How many humingbirds do you have?

[Old Vet]

When they first came this year I had about 50 then my flock grew until I had over a hundred then the other day some of them left and I now have about50 again. When I was feeding 100 I would go through 3- 8oz packege of nector in a day. Now it is about 2 per day.

[luvrulz]

We make our own nectar - 1 cup sugar to 4 cups water. Bring to a boil and boil for 1 minute. Let cool then add red food coloring. They love it and it's much cheaper! Don't you love to sit and watch them?

[Old John]

They flit in & out & around so much & so fast.
There is just no way to count them. They are in & out of the trees, like a swarm of bees.
I feed cane sugar,at 3.5 to 1 ratio.
3.5 q. Water to 1 q. Sugar.
I use 12 to 15 pounds of Cane Sugar a week, average.
I buy 20 pounds at a time.
Yes, I do make it "pink". They take it better.

I have 8 Feeders.
5 of them hold 16 oz. and 3 of them hold 30 oz.
Each feeder is filled at least once a day.
I make 3 gallons of syrup about every 2 1/2 days.
And, each feeder gets cleaned with Clorox, about every 4 or 5 days.

I still have hundreds out here.
Aren't they Beautiful?
Unfortunately, being East of the Mississippi, we only have one species,
the Ruby Throat.
I think we have so many because we are adjacent to a State Forest.
And, we have a pond. Those hummers seem to Love Mosquitos.
According to the Website 85% of their diet is Insects.
We don't have any mosquitos or flies around the house.

There is just nothing like a Swarm of hummingbirds.

[jross]

Originally Posted by Old Vet

When they first came this year I had about 50 then my flock grew until I had over a hundred then the other day some of them left and I now have about50 again. When I was feeding 100 I would go through 3- 8oz packege of nector in a day. Now it is about 2 per day.

We have about 20 to 30 we figure, going through 25 lbs of sugar so far this season for two feeders. Our neighbors also have feeders up. I think commercial nectar is a waste of money, plus one does not know what really is in it. One part sugar to 4 parts boiling water is the way to go. Also we have found the best feeders are the cheap Perky Pets with the bee guards. We have expensive feeders hanging in the basement that somehow just never worked out when it comes to contamination. We have been seeing less males, more smaller birds are showing up so we think the migration is on. We clean our feeders with white vinegar. Now that the hummers are slowing down the skeeters seem to be increasing.

[botebum]

We have a dozen or so but they seem like a swarm of wasps. We feed the same method and ratio as luvrulz with one important difference, no food coloring. It isn't necessary and I've read in a few places that it is not good for them.

Doug

[tinda]

I have had around 30 - 40 here all summer. Two weeks ago the males just took off, probably heading south. The day they left, they had a feeding frenzy, cleaning out my feeders in just a few hours!
The females and babies are slowly leaving until there are only a dozen or so left now. I will be taking the feeders down soon to encourage them to go.Otherwise they don't have time to fly south before it turns cold.

Now, somebody tell me how to get these flocks of crows to go.

tinda

[GrannyG]

I never add food color to my sugar water. I was alway told it was bad for the birds, and can cause tumors in them.

[Cabin Fever]

Originally Posted by tinda

I have had around 30 - 40 here all summer. Two weeks ago the males just took off, probably heading south. The day they left, they had a feeding frenzy, cleaning out my feeders in just a few hours!
The females and babies are slowly leaving until there are only a dozen or so left now. I will be taking the feeders down soon to encourage them to go.Otherwise they don't have time to fly south before it turns cold.

Now, somebody tell me how to get these flocks of crows to go.

tinda

according to the experts at the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, there is no reason to take your feeders down to encourage their migration. In fact, the late developing young birds need the extrac nutrition and the extra time to fatten up for the long migration southward. We leave our feeders up until late September - even mid October if we still have activity. And according to the experts, the red food dye which is such a problem for humans is even more detrimetal to the tiny hummingbird. Feeders that are red or have red bases will attract the birds - no red dye necessary.

[Horselover]

Oh, you guys are so lucky!! I had one hummer and he left when the ants took control of the feeder. I changed where I was hanging the feeder and filled it up just recently but have not seen any come to it. I did see one when walking down near the thicket . They are one of my favorites. I would solid pass out if I saw 50 little hummers.

[Jenn]

I never see more than two at a time, maybe three. We get a male (I guess) who defends our red vining flowers and several or one anyway who constantly challenge him. I quit the feeders because I wasn't changing them enough- with only a few it got bad before it emptied.

[Alex]

Two or three at a time. We have two feeders.

Sure sounds nice having 20 or 100 around.

Enjoy,

Alex

[Cascade Failure]

Maybe a half dozen...I would love to see fifty or so.

[chickenista]

one

There are about 20+ of them here ..It's gotten so that I can sit outside on the porch and be guaranteed to have several of them stop and hover a few inches in front of my face..LOL..I don't put food coloring in the two feeders that I have..there's enough color on the feeders themselves. Also, I leave them up until a week has gone by and I don't see any hummingbirds..

[NWoods_Hippie]

Spring I had three, one male, two females, they produced three babies in each nest, so total of 9 the rest of the summer. The male left about 2 weeks ago and one of the females and her offspring left 3 or 4 days ago, so I am down to 4 that are at the feeder almost all the time.

At the peak of feeding three weeks ago I was going through a 1/2 gallon of sugar water a day. I have never put any coloring in the sugar water I use, I do one cup sugar to four cups water, boil, let cool and fill the feeder. I did plant Red Salvia in the window box under the feeder in the early spring to draw them in, once they found the Salvia and then the feeder right above it there was no need for additional red coloring to draw them in.

It is as CabinFever said important to keep the feeders up for as long as possible, this is the time that the hummingbirds need all the extra fuel they can get. They will NOT stop their normal cycle of migration just because of the availability of a sugar water feeder.

Margie

[red hott farmer]

We have 3 or 4 of them this year. I had one thay I saved last week. The little fella was attracted to my Floresent shop light. And i scooped him up im my Baseball cap and tossed him outside. He flew away slowly and tired. But i saw him that night eating his nector.!

[Rick]

We have 10 or 12- of course it cold be more.

I have counted 7 at once while they were doing there "Star Wars" routine.

Has any one else heard the high pitched noise their wings make when they zoom around at high speeds?

[leecofarm]

only a couple. toward the end of this month they will congregate at the texas coast around rockport prior to cutting across the gulf of mexico. folks in rockport put out thousands of feeders to give them that last energy drink. ive often wondered if they can feel when a storm is near and hold off their trip.

[Old Vet]

Rick yes I have. They use it to anoy other birds and pick a fight. It sure is anoying to me.

[Ramblin Wreck]

I've got several that visit the feeders/hanging baskets on my front porch, but they are very territorial!