topic Re: Hummingbird antics in Garden

Hummingbird antics

Mary Bailey — Thu, 11 Aug 2016 21:57:28 GMT

the wonderful hummingbirds are so very entertaining. I have six feeders. Three feeders in the garden, at bedroom window, at kitchen window and in the family room window.

Everyday one hummingbird hovers looking in our family room window moving up and down, has a drink and looks in window again.

Even though there are four feeders in the back yard (garden & kitchen window) they fight over one feeder and leave the other three alone.

They tumble through the air and head off to Rose of Sharon bushes and off into the neighborhood.

I so wish they were here all year!

What are "your" hummingbirds doing to entertain you?

Re: Hummingbird antics

hoosieroriginal — Thu, 11 Aug 2016 22:14:48 GMT

My hummingbirds quit coming about a month ago - it was very strange. I put out a new batch and nothing! Maybe they've found a better source!

Re: Hummingbird antics

Julie928 — Thu, 11 Aug 2016 22:18:26 GMT

@Mary Bailey ~ Like your hummingbird, I had one just this morning that was hovering in front of our living room window. She went back and forth, up and down ~ the whole time I was standing by the window completely amazed. My husband was out front watering the other night. I looked out the window and he was standing there motionless. A hummingbird was hovering maybe a foot away from him. He came in the house with a 'that was really cool!' Yes, it was!

Last year, maybe late Sept/early Oct I remember I was watering our shade garden out back. I heard something buzzing near me and was scared it was a wasp. I looked and it was one of our hummingbirds! She perched on a small fence near me, stayed a few minutes and flew off. I didn't see them again until this past Spring. I like to think she was thanking me for the nectar and that was her way of saying 'See ya next Spring!' I really love fall and winter but miss them so much once they've moved on. It definitely leaves a void for us bird lovers....

Re: Hummingbird antics

itsmagic — Thu, 11 Aug 2016 22:28:17 GMT

I have one feeder that is seeing a lot of activity lately. Some of the hummers are brown and some are green. Today a small hummer was feeding when a larger one swooped down and chased it off. Luckily the little one got a few sips in before that. I wish they were here all year too!

Re: Hummingbird antics

Lorik62 — Fri, 12 Aug 2016 01:34:26 GMT

I love watching my little hummers! I don't get very many of them, I imagine because my neighbors feed them as well. I have a one year old cat and I have the feeder on a hook on my back deck and she sits and watches for them daily. She gets so excited when they show up and she makes a little chirping nose and wags her tail. I have been

changing the water almost every other day because of the heat.

Re: Hummingbird antics

grams2 — Fri, 12 Aug 2016 01:53:42 GMT

I have 6 feeders hanging from my deck and they empty them daily. It's very entertaining to watch them. I didn't have many when I only had a couple of feeders so I added 4 more and they really came. Looks like the more feeders you have the more birds you get.

Re: Hummingbird antics

Kachina624 — Fri, 12 Aug 2016 03:16:26 GMT

Maybe your brown ones are Roufous Hummers. They're as shiny as a copper penny when the sun hits them. They're supposed to be the most aggressive variety.

Where do you live @Mary Bailey, that you have so many? I've seen lodges in the Rockies where they'll have lots of feeders and maybe 10 birds buzzing around each. I've had them come within an inch of my face when wearing a bright color. That beak right at your eyes is unnerving.

Theyre fascinating and very entertaining.

Re: Hummingbird antics

Kachina624 — Fri, 12 Aug 2016 03:23:18 GMT

She gets so excited when they show up and she makes a little chirping nose and wags her tail. I have been

@Lorik62. She's probably switching tail in anticipation of pouncing. Watch that she doesn't leap and knock a bird right out of the air. I wouldn't trust a cat around birds.

Re: Hummingbird antics

Mary Bailey — Fri, 12 Aug 2016 09:35:51 GMT

@Kachina624 I'm 35 miles sw of Chicago. I don't really have all that many. We just watch them constantly. I think the most I ever saw at once was six in the back yard.

My feeders rarely empty before I fill with fresh nectar. Nothing like @grams2 does!

