Hummingbirds

[buster]

I still haven't got any pix of them, but they are here every day. They love my Zinnias. I see them out there getting nectar.They are just such a cool little bird. I finally have them in my yard, after trying for years. ^_^ ^_^ ^_^ . I just needed to move to Minnesota. Buster

[decompost]

:wub: :wub: awwww, i love those little guys too :wub: :wub:
so glad they're visiting your yard!!!

[DandyLioness]

They are truly an amazing bird. The only bird that can fly backwards.... and the only bird that cannot walk. They can perch only.

They blow me away. I LOVE them! :wub:

[MrSeedy]

After leaving my feeder in the same place for many months and then only having the one "check it out" hummer , who didn't drink, I finally took it down, since there were no "takers" of my offering. It's possible the AC being on most of the time kept the hummers away, but it was the most convenient place for me to get a good look at hummers from indoors, and I wanted to see them easily without having to camp out in the yard 12 hours a day. Oh well , as is typical of our wild buddies in general , you never know for sure what they'll chose to feed on and just a few days ago I saw one at my back porch checking out my flowering bouvardia with it's red tubular flowers. At first after seeing me , he finally flew away without feeding , but not long after , as I sat watching the plant from a distance , back came the hummer to feed on that sweet nectar in those flowers. Anyway, I guess he or she prefers the real stuff, but I've put a feeder just a few feet away on my back porch and now I'm "waiting" again for a return visit. The way it's going this year, I'll most likely never see the "cutie" again!! BTW, for you folks with a houseplant collection , or in Florida and warmer climes, the Bouvardia seems another good choice as a "feeder" plant for the hummers, and they're very tough plants that can look nasty all winter , but which will always come back come summer , when they're outdoors with some wamth and sunshine. Here's a picture of those flowers from last year.

[buster]

The Hummingbirds at my house are brave little guys.When I'm outside weeding the garden they fly right over me. I see them at all times of the day. I even quit filling my feeders since there are plenty of flowers in the yard for them. I just saw one a minute ago out the kitchen window ,there's a window basket there and they love it. Buster

[digiflower]

Buster cool I love them hummers.

When we go fishing up by Grand Rapids they have feeders out at every cabin and the hummers are always there and man there are alot of them. :D

[Sneezie]

:blink: Man we have hummers out the cazoo this year. We always get a mess of them but this year it just seems they are abundant!! And once again they seem to prefer the sugar water I make up myself for them rather then the bought nectar. Try that Mr. Seedy, the sugar water. It`s one third sugar to one cup water til you attract them then one fourth to one cup. Oh and don`t forget to bring this to a boil then shut it down and cool completely. :D

[Audwoman]

They are crazy here in Pa this year. They keep scaring me. I was sitting on the porch and one came flapping in my face. I am not red. Why? :lol: Maybe because I am so sweet. NOT :lol: :lol:

[ondinelamer]

Mr. Seedy: Where did you find your bouvardia? I've been looking for one for ages. Can't find a pink one, much less a red one. GORGEOUS! My hummers like the one feeder I have, although one little guy is "boss" of it and chases all others away. It is so funny to see them trying to sneak under his watchful gaze.

[MrSeedy]

I got my bouvardia many years ago from Logee's Greenhouse, and they may still have them. I was even surprised to see a pink variety with larger flowers at a local Kroger store in town, but it's not a "usual" plant around here at all , being a tropical that needs to come in for the winter. I never did find the name for the large flowered pink one, but didn't really have room to add another plant to my collection, and it was during the winter as well, when I don't like moving plants around in the very cold weather as a rule. I almost never buy plants once the outside temperatures are below freezing, as I fell it's just too big a shock for them to be in and out of the cold several times on their way from the wholesaler to my house. I see Logee's still offers both the red which I have (ternifolia) and a white flowered one (longiflora), but they are very young cuttings grown ones in very small pots and not so "cheap" as when I purchased mine. I just wish I could get my knack back of rooting them , as I had no trouble getting the cuttings to root from them some years back. The past several years I've not gotten any of the cuttings to succeed. I'd say for a plant that's badly abused in my house every winter, and very neglected it's surprising how they'll come around from looking like bare skeletons , when the spindly growth of winter is cut back , to flower beautifull by late summer. With more care I'd think they'd grow to good sized shrubs in the Florida or CA climates , where they're outdoors yearound. Mine has been pruned back so hard numerous times it's still barely two feet tall once the new shoots have grown in again.

[boo]

Hey Buster thats great that your attracting the hummers. I saw a hummingbird twice this year. I think the neighbor's cats tend to scare them off.

[terese]

I think the neighbor's cats tend to scare them off. Same here...my neighbors cat (creativly named 'Kitty') tends to kill any wildlife that comes anywhere close to our houses. I did have hummers every morning when the crocs were in bloom. :wub:

[MrSeedy]

I'm not sure the cats don't play a part in the hummigbirds absence here either, though during this very hot weather this summer, the cats have kept a pretty low profile and aren't moving around that much most of the time. I used to also see the local ones here at my Weigela , when it was blooming and none showed up there to feed at all this year. I'm not even seeing them at the trumpet vine, and that should appeal to them.

[MrSeedy]

FINALLY!! I've got one lone juvenile one I think?? Could be a female also, but not showing the regular coloring the males get? I"ve seen the baby hanging around , but always a bit shy of actually landing to drink. He or she would be comming up just as I was exiting through the back door and then would just stop and hover there , trying to decide what to do, so I figured sooner or later it would try to drink.
I also found with the large number of yellow jackets feeding from the feeder , it doesn't like those darn things and one even looked like it would try to sting the hummer, and it just kept backing up as the yellow jacket approached closer and closer. Seems like one sting from a bee or wasp could kill such a tiny bird , so I can understand the caution on the part of that hummer. Anyone else had problems with those darn wasps and do the hummers get used to feeding with them around. I can't think of any possible way to discourage the wasps short of covering the feeder entirely and then of course the hummer couldn't feed either??