Hummingbird Feeders

Here it is! This is the one I was talking about...

I recant.

It's easy to get chickadees to do the food from hand thing, but I assume if you have the patience, any bird could be lured in.

caribou. That is bloody amazing. I will now start to pay closer attention to my feeders and change out the sugar water every 2 days and Im going to start that 2:1 mix.

So, you think it's the higher sugar that keeps them from fighting?
Let me know how it goes...

My Parent's live south of Harrisburg. They only ever have one hummer at the feeder at a time.... Same with my Man's feeders here in Baltimore.
Territorial little buggers. But fun!
So, I don't know if there's something about the hummers from other areas, or if it's the sugar ratio...

I'd love to see a flock of them!

we began feeding hummers about 10 years ago and have had steady increases in population each summer. Now I have seen 5 different ones already and its just the start of the season. Im notmaking any correlation tween sugar ratios and their friendliness.Weve put up as many as 4 feeders around our back porch and patio trellise just to keep em all from fighting with each other. Im not implying mix ratio and calming effects. I just want to make sure they get a nice sweet snack.

I just did some more looking and found this..

"You've heard of the playground bully. Hummingbirds, especially males, often display the same kind of territorial and aggressive behavior over nectar sources. They are known to chase away competitors for the same feeder. A "bully" may be squelching feeding opportunities for other hummingbirds in your neighborhood.

Diffuse this behavior by offering several feeders - in different locations around your yard. An aggressive male can't possibly defend them all. Placement is crucial. Be sure to locate feeders high enough to deter predators, but in plain sight near flowers or windows for a good view. Hummingbirds also like to have a branch nearby from which they can observe cautiously before approaching the feeder. "
from here

So maybe the answer is more feeders = more birds?

But then I found this..
"Hummingbirds instinctively know a feeding source that is denser in sugar, and a more aggressive bird will make that feeder its own. Smaller species will then flock to the second feeder. "

And one more..

"There are oodles of hummingbirds. It is fortunate I have two feeders. They are very mean territorial birds. After feeding they sit close by on a tree branch and swoop down on any hummingbird that tries to feed. There are so many now though that at times there are two co-existing for a few seconds at one feeder."

for the past 3 years the hummers have nested in the tree right outside our computer room window but this year no sight of them other than flitting around the feeders in both front and back yards AND THEN yesterday neighbor lady called and said they moved over to her yard and have 2 eggs in their nest outside her window, Happy days are here again! the gold finches and american red finches are back in the rear yard and there are several pairs of doves hanging out as well as a couple of robins.

Impatiens of any color attracts hummingbirds here, and cardinal flowers seem to pull them in out of nowhere.

Apparently, we haven't been established at our place long enough (there wasn't anyone living there before us) because I cant' get them to come.

So, we'll wait a while.


That and the dogs broke my feeder. Smashed into a thousand tiny bits....