodies can't tote such bloated naystees for very long.
(1) Are there any reports of hummers being sighted with these nasties on-board?
(2) Has there been any studies made on the impact of the ticks on the mortality and/or population of (any) of hummer species ?
(3) How vulnerable are the hummers to the many diseases/infectious diseases that are associated to the ticks?

Last year, I'd sent an e-mail to someone to ask what is the best way to remove a tick from a hummers throat, to ensure the ticks' head does not remain, and to treat the 'wound' The reply I rec'd consisted of nothing but a reminder that 'hummingbirds are federally protected and I should not be catching them'; (which floored me a bit, but I got over it). I was also told with no elaboration or explanation, that 'birds don't get diseases from ticks'. My knowing the tick caught (the 'ride' on) the hummer and the lil guy was hardly managing to 'squeak' enuff for me to tune in to the sound .. only to find him sitting on the lower porch rail, severely weakened by being over-loaded packing around a huge tick, and definitely unable to fly nor feed - - there was jes no way on God's green earth, that I was going let that dastardly disease-toting-parasite continue to suck the life blood out the innocent lil hummer, through its lil throat!

(4) * IF true: I'd like to know how it is, that the hummers won't/can't get/contract diseases from (some) ticks?
(5)

Oh goodness me. .. I know I've got more - but my brain circuits have suffered a momentary road closure.

I'll get back here soon ... when I'm recovered. .. LOL

- Magpye

What a wonderful question Magpye. Especially since you've had personal experience with this situation. It will be sure to be on my list.....and I'll ask for details on how to deal with such and event.


This may be a 'two parter' gang. I've got a wealth of subjects that are interesting and relevant already....and we've still got a week to go.

This isn't a question, but I noticed something today while potting up some brugs. I noticed that the females seem to go right for the nectaring plants, while the adult males go straight for the feeder without looking at the nectaring plants. I'm not sure about the juvies, though. Has anyone noticed this before?

I'm having the opposite happen here...my females have staked out the plants, and the males are having a very territorial war over the feeders....except for ONE alpha female....she thinks the whole 4 acres belongs to her and spends untold amounts of time trying to guard every nectar source...natural or man-made!

Maybe I'm reading you guys' two posts wrong (definitely a strong possibility) - but Mel, seems like you're having the same 'happenings' as indiana_lily .. with exception of the one particular female at your place(?) .. heehee ..

Seems like the #'s are droppin' off a bit here tho' .. along with their being not as much 'in attendance' (frequency) at the feeders, as they have been. Certainly not having to replace the 'shugga wahta' in the 6 feeders, as often. Will drop back to about 4 maybe, in the next day or so. Don't want the stuff to 'go bad' either ..

((Ooops, sorry Melody .. haven't meant to go in another direction than you'd intended for your thread))

- Magpye

Actually, Magpye, you read correctly -- females at nectaring plants, males at feeders, with the exception of the alpha female on Melody's part (female at Shrimp Plant as I type). Maybe males are just "lazy?" :)

Numbers are actually "increasing" here to two right now. Last year, there were many. Maybe the Easter freeze had something to do with the dwindling numbers most are noticing this year. Something to think about anyway.

Must be this oppressive heat....I mis-read indiana-lily's post....Magpye is right. We've got the same situation going on.

My theory is...and it's just a theory...is that the males are here for a 'gas 'n go' and won't be here very long. I think the females take longer to migrate because they have had the work of building the nest, laying the eggs, incubating them, raising the young and fledging them. Males only participate in one act in the reproduction process...they supply DNA, nothing else. The female hummers are truly single mothers from the get-go. They are the last to leave...males are the first. Males want quick fuel and lots of it.

Melody - I believe that you are correct in your theory. I've read that on other websites as well. That would make perfect sense to me!

I would like to hear more info about the Rufous hummingbird moving into KY. I believe I spotted on last year. I had read an article somewhere about it. Hopefully they will be expanding their area and they will also be common at our feeders someday.
Teresa