Today, I was weeding in my courtyard bed when I heard a familiar buzz! When I looked up, it was the first hummer - looking to see if I had put his "juice" out yet!! Well, I had to run to a wedding, so, tomorrow right after church - I'll fill the feeders & hang them!! Samantha
ALERT! First Hummy of the year!
Congratulations Grace. I had my first one Saturday afternoon. I was so happy to see him feed at my Goldflame honeysuckle as well as a feeder.
And I saw my first today! It was going from bloom to bloom on Salvia greggi. You kind of forget how great they are over the winter. And then the first one you spot is so special. I don't think our seasonal resident hummers are here yet...can't wait!
I think I may have seen 1 today. My feeder has been out for aweek or so and I saw "something" buzz by me as I arrrived home and approached the feeder which is near the front door.
You better be sure tht I will be making up new "nectar" for the hummers that are deffinateely arriving here in NC
Hi! I have a male resident Anna's I've been feeding all winter long whom now has company, and just yesterday I spotted the first rufus of the year.
I had 2 today at my feeder, I don't know what kind. They were dark colored. It was raining really hard, I had no idea they would feed in the rain. Sharon, Broxton, GA
Sharon- Here east of the Mississippi, we usually only get Ruby Throated Hummers. Males are dark green with vibrant red throats (hence the name), females are plain light brown or tan on their breast with green on their back - no red throat, though. I have seen hummingbird hanging onto a tomato cage for dear life during 40 mph winds and pouring rain! They even "bathe" in my lawn sprinklers! Congratulations on your sighting!
Samantha
Here's the Hummingbird migration map link:
http://www.hummingbirds.net/map.html
Looks like I have about a week before I need to get my 4 feeders out when they arrive here. Might get them up alot sooner, just to be sure. :-)
Marilyn
Here's a link that I thought was interesting....
http://www.worldofhummingbirds.com/migration.php
On the hummingbirds.net site, http://www.hummingbirds.net/index.html I found that the sugar water recipe doesn't need to be boiled:
"Here's the recipe for artificial nectar (syrup):
*
Use one part ordinary white cane sugar to four parts water.
*
It's not necessary to boil the water. The microorganisms that cause fermentation don't come from the water; they are transported to the feeder on hummingbird bills.
*
Store unused syrup in the refrigerator for up to two weeks.
This mixture approximates the average sucrose content (about 21%) of the flowers favored by North American hummingbirds, without being so sweet it attracts too many insects."
What do you all think about that?! Are you going to boil or not? Also, by boiling the water, the sugar grains dissolve. I thought that was important too (that they dissolve).
And on that site, under answers, is the link for attracting Hummingbirds http://www.hummingbirds.net/attract.html (plants and flowers).
Guess I'll do some reading to refresh my memory about those wonderful little gems! :-)
Marilyn
Oops! I just saw the link for the migration map on this forum! lol :-)
http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/955566/
Oh well, can't hurt to have it posted again. :-)
Just found this on the http://www.worldofhummingbirds.com/migration.php link regarding sugar water. They state to boil the water.
http://www.worldofhummingbirds.com/nectar.php
I boil the water. I mainly do it to make it easier to dissolve the sugar faster. It may or may not be needed but it doesn't hurt so I do it.
I'm going to keep boiling mine too. :-)
I think I may have missed my opportunity for Hummers this year. I think I set the feeder out too late. :( hopefully one of them might spot it, but I'm not holding my breath
i havent seen any yet but i have my feeders out as of today.
I got my 4 feeders up last night, but haven't seen any yet. Last night, I also got an Oriole feeder up with 2 orange halves hanging next to it. :-)
Guess I should get my Hummer feeders up by at least, March 25 - 28 next year. I check the migration map everyday and there's a report on March 31 in our general area, and several reports in Oh, IN and IL on April 1 already! On March 26, there's a report in IN! There's even a report in north IL on March 30!
http://www.hummingbirds.net/map.html
I took the hint and got mine filled and out. It must be spring!
We have hummers, arrived on March 23rd. We have three feeders out now and they're already establishing their "territories", dueling beaks.......LOL. Will put out more feeders in a month or so. I use the sugar water recipe, however, I do use distilled water and keep refrigerated.
Once we get the Hummers coming on a regular basis, I change the sugar water every day, whether it needs it or not. Until them, I'll change the solution every other day or every two days. Want to make sure it's good and fresh for the little darlings! :-)
aint seen anything yet but having storms so maybe in day or too
Us too, imzadi.
Here is one I saw today, briefly visiting my Mexican Sage.
