Have you ever tryed this up close and personal method of feeding hummingbirds?

Wow, that was weird. Cool. But weird.

---

The mind is a weird and mysterious place

Do you all feed the birds? When I was a kid, I did it, but all we had were Cardinals, sparrows, and a few bluejays. I'm thinking about trying to set up a hummingbird feeder. We just watched a show about hummingbirds and they are pretty fascinating.

Please remember to NOT use the red dye for the hummingbird feeder. It's been proven to be harmful to the kidneys of the hummingbirds. They still manage to find the feeder without the dye.


TL

I was wondering about the food. Just mix simple sugar and water? The color of the feeder can be the attraction.

You really don't need to boil the water. Just get it warm enough to melt the
sugar. The hummers have bacteria on their bills and tongues that will get into
the feeder the first time it's used, so boiling the water to reduce bacteria is
unnecessary.

One part cane sugar to four parts water; eg. one cup of sugar added to four cups of
warm/hot water. Heat the water before adding the sugar. If you heat the two
together, the ratio changes because some of the water evaporates. Let it cool.
Fill your feeder. What you don't use you can store
in your refrigerator for up to two weeks.

There is enough red on a hummingbird feeder to attract the birds. They can see
it from a great distance.

No, you don't need to add protein to the food. The bugs are enough. Do not buy
the hummingbird nectar you see in stores. It's a huge waste of money.

Here's a great hummingbird website.

---

~Sue~

Thanks, Sue. That was very informative. Should I wait until Spring to get started, or will we have customers in the winter, here in Kentucky?

---

The mind is a weird and mysterious place

Thanks, Sue. That was very informative. Should I wait until Spring to get started, or will we have customers in the winter, here in Kentucky?

I just delved into the weblink you provided and got my answer, but I wonder how far south the hummers go? Do you think they leave the country and go to Cuba? ;~)

---

The mind is a weird and mysterious place

Thanks, Sue. That was very informative. Should I wait until Spring to get started, or will we have customers in the winter, here in Kentucky?

If you go to the website you'll see migration maps for the ruby throated
hummer, which is what you'll get in your area. See if you can find your
location on this year's map. You'll see a date of the first reported sighting.
Put your feeders out a week or two before that date.

2016 Migration Map

I forgot to say: The hummers are all gone by now. If you have any over-winter
hummers, it will be very, very odd. It's not unheard of, but it's very rare.
Very, very rare.

---

~Sue~

Thanks, Sue. That was very informative. Should I wait until Spring to get started, or will we have customers in the winter, here in Kentucky?

I just delved into the weblink you provided and got my answer, but I wonder how far south the hummers go? Do you think they leave the country and go to Cuba? ;~)

Ah... I see they migrate as far south as Central America! Wow.

---

The mind is a weird and mysterious place

😢

😀

---

Member of the People Encouraging Niceness In Society club.

I edited my last two posts, so you might want to read them again to make sure
you saw the whole thing.

---

~Sue~

Thanks, Sue. That was very informative. Should I wait until Spring to get started, or will we have customers in the winter, here in Kentucky?

I just delved into the weblink you provided and got my answer, but I wonder how far south the hummers go? Do you think they leave the country and go to Cuba? ;~)

They go to South America. I don't think they stay in Cuba, but I do think
Cuba has its own hummers. I'm not sure. It's been awhile since I looked
that up.

Edit: Okay, Central America.

---

~Sue~

If you want a truly bee-free hummer feeder, look into the
Hummzinger brand.

I've had a lot of luck with one called Best One hummingbird feeder.

Perky Pet feeders and those like them leak because of the design. Even my
Best One would attract bees if the hummers didn't use it frequently. The
nectar expands in the daytime, reduces at night, and expands again the next
day, so you'll have a mess and the bees will love it! Of course, there's
nothing wrong with feeding bees. I do that in the winter.

---

~Sue~

The prices I'm seeing for the Best One feeder online are outrageous. I get
mine at the local HEB grocery store for about $7. And you should be able
to find the Hummzingers at any store that sells bird feeding supplies.
They'll be cheaper, as well.

---

~Sue~

Can you tell that I'm really into feeding the hummers?!

---

~Sue~

---

~Sue~

Raccoon Steals College Student's Phone and Runs Off With It After He Tried to Film Critter

---

~Sue~

That little fellow should go to the top of the class :-)

---

Bob Smith
Member of Seti PIPPS (Pluto is a Planet Protest Society)
Somewhere in the (un)known Universe?

The difference between your feeder and mine is
that yours has birds at it. We had two visits, (Known.)
and many wasps, bumble bees, and honey bees, (Did
not mind that.) There was a little trap to catch
ants at the top of the feeder.




edit:
You had to work at the trap, or the ants would build an ant bridge to the goodies...

---

The difference between your feeder and mine is
that yours has birds at it. We had two visits, (Known.)
and many wasps, bumble bees, and honey bees, (Did
not mind that.) There was a little trap to catch
ants at the top of the feeder.

edit:
You had to work at the trap, or the ants would build an ant bridge to the goodies...

Clever little creatures.

An ant trap is always a good idea.

---

~Sue~

Isn't the den the garage containing all the black widow spiders?

Poor guy just wants to wrap himself up in a nice warm duvet for a bit but instead has to construct a flame thrower and use the "medicine" as fuel :(

Fear not. Eric has an actual room in the house that serves as his man-cave.

Only a room?

I've got a whole mobilehome, and it's paid for in full, I'm the sole owner(100%) according to the San Bernardino County Tax Collector, I am also due a refund on My property taxes going back to 2014 and a new tax bill. The refund will be between $250.00 and $312.50, so instead of being worth $27,000.00($205.30yr) for property tax purposes, the mobilehome is now worth $14,500.00($80.30yr), a reduction of $12,500.00, since mobilehomes never go up in value, when does this refund and bill get here? I don't know, but I am mostly happy, but not for this, moving My mobilehome elsewhere will help. :)

I was also recently approved for a lifeline account for My cell phone provider(Virgin Mobile), which will save Me $30.99 a month, I'm also applying for a Medical Baseline reduction in My Gas and Elec bills of another 20% off My bills this Monday or about $20-$25 a month that I don't have to spend on Energy bills.

So yes, lots of good news for Me. Next month the central gas furnace is getting repaired, hopefully the repairs won't cost more than $117, I think I can support up to about $175, I'd like to get an oil change for My car, which needs one.

---

The T1 Trust, PRR T1 Class 4-4-4-4 #5550, 1 of America's First HST's

---

Member of the People Encouraging Niceness In Society club.

Why is that hummingbird doing that?

---

The mind is a weird and mysterious place