Members philbo Posted October 8, 2007 Members Share Posted October 8, 2007 My 'feeder' is about 150 hosta plants. When they bloom (which they are doing now) you can go out and see 3 or 4 hummingbirds feeding on the nectar at almost any time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members LiveMusic Posted October 8, 2007 Author Members Share Posted October 8, 2007 For most areas of North America it is time to put that feeder away and encourage the hummingbirds to fly south. If you keep feeding them and they stay around for easy food then they can get in trouble when migrating.I used to think that but recently read that it's not true. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members cx04332 Posted October 9, 2007 Members Share Posted October 9, 2007 I boil the water and add sugar until the solution gets slightly thickened. I cool it off then put it into old gatoraid jugs and freeze it. I change solutions about once a week in the heat of the summer. About every 2 weeks otherwise. I soak the feeder in a dilute chlorox solution followed by dilute vinegar, then rinse with lots of water at every solution change. Around March/April, orioles appear and attack the feeder. They can pull the base off the feeder. Once this happens, I switch to an oriole feeder until the orioles leave around August/September. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Rubber Lizard Posted October 9, 2007 Members Share Posted October 9, 2007 That's a good system, cx04332 (this thread had really brought lurkers out of the woodwork!). I simply add white sugar to a beer mug full of water until it won't dissolve any more. We have oreoles here, but they haven't ever caused problems (sounds kind of interesting, actually). Regarding the migration of hummingbirds: We have two kinds here in Southern Oregon. The Ruby Throated hummer does migrate. The Rufous Hummer stays here year round, despite near zero winter temps. Inspiring little dudes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Rabid Posted October 9, 2007 Members Share Posted October 9, 2007 Is it true that when you only use sugar and water they miss out on vitamines they get from nector? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members LiveMusic Posted October 9, 2007 Author Members Share Posted October 9, 2007 Is it true that when you only use sugar and water they miss out on vitamines they get from nector? I doubt that is true. What is the source of that? If the Hummingbird Society says so, we got a problem. I would not think that nectar from a plant would have many vitamins / minerals. What I've read is that they eat tons of bugs for nourishment and feed on nectar every few hours for energy production. In the fall, I don't know why they drink so much sugar water. I mean, you'd think they'd burn it off since it's straight carbohydrate but maybe they can store up some of that for the fall migration. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members cx04332 Posted October 9, 2007 Members Share Posted October 9, 2007 I get an occasional brown hummingbird in the spring and fall. The regular hummingbirds are green and seem to be year round. I am in the foothills of central California. I have seen them hover about 40 feet or so high, then rapidly dive straight down and pull up inches above the bushes. They pull up to 10 feet or so, then stop and hover. They slowly rise up to about 40 feet and do it over again. I suppose this is some sort or mating ritual. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Rabid Posted October 10, 2007 Members Share Posted October 10, 2007 Here is a really nice link for information.Feeding Hummingbirds Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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