Hummingbird Thread

[refried]

Spring and fall you can't go out on the deck without getting in their way, I've made the mistake with a red logo and felt like I was a target.




They get plenty of things to eat without feeders, they mostly eat small bugs, I've seen them grab things from spider webs before the spider gets to them.

[TBS]

I have 3 feeders and each has a dominant male. Impossible to have more than one at a time or the fights start.

I tried the trick of putting all three together as the recommend to get multiple visiters, and even separating by 20 feet but no can do....one male will spend all his time fighting at all 3. Especially entertaining when it snows and you have 6-7 visiting. The only time you get two at once feeding is when they have a 10 second truce to catch their wind.

They don't overwinter in Central OR. During the summer though, they are out in force - mostly rufous. Sitting on my front porch reading is a real trip - sounds like I'm getting strafed by propeller craft.

Like you we set up multiple feeders at each end of porch. The birds sort of came up with a gang strategy - interloper bird would fly a long ways off when dominant male attacks, which gives the other birds time to feed while Dom is off on a wild interloper chase. Rinse and repeat. At some point Dom decides to defend just one feeder and let the other birds fight over the other.

[Norseman]

wow, look at that pile!

[plugboots]

Hummingbirds at home is an Audubon sponsored project to help hummingbirds by using volunteer gathered data points. I signed up because we had a hummingbird hang around till mid-December at our Eastern Washington feeder. By far the latest we've seen one. The previous latest sighting for us was September.
https://www.audubon.org/content/hummingbirds-home
Anyway we get Rufous and Caliope in E. WA, and Anna's near Seattle, and after much research I think our late visitor to E. WA was a wayward Anna's. (Anna's are starting to overwinter in Wenatchee now w/ de global warmingz.)
I posted this in the view thread, but here's 17? at our feeders this summer. Also note the blurry spots on the window are stickers so the birds don't fly into the window.

If I knew how to take photos at all I'd share, but maybe norse can visit sometime.

[knumbskull]

Our neighbor used to have humming bird feeders as well as seed feeders that were very popular with the bears as well as the birds. He ultimately decided to take the feeders down after a few too many visits from the bears. This was after we had a hummingbird get trapped in our house that we had to coax to land on a broom and gently usher back outside. I will say, having a hummingbird flailing around your house as you are chasing it around with a broom to try and shoo back outside is a very chaotic scene!

[Yonder_River]

Spring and fall you can't go out on the deck without getting in their way, I've made the mistake with a red logo and felt like I was a target.




They get plenty of things to eat without feeders, they mostly eat small bugs, I've seen them grab things from spider webs before the spider gets to them.

Interesting, I didn't know that! I always just assumed they needed mega sugar type calories.

[Hood26]

I have heard of a huge migration through the Ochecos of Central Oregon. I would like to witness it.

I regularly hear Anna’s out in the lower elevation timber meadows and older clear cuts of the Coastal Oregon Mts.

https://sanjuanislander.com/opinion/...irds-of-winter



Great pics everyone!

[Jacques Sheer-Rocko]

Thread needs more Seals and Croft:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4r5Sl6WouLU

[Norseman]

but maybe norse can visit sometime.

I'd be honored.

Maybe a post-vax trip to ski the pass, deliver a bottle of wine, and take some bird pix.

[The AD]

They get plenty of things to eat without feeders, they mostly eat small bugs

My wife actually caught this photo of one eating a small bug a couple months ago.

[sirbumpsalot]

They don't overwinter in Central OR. During the summer though, they are out in force - mostly rufous. Sitting on my front porch reading is a real trip - sounds like I'm getting strafed by propeller craft.

Like you we set up multiple feeders at each end of porch. The birds sort of came up with a gang strategy - interloper bird would fly a long ways off when dominant male attacks, which gives the other birds time to feed while Dom is off on a wild interloper chase. Rinse and repeat. At some point Dom decides to defend just one feeder and let the other birds fight over the other.

Strange....they are all over PDX in winter but not Bend?

[The AD]

Strange....they are all over PDX in winter but not Bend?

That doesn't surprise me. Bend is a lot colder than Portland.

[plugboots]

My wife actually caught this photo of one eating a small bug a couple months ago.

I mean, I already admitted I can't take photos for shit, but seriously, WTF? That is amazing.

