• Saturday-What'sUP August 27 - 07:06 am

The hummingbirds in these two photos from Michele Blau look real enough that you might just lean in closer to see if you can hear those tiny wings beating. It's unbelievable that a miniature creature like that averages 52 beats per second. No wonder that humming noise is so loud when they buzz by your head. Somewhere I read that, contrary to popular belief, if you leave your feeder out past when these little guys are supposed to be migrating south, they'll still take off anyway. They know when it's going to start getting frigid here UP North and they want no part of it!

We leave ours out until they quit coming. They don't hang out until we quit first.
Awesome birds to watch. We have 4 that come steady, and with 4 mounting pegs you'd think they'd eat peacefully. They fight more than anything!

Wonderful pictures Michele. I would love to get pictures of these little guys on flowers but they are certainly quick. It is said to leave the sugar water out til the end of Sept. Lots of migrating birds from the North stop by. We had one last year that was in trouble. I grabbed him and I stuck his beak in the feeder and he got his strength back. Wonderful little creatures.

Oh those shots are great! I have to say that there's nothing more exciting than having hummingbirds fly by you. It's a little scary at first cuz they sound like bees but they're so darn cute.

great shots !!!

Where do these little guys live?
I can't ever remember seeing a hummingbird nest

David
The nests are so small they are hard to find.
http://community-2.webtv.net/hotmail.com/verle33/HummingBirdNest/

iridescent plumage Trochilidae

fantastic photos, Michele and Bob, thanks for the great link

These are amazing pix! Hummers are my favorite. We have the feeders out, but we've recently planted so many of their favorite perennials, they aren't really using them. I usually put them away when I haven't seen one in a couple weeks. Also, mine seen to like (orange) oriole nectar better than anything. I wonder if Tang would work. Any comments?

Heres the 2005 sight of the Hummingbirds... enjoy!
http://community.webtv.net/Velpics/HUM

I just make sugar water for my hummingbirds in Aura. I make it in a 1 cup glass measuring cup. I fill it more than 3/4 c. full with water, microwave it, and then dissolve almost 1/4 c. sugar in it. I don't even color it. I have one of the feeders that sticks on the window with a suction cup, making it easy to get pictures. We are UP once a month in the summer and as soon as we put the feeder up, they are there within 15 minutes. The rest of the time they are going down our shoreline from neighbor to neighbor.

wow..those nests are sure tiny...thanks for that link

Here are a couple links.
http://hummingbirds.net/
http://www.amazilia.net/MIHummerNet/

Oh, yes, these are really nice pictures! I forgot to add that on my other post.

Those are awesome pictures!! I just put my feeder up the other day because I actually saw a Hummer at my study window. He came right up to the window, wings a flapping but the body was like in a freeze frame. That had to be the most awesome sight I have ever seen from my study window!! I have only seen them once more at my feeders, sure wish I knew when they were coming so I could take a picture of them. Thanks for the beautiful pictures and links!!

We ve been get between 10 and 12 Hummers this past month. The boss has to fill the feeder twice most days!!!!

Mine are full of red ants again.They are a pain in the neck. I'll have to clean and fill them again.

Fran most places that sell the feeders sell a little bell shaped hanger. You put petroleum jelly in the bell so ants and other crawling things can not get down to the suger water.

Also I read somewhere maybe on this site that you should boil the water/sugar mix for 5 mins to kill off any bacteria in the mix.

We were lucky enough to have a hummingbird nest on a branch over the driveway this year. What a special experience! Two babies fledged.

RE: making nectar at home. Use 4 parts water to 1 part sugar. Boil the water, then add the sugar and stir to dissolve. Don't boil the water after the sugar has been added as that causes chemical changes in the sugar. Change the mixture in the feeder every other day in really hot weather. With luck, you'll have enough hummers that the feeder will go empty that quickly.

If you use petroleum jelly in your ant trap, turn it upside down so hummers can't possibly get any on them. Bird specialty stores sell things that are better than using petroleum jelly. Water is probably the best thing to use but evaporates quickly in hot weather.

Eugenia the hanger that is sold is shaped just like a old bell, the petroleum jelly goes on the inside of the bell with the feeder hanging from the center. The way it is made the birds can not get near the jelly but the ants would have to crawl over the outside of the bell and can not crawl through the jelly on the inside of the bell to get to the feeder.

Thank you for the info on the suger water that is the way I used to make it then I saw that it should be boiled for 5 mins, I will have to go back to my old ways.