Re: Hummingbird antics

Lorik62 — Fri, 12 Aug 2016 12:01:25 GMT

@Kachina624 My cats don't go outdoors. There is a screen in the window for them to get fresh air and hear the sounds of nature but no worries that they would ever get to the birds. Thanks!

Re: Hummingbird antics

silkyk — Fri, 12 Aug 2016 14:21:06 GMT

I've been feeding my little hummer friends for over 20 years now so they know me and are not the least bit afraid of me. Even buzz me when a feeder is empty! I had a pretty red bathing suit with a big flower on it that drove them crazy. When I wore it on the deck I would get dive bombed and they would fly right on up to inspect closely. Heck even red lipstick would get a once over and right in my face! Lately I've been enjoying them in the red fountain from Kmart that I posted on another hummer thread here. They love it and look so cute flapping their tiny wings in the water. (there are some cute videos on youtube of this) I also got some hummer hand feeders over on etsy and if you sit still long enough they come right on up to eat out of your hand. BIG fun!

Re: Hummingbird antics

Snicks1 — Fri, 12 Aug 2016 22:36:48 GMT

I don't get that many, just a few local hummers each summer. This year they came at the usual time, then disappeared until just recently. They are back now, I assume loading up on nectar for the long trip to migrate. I love them.

Re: Hummingbird antics

esmeesmerelda — Fri, 12 Aug 2016 22:45:37 GMT

Beautiful creatures!

Wish we had them nearby.

Sweet video I saw recently:

https://www.thedodo.com/feeding-tiny-hummingbirds-video-1289959041.html

Watch Baby Hummingbirds Get Fed In Their Teeny Tiny Nest

Oftentimes it's the teeny, tiniest of creatures who elicit the biggest of "AWW"s.

That about sums up the reaction to an adorable video from the Raptor Education Group that recently resurfaced online. In the clip below, a wildlife rehabilitator demonstrates what feeding time is like for two impossibly small hummingbird chicks all tucked in and cozy in their little nest.

"A nest, complete with tiny Ruby-throated Hummingbird chicks arrived yesterday after it came down in a storm," the group wrote on Facebook. "We were not able to replace it, but will continue to try when weather clears. Few people have the honor of witnessing baby hummingbirds as they are fed."

Fortunately, we no longer have to wait for an update. After the scene above was recorded, back in 2013, the hummingbirds thankfully grew up to be biggish and strong.

"The babies thrived and developed well," their rescuers wrote this week. "They were released at a site that is well known for feeding hummingbirds and has food always available for them to provide a support system as they incorporated into the wild world.

[...] They zoomed into their wild world with great enthusiasm as they exchanged our world for the one that is naturally theirs and we wouldn't have it any other way."❤️

Re: Hummingbird antics

MoJoV — Sat, 13 Aug 2016 02:59:57 GMT

@Mary Bailey I love my hummys. I have one little guy who buzzes up and down about 4feet from my face when I sit outside. He's curious. When you watch them you get to know their personalities. I'm about 15 miles west of Chicago. I wish these little jewels could stay all year,too.

Re: Hummingbird antics

Mary Bailey — Sat, 13 Aug 2016 12:37:40 GMT

Three of our feeders hang from the soffit of the house, on a wire directly in front of a window. I'm laying in bed now watching & hearing a hummingbird.

@MoJoV Yesterday a hummer perched on the wire holding the feeder. In the garden on shepherd hooks I have thin metal wind chimes that they perch on all the time. We also had some pretty fierce downpours of rain. It never stopped them.

@silkyk I hope someday we are so lucky to have them hover by us or feed from our hands! how exciting to think about. I bought that fountain but haven't put it out yet. It says not to leave it unattended.

Re: Hummingbird antics

silkyk — Thu, 01 Sep 2016 15:36:49 GMT

I thought I'd post this for all my fellow hummer lovers. Slid my screen door to the deck open yesterday and a huge praying mantis was hanging on the outside of it right up by the feeder I have there next to the door. Freaked me out! DH came in and looked around online and found THIS! Yikes! I had NO idea this could happen. They say it's rare but it almost happened here yesterday! I'll pay closer attention from now on and make feeders hard for any mantis to get to. http://www.snopes.com/photograph-shows-a-praying-mantis-attacking-a-hummingbird/