[TurxSki]

Used to see Anna's a bunch when we lived in apartment in Oakland, CA. Kinda remember bringing in the feeders in winter. Left out, they'd stay full, and get black mold.
Saw a skeleton of one once. Just on ground, near work. Musta been there awhile. Was an area where they'd do that dive bomb whistle thing.
Rarely see hummers now. (Backside of the Sierra, near Tahoe). Like only a few times in summer. But seeing one zooming around up in the mountains is cool.
(When I was a young man, long ago, tripping, at London Zoo. Some kinda tropical exhibit. Double flap door thing. They had a bunch of hummingbirds, and butterflies just flying around inside. So cool that you were in among 'em. Exotic for sure!)

Sent from my SM-G950U1 using TGR Forums mobile app

[muted]

Spring and fall you can't go out on the deck without getting in their way, I've made the mistake with a red logo and felt like I was a target.




They get plenty of things to eat without feeders, they mostly eat small bugs, I've seen them grab things from spider webs before the spider gets to them.

Holy crap! Ours in SLC constantly fight, I didn't know they peacefully eat together, ever. I mean those all can't be females, right? We have feeders and a trumpet vine in our yard so they are everywhere. Wife bought those rings that you can put sugar water in and let them land on your hand, sometimes it works, it's cool.

Strange....they are all over PDX in winter but not Bend?

There is about a 3500' elevation difference.

[Hood26]

A bit of low elevation snow today kept the birds busy defending turf today, but a post sunset peace came.

[Jax]

Nice pics everyone! I haven't busted out the dslr yet for hummer pics but I should this next summer. I miss my feeder terribly, can't hang it here due to bears so I took it to my bf's house, now he's enamored with them too. A few birds would come back every year at my old place, I could recognize their 'hum' and patterns. I swear one would fly right up to my face every fall before it's departing flight to say 'thanks and see you in the spring!' Since I can't do feeders here it gives me another excuse to buy lots of flowering plants. I have really good luck with petunias, trailing snapdragons, columbines and lupine.

What is it about Colorado and other places that makes the birds such jerks, especially the Rufous, those guys are total assholes. If they stopped fighting each other they could all be well fed. We get mainly Broadtails, Rufous, Bees and Ruby-throated out this way.

Hummingbirds going into torpor every night is fascinating.

My mom lives in southeast NM, keeps about 5 feeders strung along her deck. It's insane how much nectar she goes through. I can't believe they all pile around like that and just feed with hardly any fighting. She had an albino hummingbird come visit her this past year. She sent some crappy cell pics not worth sharing but how cool is that.

[Hood26]

Jax, an albino would be cool to see.

With the PV setting in and enough snow to keep me away from home all weekend, I need to winterize my set up. I am thinking of 1/3 mix on the nectar, consolidating feeders to under the house eves (most already are) and using drop lights with regular incandescent bulbs (heat lamps probably would be too much). How does my plan sound? Anyone got any other tricks they know work?

[sirbumpsalot]

Jax, an albino would be cool to see.

With the PV setting in and enough snow to keep me away from home all weekend, I need to winterize my set up. I am thinking of 1/3 mix on the nectar, consolidating feeders to under the house eves (most already are) and using drop lights with regular incandescent bulbs (heat lamps probably would be too much). How does my plan sound? Anyone got any other tricks they know work?

I just bring the feeders in for a thaw first thing in the morning. However I live in an area where the outside temps rarely go below freezing during daylight hours, so it only freezes over night.

[Norseman]

This one isn't as clear... the focus is a little off, and I took it through the house window so there's some haze. I accidentally let the feeder spoil while dealing with an injury, so the past resident birds abandoned it. A couple days after refilling it, this little wayward male found the feeder and put on a hell of a show... he was really skittish and wary, hovering to feed and looking all around, flashing his throat feathers and generally being a little paranoid spazz.

[Hood26]

Awesome pics.

I too bring them in at night regularly, but I am going to be living the trailer life on the mountain this long weekend.

[beer30]

Buddy of mine used to live in Kelly, Wy. I’ll be damned if there weren’t 50 on the porch. Crazy sound all those wings beating. I was told they ran through 5 pounds of sugar a week feeding them.

[whipski]

Did a couple ski patrol Grand trips 3rd week of april in the late 90's. Hummers were migrating up the CO river munching gnats on their spring migration.

[Norseman]

.

[stradissimo]

.

Wow! Great shot