Just humming along..........

One of our hummingbirds in our Yucca

A few years ago I bought a hummingbird feeder. I used the nectar that’s already mixed up. It’s red. We had maybe one hummingbird, but it wasn’t interested in coming to my feeder. We have a Japanese Honeysuckle bush near the patio and the little fellow came to the flowers, but still ignored my feeder.

So, I took it down, washed it, filled it again and hung it back up. Still no customers. I’ve always wondered why we don’t have many hummingbirds and why the one we have, won’t come to my feeder.

I left the feeder hanging, but didn’t fill it for a long time. What was the use? Then we took a trip and on the way home stopped to visit in Palm Springs. The RV park where we stayed had several hummingbird feeders hanging on the club house. The nectar was clear like water. I couldn’t believe how many hummingbirds were feeding. They were not fighting and chasing each other off either.

The Palm Springs crowd

So, I decided to try to start feeding them again. I took the old one down and threw it away. I bought two new ones. I would put one in the normal place and put the other further away. That way if there were two birds, they would have their own feeder.

Also I read up on feeding hummingbirds and they suggested that I make my own nectar and not use red food coloring. So I boiled the water and put the sugar in and let it cool.

We started seeing a couple of birds come to the feeders, but they fought each other and both flew off. Then one would come back and start feeding and the other would buzz him and chase him away.

This past summer I had at least three different hummers come up. Someone told me that I should make the nectar really sweet and then I would start seeing more birds. Well, I don’t have more than a couple of birds still, but they are drinking the nectar down. They empty one feeder and ignore the other.

When I bring the feeders in to wash and refill, I have to be careful because there is a little spider who lives in one of the “flower” holes. So far I’ve managed to catch him when he comes out when I put water in. I take him out and put him in a bush by the patio. I imagine that he watches as Charlie hangs the clean feeders and then starts working his way back up to his “flower”.

I try to change the feeders every week. It’s been getting kind of cold at night lately. The other day when I washed the feeders, the spider wasn’t there.

During the day when it’s sunny, I can hear the hummingbirds and sometimes one comes and feeds. I don’t think they leave for the winter, like they do in colder places. I think they are here year round.

Jason birdwatching.....Mo on the couch

The twins, Jason and Kaci, love to sit on the back of the couch in the family room and watch the birds at the feeders. It’s as close as they can get, since they are not allowed outside. I just wish that just once I’d look out and all of the “flowers” on the feeders would have a hummer sitting at it.

If anybody knows how to attract hummingbirds, I'd like know. Is there a certain place to put the feeder that they prefer? The ones in Palm Springs were hanging in a busy place and not that far off the ground.

More later.........