Twelve years ago, when we built our house in the middle of a farm field & moved in, a hummingbird buzzed our window. So we put up a feeder, as they started swarming the porch then another feeder, and another....one year we had 17 one quart feeders and they were draining them every 2 days.
The orioles used to try to get the nectar out, so we built the orioles their feeders for jelly and oranges. Now the hummingbirds can be seen helping themselves to jelly on the oriole feeders.
Jill1989 that is amazing! I can't even get one to come to the feeder. LOL! It must be wonderful to sit inside and watch them all day.
Holy Smokes!!
Wish I had that many! I love them have about 5 at two feeders
D
Wow Jill; that is really impressive!!
Jill, I could only dream of seeing that many hummers at once! How awesome that must be! Do they all fly away when you walk onto the porch? Wow! That must be some kind of loud humming you hear with that many. Great pictures!!!! Thanks for sharing them!
Wow, your love for the birds shows! Spectacular!!!
Awesome!!!
I can just imagine how it sound's on that porch lol. That's a whole lot of Hummer's ya got!
That is so neat! Can you sit out there when the birds are feeding?
can I come visit... LOL... that is heaven!!!!
Sure, come on out!
At one point, we thought we'd start a B&B out here, but life kept getting in the way.
Yes, the birds will buzz us as we fill feeders, and though some fly off at the sight of people, within minutes they are all back to feeding, chirping, and humming- it can get quite loud.
I read that they live 6 to 8 years and for the first 6 years that we put up feeders, a little guy we called "Norm" came to the same perch at the same feeder at the north end of the porch.Norm, being a male would get here first each spring and guard his spot on his feeder, leaning right and left on the lookout constantly.
One year we had the beginnings of a 'serial killer' h-bird; he would attack other h-birds until they hung upside down on the feeder, they they'd fall off and I'd find them lying dead on the ground. I think he got 2 birds that we know of. Thankfully, he never came back.
Amazing, truly amazing. Sorry to hear about the serial killer, but glad he's gone. I only get visited during the winter down here but I love when they come for their short visits. I would LOVE to see and hear that many.
oh my goodness... serial killer is not nice
even with all the noise... it is still amazing
Awesome shot of all those Hummers! Interesting about the serial killer...
HOLY JUMPIN CATFISH!! ... Do you know how many cookies you could make with 175+ pounds of sugar!.. WoW,, and I thought going through 50 pounds trying to keep all my little "pain-in-the-asses" happy every summer was a bit much...
Thanks for posting that Jill.... Truly amazing......
Dave
That is truly spectacular! I would never get any work done between keeping the feeders filled and watching them:)
Good golly! I think we counted something like 75 hummers in that photo.
I always wondered who got enough customers to buy those 1 quart feeders. I've got a couple of 1 cup feeders hanging, and they don't get those more than half empty in a week or so.
Stunning!
Unreal! I have two feeders and only see one or two at a time - all Ruby-throated Hummers.
Thanks for sharing.
the Hackster
If I wasn't so "Technologically Amish", it would be interesting to have a 'porch cam' hooked up to the internet, and stream these h-birds across the web...ah, but alas,
I am reminded that I live in "Green Acres" (though climbing the telephone pole to make calls has been remedied)....and dial-up probably wouldn't send very cohesive footage.
Here's a shot of a crashed web....wonder who flew through it....
What an awesome "hummer-cam" that would be! Thank you for consoling us for its absence by more photos... the crashed web is too funny!
Jill: I bought a lovely glass feeder and whipped up a batch of the nectar according to directions ...hung it in a tree and never saw one hummer. (Only the four-wheeled type going down the street LOL !!) I thought perhaps it was the location. So, this year, I tried again ...bought the ready-made nectar and hung it in a different tree ... nothing. I thought they would like it in the branches, more sheltered, where they would feel safe feeding? My friend has a small feeder on a suction-cup hook on her kitchen window and has great activity there to watch ...so perhaps they don't mind being close to people watching them? Do you think it would be better near the perennial garden, where there are more other birds and feeders and flowers? Any advice would be helpful as I would love to attract these delightful little guys to observe them!! Sandy
Naper. Mine are hanging from right off the top of our deck and we sit at the other end of the porch and there are hummer plants just 4 feet away from the feeder.
I don't put mine too near to regular bird feeders because there is too
much action. They have a whole corner are all for themselves near our porch.
WOW!!! That is awesome. I've only seen 5 at a time at my feeder and thought that was awesome. Nothing compared to the amount you get. They are such an interesting bird to watch. I have a few pictures I will post later.
Thanks for sharing,
Darla
Napergal- we were just up in your neck o' the woods Sat. & yesterday doing an art fair in Geneva. We have butterfly bush that draws the hummingbirds in as well. But they came here before we planted that. Here is one of the 2009 models.
Beautiful shot Jil!
I think the very most I've seen her with my eyes is 12 but they say you have a lot more than what you see.
Actually, I think they seem to come more readily to feeders that are in the open. My dad's hummers have been a little reluctant since their feeder location became crowded with branches from a nearby tree... I think they are feeding at flowers out in the yard instead. They definitely don't mind coming near people if there's a drink of sugar water involved.
Oh, and no need to fool with nectar mixes... skip the red food coloring and just mix up 1 part sugar to 4 parts water (for example, 1/4 cup sugar dissolved in 1 cup boiling water).
I do what critteroligist said - 4 to 1. I boil 4 cups of water and then dissolve 1 cup of sugar in it. A little stirring speeds things up. I add no color - its just clear water. I keep it in the fridge until I need it.
My two feeders hang on the cover of my wheelchair ramp and if I set still they'll feed about 5 ft from where I sit. I can easily hear them "buzzing" around.
Hack
This message was edited Jul 27, 2009 10:16 PM
