speaking of keeping the feeders clean--that is a pet peeve of mine. In my neck of the woods, mold is a big problem in the feeders due to the heat and humidity, I suppose, and I have to clean them out with a toothbrush every time I fill them up. I wish these manufacturers of hummingbird feeders would get smart and make a feeder with a screw-off top (on the top when hanging) that would make the inside of the glass easy to clean. Does anyone share my frustration?
This message was edited Oct 8, 2007 5:03 PM
Do you know where your hummers are?
Dear Melody,
I am sorry but I have misplaced my hummingbird guide book. Aren't there two or three other kinds of hummers besides Anna's Hummingbird here during the Spring and Summer? I wish I could find that darn book. It is always missing when I need it....LOL!!
For the last couple of days, I have noticed that there are fewer and fewer of the Black-Chinned Hummingbird. Perhaps that could just be our neighborhood.
Thanks,
Chuck
Our hummers are gone from Slidell, La. 25 miles north of New Orleans. My granddaughter and I will miss watching them during breakfast and dinner through the bay window of which the feeder is attached. We will change the nector one more time as not to miss any straglers making their way farther south.
Thanks Melody for the info, I do enjoy seeing the Anna's "hang out" in the winter, they are so possessive of their nectar - I just went out today and washed the feeders and tried to separate them to different parts of the front/back so I can hopefully feed more than one selfish hummer.
Marsue, you have a good point, I usually fill my sink up and submerge all the feeder parts in the soapy water - then rinse them really well. I haven't had mold form, but I see how they'd be easier to scrub if the mouth of the container was wider.
Don't use soap. It leaves a residue that can make the birds sick. It's better to use hot water and vinegar...and you can use bleach if you want. Bleach neutralizes when the sugar water hits it, so it will be safe for the birds to eat from. It's just not advisable to clean caterpillar cages with bleach, as there's nothing to neutralize it, but hummer feeders are fine. It's also not advised to put hummer feeders in the dishwasher...that soap can make the birds sick too.
As to Chuck's question, I left my hummer book at the office, and now I'm at home. CA has several year 'round residents, but I can't remember what they are just now... I'll let you know tomorrow.
oh no, I'll not use soap again, I did rinse in superhot water several times, but I'll use vinegar next time.
That's very interesting about the angle of the sun for them to go. Always nice to learn something new. : )
Anybody else got a heat wave goign on again? Back up in the 90's. My hummer, wa s back to abotu every ten minutes lookign for a drink. I wonder, what wil they do for water on the trip home? Will they find waterignholes or bird baths or somethign to drink from?
I am hot, but I imagine wher e they flyign to is even hotter. I know I can';t go all day without my cofee, can't go an hour without a cup of cofee. LOL , so I know they gotta get thirsty too.
I don't know how fast they fly , but that alot of mile s to cover.
I have been using soap all along to to wash my feeders with. I use just a few drops and a hard toothbrush to scrub all the inside with. I love this retangle sahped one s from walmart. You can take a toothbrush or baby bottle brush and scrub all over inside and then I rinse and rinse and rinse and rinse some more.
I didn't notic e that walmart in the retangle shaped had two different size holes. One is a tad bigger than the other and it lets smal bees get in it , and both of them the darn ants still can find their way into them. I get frustrated tring to clean the little holes. I use the toothbrush, over and over, then hold the tray up to the light a half dozen times to make sure e ach hole is clean. What the toothbrush doesn't get a thin piece of wire will . Takes me a good half hour to 5 minute s to clean just my two feeders. Think their feeders mroe sterile than my kitchen. LOL
I stil have no idea what kind my one humemr is. I know one is the Ruby Red throat, but I stil haven't seen a good pic of what my other two are. There a tiny bit of white on the tail. They have what looks like a brown body to me, no green on em, and the breast is a dirty white I call with a white banded neck.
I was at a frinds house the otherday and they wa s not hppy when I pulle d their feeders down and gave them a lecture. I was upset. They had these feeders up that have like a big red flower with a yellow center filled with tons of holes, but they never clean it out good, and the yellow part ,wher e they drink from was so filled with black mold that you couldn't even almost tell it was yellow to begin with. I told em if they couldnt keep it clean , not to put it up that they would make the birds sick. Think for Christmas I will get them a feeder like mine. That one they should be able to clean.
Ruby Throat Hummingbirds will fly non-stop across the Gulf of Mexico...a 20 hour journey of 600 miles. They lose half of their body weight during this flight and some do not make it. No food or drink....they just fly.
http://davesgarden.com/guides/articles/view/128/
http://davesgarden.com/guides/articles/view/164/
These are two articles that I've written so far about the Ruby Throats...there's another scheduled to run in the next day or two.
The information should help lots of you.