hummingbirds

[Lou66]

That is a nice idea,, I need to learn that one.. "hand feed them",, cause that 12 gauge is loud.. wakes up the whole neighborhood on an early morning hunt.. lol.. Most of the bird have gone farer south now,, was about twenty per feeder.. mostly female,, now just a couple old males protecting the feeders.. guess they will leave before long,, when there is no ladies around to impress,, Lou

 

[Ed of all trades]

Saw one at the rose bush this morning. Was 26 night before last, 33 last night. Ed

 

[davesl708]

That is a nice idea,, I need to learn that one.. "hand feed them",, cause that 12 gauge is loud.. wakes up the whole neighborhood on an early morning hunt.. lol.. Most of the bird have gone farer south now,, was about twenty per feeder.. mostly female,, now just a couple old males protecting the feeders.. guess they will leave before long,, when there is no ladies around to impress,, Lou

That is why you use a 28ga.

Or better yet View attachment 444595

 

[bumperm]

That is why you use a 28ga.

Or better yet View attachment 444595

That looks like a gear up landing.

Had one that bonked into our window and was out for the count. Picked him up as I thought he was a goner. He immediately thought better of that idea, came to and blasted out of my hand. Oh well.

It is amazing how easily tamed they are, and how basically unafraid of people (as long as there's food to be had) . . . come to think of it, I've known people like that . . .

 

[davesl708]

That looks like a gear up landing.

Had one that bonked into our window and was out for the count. Picked him up as I thought he was a goner. He immediately thought better of that idea, came to and blasted out of my hand. Oh well.

It is amazing how easily tamed they are, and how basically unafraid of people (as long as there's food to be had) . . . come to think of it, I've known people like that . . .

Yes this guy hit the window. He was out for 40 minutes then slowly started to test his legs and wings then after watching me for 10 minutes flew to a tree branch then flew back to me and hovered for a minute then took off to the feeder.

 

[bumperm]

My main feeder is about 4' from our windows, hanging down from a 16' high rear deck cover. It's on a cord running through three pulleys so it can be raised up in the evening to get it out of the reach of the bears. Since installing it, I read that you want the feeder closer to the windows, so the little guys can't get up to speed before bonking the glass if they are startled or being chased. So I'll be moving it closer once they all depart for the winter.

 

[Deere Dude]

A resurrected post for a question.

After years with 1 or 2 feeders we only had 1-4 hummers.

This year I bought a couple more little feeders because the old ones looked shabby.

The hummers started coming in to 6-8 or so. Then we got a couple more bigger feeders and now we have maybe 40+ birds swarming around. Need to fill the feeders every day almost or they will be near empty. We have 6-7 larger feeders and enjoy watching the little critters.

The question is; Next Monday we will be out on a camping trip for 4-5 days. The birds will run out in 2 days. Is there anything a guy can do to tide them over, or do I just forget it and not worry about it, which I hate to do. Also, I don't want to but a bunch more feeders and I also don't want to bother my neighbors with something they may see as trivial.

 

[BoylermanCT]

Hummingbirds eat more than just your syrup. They will miss it, but they won't starve. Maybe one of your neighbors is a hummingbird fan. I know I am. I would refill the feeders for a neighbor if they were out of town. If you have more feeders, put them out so you increase the quantity of food for them.