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Humming Birds have Returned

redfishbluefish

redfishbluefish

Officer Emeritus
Officer Emeritus
Not sure if anyone else is a feeder of the little hummers, but they have returned. Was sitting out on my side porch and one came in looking for the feeders. They were not up yet and the little guy went over to the flowering mountain laurel to satisfy his nectar needs. I now have the feeders up and am back on the porch waiting for the first feeding.
 
Tazmaniancowboy

Tazmaniancowboy

Officer Emeritus
Officer Emeritus
I saw my first one 4 weeks ago :eek:..have the feeder full and only saw him a handful of times. Last year I had 4 of them that would come around sometimes sitting 2 at a time on my feeder. This year I have only seen one so far.
 
9supratt4

9supratt4

Does anyone know if they come to North Jersey?? my mother has been hoping to get some on her feeder since last summer.
 
redfishbluefish

redfishbluefish

Officer Emeritus
Officer Emeritus
Wow…four weeks ago. I typically gauge my filling of the feeders on what my father sees in North Carolina. He tended to be about one week ahead on us on the hummer return. I asked about two weeks ago and they still weren’t being seen at his feeder…which I put up a week after Easter. Maybe the ones returning to the North take a different route or leave at different times or who knows what. I was surprised that he hadn’t seen them since they have also had a very warm spring. And, he gets so many that they have hummer wars in his backyard trying to get to the feeder.


I do know that this guy who returned tonight was a past-year feeder because he came right to where I keep one of the feeders just outside the screening of the porch. He looked at me, looked at where the feeder should have been and then flew off to the mountain laurel fifteen feet away.

It’s now dark and I did not see them come into the feeders I hung at around eight tonight. I’m sure they will be hitting the feeders tomorrow.
 
redfishbluefish

redfishbluefish

Officer Emeritus
Officer Emeritus
9supratt4 said:
Does anyone know if they come to North Jersey?? my mother has been hoping to get some on her feeder since last summer.
Click to expand...

Yes they migrate up into New England and Canada.

They do need the habitat to move into the area. Also have her make the sugar solution at 3 cups water to 1 cup sugar. The extra concentration of sugar helps to convince the hummers to come to your place to feed.
 
Hawkeye

Hawkeye

ok enlighten those of us without feeders - how do you set one up and what liquid are you using to top-off?

ah- just saw your comment about the food. What type of feeder? Do you need to get particular plants or flowers nearby?
 
Tazmaniancowboy

Tazmaniancowboy

Officer Emeritus
Officer Emeritus
Hawkeye said:
ok enlighten those of us without feeders - how do you set one up and what liquid are you using to top-off?

ah- just saw your comment about the food. What type of feeder? Do you need to get particular plants or flowers nearby?
Click to expand...

Bought my cheap little 2perch feeder and the red food that goes with it at The Hidden Reef! LOL I had no Idea I had any hummingbirds until I was working in the garage one day and I heard a strange noise over my head that sounded like a helicopter! Looked around to figure out what the noise was and WOW a hummingbird in my garage. I watched him circle around in there for a few minutes and it disappeared out the door. Didn't see it again until I bought the feeder. I had no Idea what it was attracted to, but now that Paul mentioned it There is Laurel out here like you wouldn't believe. I now see it occasionally in my Dogwood tree.

Paul, it was about the second week in April that I saw my first one this year. I was sitting for lunch and it caught me by surprise....Same as you except my feeder was up and empty. He sat on it and sucked air, came over to the window and flew away..LOL..I was so excited to see them because my mother has tried with feeders and trumpet vines for a few years and never saw one. I was thinking about planting a hummingbird/butterfly garden somewhere and wondering if I would attract more!
 
JRWOHLER

JRWOHLER

I saw one coming on my porch need to get some food in the feeder. You don't need the red food coloring...just sugar and water, boil to sterilize it. My grandparents have them coming to their porch .. western NY constantly.
Think the red cheap feeders are the best.
 
redfishbluefish

redfishbluefish

Officer Emeritus
Officer Emeritus
OK, here’s what I know with my 20+ years of feeding these little hummers:

We (East Coasters) only get one variety of humming birds here….Ruby Throated HB.

Of the many feeders that I have tried, here are the two that I’ve had the most success:

IMG_0336.jpg


IMG_0335.jpg



They hold about 1 ½ cups of feed, but I only fill about halfway, because they don’t empty them fast enough. I have also had large feeders, holding 3 – 4 cups of juice, but way too big. The sugar water goes bad before they even begin to empty that thing.

