Jnette, you are so right about our eating habits! I've been at my daddys all day (his cancer is in remission but I have him petted to death-big mistake) when I got home my feeders were empty so they must have really been busy and probably invited friends.
I would love to see this program tomorrow but we have home coming at church, all day singing and eating, we will half to leave at 1:15 (unless my husband can get someone to swap days off with him) since he has to be at work at 3:00 in the next town. I don't have time to watch tv during the day and we don't have any kind of program guide to go by except the daily shows on each channel.
I am having a ball on DG site, I need to be outside gathering flower seeds-but its been raining so that is a good excuse to be inside.
PBS hummer special - Magic in the Air - question
Boopsie, The show might be in the evening. I will take a look at the schedule tomorrow and let you know the time.
Glad to hear of your dad's remission. Good luck!!
I'd love to have that many hummers, but either because of migration or just the availability of blossoms in my area (Central Coast CA), I never get hummers to my upstairs apt patio until at least June and then they only stay through December.
This year they didn't start coming until late July, so I hope they'll stay longer too.
They show up to my place in late April and are gone by Labor Day. So, I would say June thru Dec. is pretty good. However, you are right about being late this year. It was so cold. at least here on the West Coast, that everything was late and the hummers were the same.
Hey Ya'll-you can do a search on Hummingbirds Magic in the Air and you will be able to watch a 1 hr. video on line maybe it is the 1 that was on tv.
I saw them advertise showing it tonight on PBS. One of those and I did not get the time, but it was tonight.
the problem with the PBS schedule is that it can be different in every viewing market.
As boopsie said, it is indeed online as well as the behind the scenes stuff.
http://www.pbs.org/wnet/nature/episodes/hummingbirds-magic-in-the-air/introduction/5424/
When I make my 'nectar', I put 2 cups sugar into an 8 cup mixing pitcher and fill it up with water. I have 9 4 cup feeders out, and don't think I could 'afford' to make the mixture any stronger. :-)) I had 4, but each of them seemed to have a bully, so I bought some more and now the bullies have their feeder, and the more docile ones have thiers. This is a picture of 6 on the feeder *I think there were 2 more on the backside* and 3 in the air. The don't seem to mind the 4:1 mixture. I must have 50 hummers in my yard.
Those are the best feeders. I got 2 of them this year and they were the cheapest and the best. They each hold 4 cups. My birds were going thru them every other day. I had 2 other feeders up that they didn't like as well. However, location makes a difference too.
The bully in my yard went from feeder to feeder chasing the others away and then would perch in between them. Along about July the bully was teasing the cat and the cat got him. I sure was sorry to see that. I really felt bad. Even tho he was a bully I missed him. He was a beautiful gold color all over.
I'm gonna tell everybody to get my hummingbird feeders for Christmas (maybe they will be able to find them). I still have 1 left up in case a few of them are still hanging around but I haven't seen any in several days, I will still leave it a few days, it is a nice 1 that I got for Christmas 1 year.
My husband got me a book on hummingbirds the last time he went on a hunting trip to Land Between the Lakes, I have flipped through it and hope that when I am old and sitting in my rocking chair I'll be able to finally find time to read all of it.
holy moly! 50 birds. JEALOUS!
Boopsie, I suggest you tell everyone about your Christmas request now so that they can go buy the feeders. Nothing like getting some shopping done early!
Also, it gives them time to look. Not just grab one off the shelf 'cause it is the last gift on their list and easy. Or the last feeder out there. That time of year there are other things people are thinking about.
Mrs. Ed is right. There is still a good selection on the shelves which won't be at Christmas time.
LOL, wish you were on my Christmas list. You would be easy.
When I was a kid, my grandmother always have a few gifts wrapped for people who might show up. I think Hummingbird feeders would be good for that. Especially these First Nature that are cheap. Even if people aren't into feeding, this might get them to start!
Boopsie,
I am surprised you haven't been seeing them. I'm not a hummingbird expert, but it seems quite early for your birds to be disappearing.
I still have tons of them. I just love setting outside and watching them flock to the feeders.
My DH said he would like to get some "pretty" ones. I saw some that were not expensive and plastic online, but they didn't hold very much. I said that would be nice, but we just got all these. I do however, think the idea of having them available for drop-in's or that 'hard to buy for person' is a great idea. May have to do that myself.
I haven't had as many Hummingbirds this year as usual, especially Broad-tailed. I have had mainly Black-chinned, and only 1-2 per day. The weather has been unusually hot and dry this past month, maybe they have been staying at higher altitudes. Or maybe its just my yard - there seemed to be a lot hanging around the Ranger station at the reservoir earlier this summer - it is only 2-3 miles away.
Crit, its a good thang I left out 1 feeder; this morning about 7:30 (our company was leaving to go back to VA) I saw 1 and I had not seen any in several days. I know the cool nights here are telling them to go home.
That is true Boopsie, however, they need to get juice along the way for strength. Please as long as you have a bird come once in a while, keep it out.
It's recommended up here to keep them out to thanksgiving in case of a different species coming through.
Mine are usually around until the first week of October, so yes, down in Tennessee, please leave them up.
I was asking around - and everyone seems to think the Hummingbirds migrated early this year from this area. I am probably going to be taking my feeders down - I haven't seen any Hummingbirds this past week. Last year at this time I had 5-6, and 2 stayed into October.
I've been surprised by an INCREASE in hummingbirds to my one lone feeder. Apparently, there is a migration going through, because for months previous, I have had only one bird (that I could tell).
I only needed to make 1 cup of nectar and it lasted two weeks and I'd have to throw away some and put out fresh. Right now I'm going through 2 cups every 3-4 days, which may not sound like much to some of you, but in comparison, it's quite a dramatic change!
That really is. You better keep your feed going quite a while. Good for you.