Anyone else have an unusually large number of hummingbirds this year?

[MoKelly]

We just started with a hummingbird feeder this summer. Placed it outside the screen porch. We had lots of birds. Usually 2-3 at a time - but they don’t play nicely with each other!

We are located just outside St. Louis.

MoKelly

 

[goeduck]

I use well water but ours must not have much bacteria in it since It does not easily spoil if I keep the feeders clean. As for fighting, yes they do that a lot. We get rufous hummers as travelers in the summer, they are known for having the longest migratory path of all hummers as well as being aggressive. Normally in the winter the resident Annas do not fight much, but this year I see a little of it.
Rufous

Annas

 

[lilranch2001]

are they ruffian rufous?

 

[goeduck]

are they ruffian rufous?

 

[dragoneggs]

Well water here too. I will start doing a better job cleaning the feeder on refills. They are back on the feeder now and it's 36degF and beautiful sun here.

 

[BoylermanCT]

I switched to bottled water from well water and saw an increase in hummingbirds this past year. I also switched from 32 oz feeders to 16 oz feeders, so they go through it faster and it does not spoil. Of course, I was refilling them every few days.

 

[sixdogs]

I switched to bottled water from well water and saw an increase in hummingbirds this past year. I also switched from 32 oz feeders to 16 oz feeders, so they go through it faster and it does not spoil. Of course, I was refilling them every few days.

Very interesting. What kind of bottled water? Distilled?

 

[BoylermanCT]

Local grocery store spring water in the 16oz bottles. My well water is very hard and I think that didn't help.

 

[dragoneggs]

I switched to bottled water from well water and saw an increase in hummingbirds this past year. I also switched from 32 oz feeders to 16 oz feeders, so they go through it faster and it does not spoil. Of course, I was refilling them every few days.

Might just give bottled water a try for fun. Assuming boiling it was good enough.

 

[goeduck]

The resident guys are getting hungrier as spring is just around the corner. I am refilling the feeder every few days now and I might be putting up a second feeder soon. Link to our year round resident birds below. I found this paragraph interesting

This hummingbird consumes more insects than any of the other North American hummingbirds, catching small flying insects on the wing. Plucks spiders and trapped insects from spider webs. They also visit sapsucker holes and feed on sap and insects attracted to the holes

Anna's Hummingbird Facts - NatureMapping

NatureMapping is a hands-on environmental science and education program linking kids, communities and professionals.

naturemappingfoundation.org