California Is For The Hummingbirds

IMG_6683 hummingbird

I put up a hummingbird feeder a few days ago. We have a small courtyard alongside the house. A feeder seemed the thing to do.

Hummingbirds don’t ask for much. They’re hard workers looking to score nectar. My pleasure.

The feeder itself came from Target. It’s mounted with suction cups on a window to our family room. We can watch TV and hummingbirds simultaneously. The hummingbirds are usually more entertaining!

The nectar also came from Target. This will be the first and last time for that. It was only after I came home that I read coloring doesn’t matter! All that’s needed is a 4:1 water/sugar mix. Even I can handle that.

At the feeder the hummingbirds often seem to hover motionless as their wings flutter at incredible speed. They’re tiny and they fly fast. There’s nothing about them that isn’t cool!

So far Doppler hasn’t caught on. I hope she doesn’t ever.

7 thoughts on “California Is For The Hummingbirds”

  1. I’ve had a hummingbird feeder on my deck for quite a few years. They truly are fascinating to watch. I have heard that they are also very loyal and if they make the long journey back to the northeast, you will most likely have the same birds back at your feeder. I too always use just a regular tap water and sugar mixture. Just be sure the water is warm enough to melt the sugar. Keep an eye on the water and the little holes they drink from. If the water is kept too long without changing, the little holes in the feeder will turn black around the edges. This will keep the hummingbirds from returning. Depending on how many you have drinking, you should be changing the water at least every two weeks. It is said if you put your feeder out early spring,there are what they call scouts checking out the neighborhood for feeders and you should see more birds and earlier than the year before. Here’s an interesting fact. The weight of a hummingbird is as much as, or I should say as little as a penny. Have fun watching!

  2. 1/2 cup sugar to 2 cups water, heat to dissolve sugar, cool and put in feeder. Yes, the same hummingbirds return every year, Ours are very friendly and will hover right in front of us on our deck. I swear they like the cheap feeders the best.

    One year my husband was trying to take a photo of a hummingbird at the feeder. He had his camera up waiting and while doing so I burst out laughing as the hummingbird was over his head hovering. I guess they can be rather playful too. When the feeder is low they will buzz us, whereas we quickly go in and prepare a batch of nectar for them to their delight.

    Amazing birds and they can be very fun and friendly.

  3. we have seven (7) humming birds as well as 7 feeders out in the front and back porches, must say that no matter how many feeders are out, they will all want the same feeder and the same slot so they just dive bomb each other as they make the sound like they are laughing all the way through the dive bomb. They are a blast to watch, only wish that we did not get all of my neighbors honey bees on our feeders. The bees really screw up the feeding for the birds and no matter if we use a bee guard or not- they all get the food and keep coming back.

  4. We were visiting our relatives in Nova Scotia. They had a feeder and there must have been 5 or more feeding chasing each other away. I did a video of them. Very entertaining. I can’t seem to attract any here in the city.

  5. Ah, something that I know something about!

    The sugar water mixture is actually better than the red stuff you buy in the stores, because there is some debate on whether the dye is good for the birds. If you’re using tap water, you might want to boil it for a couple minutes to get any of the chemicals out of it.

    Make sure you keep the feeders clean – mold is very bad. However, you don’t want to leave any traces of soap on the feeder. (Use bleach if you need to get rid of mold, but make sure you wash off the bleach.) Change the sugar water at least once a week, more often if it’s hot.

    I don’t know if you keep your windows open out there, but if you do, sooner or later one will fly into the house. Turn all the lights off so the bird will fly toward the light/open window.

    Enjoy!

    1. Oh – and if you start having a problem with ants getting into the feeder, get one that has an “ant moat” on top.

  6. The same birds definitely return the following year. Live in the Mystic area and our hummingbirds return by May 1st. I have a feeder mounted on porch railing in front of kitchen window. On more than one occasion, I have had hummingbirds (on 4/30 or 5/1) circling the spot where the feeder was the previous year. They know there should be a feeder there. That is my cue to bring out the feeder for the summer. Beyond incredible that they can navigate 1000+ miles and return to 1 square foot of air space. Have also been surprised to find Baltimore Orioles at the hummingbird feeder. They will use it in early summer as long as the feeder has a perch.

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