I’ve also tried the “one up” feeds and had no success with these. I think only having one feeding hole, the expansion/contraction of the fluid with changes in temperature cause them to self-empty. Here are pictures of two of the failures:

IMG_0337.jpg


IMG_0338.jpg



As far as the sugar water, I make my own. I have never purchased that red dye stuff that they sell. I have used it with the feeds that came with a packet in the original purchase, but once gone, I go to my own mix.

What is actually suggested is that the original fill of the feeder should be a 3:1 mix of water to sugar. Once the hummers have been attracted to the feeder, cut back to 4:1. That said, I only use the 3:1 mix. Using a four cup Pyrex measuring cup, I put in three cups of tapwater and microwave for five minutes. Then I add one cup of regular white sugar and mix until it dissolves. Let it cool and fill the feeders (only half full). The remaining wort goes into a used/clean water bottle that is kept in the refrigerator.

Clean and change the feeder once a week. Don’t substitute the sugar with other sugars or with any artificial sugars. They need that boost of regular sugar.

If you decide to feed, you will be amazed by a couple things:



    • The humming noise they make because of the extremely fast fluttering of their wings. Sometimes you hear them first before you see them.
    • Being able to fly backwards. (The only bird that can do this)

    • Brazen little buggers….they will come right up to you, maybe three feet away, and look right at you before going to the feed that might be right next to you.

    • Note they are territorial. Males will reenact the dogfights of the Red Barron that occurred during World War I. They will fight (fly after each other at high rates of speed) for the rights of your feeder.
 
MadReefer

MadReefer

Staff member
NJRC Member
Moderator
Three years ago I planted a bunch of flowers to attract butterflies. We had every kind you could think of. These same plants attracted humming birds as my son saw them. Now all I have is a huge butterfly bush and last year I saw one humming bird fly out and away. Will have to try a feeder now.
 
redfishbluefish

redfishbluefish

Officer Emeritus
Officer Emeritus
Bees aren’t a problem. Ants could be if they can easily walk the distance to your feeder. The one feeder I have hanging in a tree had a problem with ants while the one hanging off the side of the porch does not. There is a simply fix for ants….a moat made from a spray can top. If you have the problem, I’ll show you how to simply make the ant moat.
 
D

Daggnabit

I had a humming bird fly into my garage one summer and had to catch it with my hands. We didn't have a net with the holes small enough. The following year the silly thing did it again. The real icing on the cake is that the bird was part of a study going on somewhere since it had a band. Haven't seen the bird for a few years now.
 
jimroth

jimroth

I feed every year starting in April. They are here now (Rockaway in Morris County) but not as many as in previous years.

If you are starting out feeding them, the flying-saucer shaped feeders (like the hummzinger) are easier to clean than the bottle type. And they have a built in ant moat.

We only get one species of hummer in NJ, the Ruby Throated hummingbird. Last year a Rufous hummingbird showed up in Denville and caused quite a stir, since they are normally just in the west. It stayed till October, probably it died.

It's a fair amount of work to feed the hummers, the nectar goes bad in just a few days if it's hot out. Never leave bad nectar in the feeders, the hummers will leave and not return to your property for a long time after they get a taste. I use a 1-part-sugar to 4-parts-water formula. If the feeders get moldy (black dots) you can clean them in a bleach solution, don't use soap, the hummers hate the taste.

Hummingbirds show up in April, and then they disappear for a while. What's happeneing is they are sitting on eggs, usually in wetlands. During this period you will rarely see one, if you do, it will be the male, and it will be at dawn or dusk.

Hummingbirds don't just eat nectar, as many people think, but eat many small spiders and like to use spiderwebs in their nests!

Our hummingbirds winter in Mexico. The get as fat as possible, and then most of them perform an amazing feat. They fly across the Gulf of Mexico, nonstop, for more than 24hrs without food or water. They can barely take off when they leave, during the flight they lose around 30% of their body weight.

I have spent a lot of time looking for the perfect hummingbird plants. Some that people have recommended are not loved by my hummingbirds. The two favorites at my house are firecracker plant (Cuphea Ignia) and the familar hanging baskets of Fuschia. Blue salvia is well liked but mine ignore bee balm.

When fall approaches, the males leave first, giving the females and newly born hummers a chance to fatten up at the feeders before the long trip home.
 
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