I'm almost 60 and hardly ever see hummingbirds...once in a while one would whizz like a bullet past my ear ... I decided to give it a try last April and hung two feeders and they sure did come! All summer I've had about 8 little birds perching on a tree by the house, hovering and performing acrobats like magical little fairies. They are aggressive little guys and I enjoy their dive bombing and antics as they scare each other off the feeders. Noisey birds!! Chirping and chattering and making a racket. It soon will be time for them to migrate on and I will miss them. Anybody else have the love for Hummingbirds?
Had them in Colorado where I grew up. Unfortunately we don’t have them here in central NE. I miss them. Spent a lot of time watching them as a kid.
Me, me, I love them they are so neat. I hung feeders in the front porch and back porch so they could have some peace when they eat...that didn't work. They are aggressive and have ESP for sure..lol. One would claim all the feeders and work to keep others away. He stayed busy and would hide in an oak tree waiting for one to venture into his territory.
I just saw your post and have 3 hummingbird feeders plus 3 regular bird feeders and a suet block that the hummingbirds also like. I'm on my back porch with my dogs watching the birds right now. Enjoy your day,
They are aggressive and I thought about getting a third feeder to calm things down between the little mini flock of 8 or so...but didn't want a nother feeder to maintain. Got hot this summer....over 100...and I had to change the nectar almost daily to keep it fresh.
Good thinking! A lot of people just fill their hummingbird feeders with nectar and don't realize that the nectar goes bad quickly especially in hot weather. Hummingbird feeders also attract ants, yellow jackets, bees but I've had good luck this season. The little fellows are now headed South and it's amazing that they make the trip to Central America flying alone. Enjoy,
I have two females still hanging around...I go out on the porch and "kiss/chirp" and it brings them out, checking me out. Hoping they leave soon before the weather gets chilly.
One time and it was a special moment one actually flew very close to me and stopped to look. Somethings you treasure in memory..
Their fearlessness is one thing that fascinates me. I have one feeder by my door. When I open the door and the screen door is still shut----they hover right in front of the screen trying to see what's in there. If I sit right by the feeder, they will feed...keeping an eye on me. Haven't been able to hand feed yet---no patience on my part to hold my hand out with the little palm feeder....
My 3 hummingbird feeders hang from the back porch about 6' - 8' from the tip of my nose. When the dogs are asleep and I'm sitting still reading, I've had them get as close as 1 foot from my face. They come buzzing up and down the porch between the columns so fast that I'm afraid that one of them will stick in my head like a feathered, little dart. Enjoy,
I see them once in a while in Florida and I wonder if they migrate from here? A few minutes ago this mosquito landed on me that's about as big as one. Does this one count? Lol Unfortunately for him this photograph was mere moments before his death. No free lunch from me buddy
Now, that's a trophy! You should take that sucker to a taxidermist and have it stuffed and mounted. Congratulations !
And that's in a relatively open area with the wind blowing during the daytime. God help you if you're out here at nightfall with no mosquito repellent or appropriate clothing. As you can see he was deep off in me but little did he know that I was only biding my time until I took the photograph at which point I killed his little ass!
That is a monster! I will say that our mosquitos were less of a problem and I'm thinking it's because of the little flock of hummingbirds living in the boughs over our patio furniture.
I think that you're right. I remember reading that hummingbirds do eat mosquitoes . So do lots of other good bugs. That's why I don't use those insect foggers because they kill just about everything, the mist gets in the bird water etc. In addition to hummingbirds, I've got chipmunks, rabbits, lots of other songbirds, woodpeckers, deer, opossums, raccoons and of course skunks, a red fox and some of the the neighbors have reported a brown bear in the area. We've got some excellent video recordings of Mr. Groundhog grazing on my wife's precious tomatoes but I think that that's all the animals we have to keep the hummingbirds company. Have fun,
Sounds like you live in a similar area to mine. We are in a rural setting 5 minutes from the city. Nothing but rural land for miles to our north. So we have street savvy deer (they actually wait for cars to pass before they cross), racoons, huge scary owls, opossums, armadillos, coyotes (that I hear but don't see thank goodness) and grey and red foxes. My dogs were always getting hit with Skunk---those are pesky when you have dogs around. No bears....and don't want any I treasure the wildlife, but glad I don't garden much.
