Whippoorwill is singing his heart out in the front yard right now 8:15PM sun has set, practice for when he figures out he has a ways to fly
A pair of Rufus Sided Towhees came down out of the woods yesterday to take a bath in the sprinkler. The male wasn't much into it, but the female was having a blast.
With the dry spring we've had, birds are taking advantage of the birdbath too. Sometimes they're waiting in line to get in it and we have to fill it twice a day. Redwing
I love watching the hummingbirds. It seems they don't like the feeder I got last year. Last year, it worked well. Well, once I figured it out. The issue was that the wasps would get to the nectar, and the wasps bother the hummers. My lab hates bugs, so there's an issue too. He'll go after them, and that doesn't end so well. So, does anyone have any recommendations on a new feeder? I didn't use bleach or soap to clean it out this spring, just super hot water.
I have heard of bug guards that go over the feeding port. It is a mesh cap that bugs can't get thru to port but hummers stick their peckers in to get to the sweet stuff.
We hang our hummingbird feeders from shepherd's poles. Never have a problem with bugs. Wasps, I will let build their nests wherever they want and then eliminate them when they get established and it seems to keep their numbers down.
Yeah you need to clean the entire thing with a TBS or 2 of bleach in hot water every time before refilling, helps it from going funky too quick. Rinse your hands with cold water to get the bleach off them 1 part sugar to 4 parts water boiled on the stove and cooled. As for a good feeder I've found the glass bottle types like these work and hold up well. They sit on the perches and fight each other all over the yard over the two feeders I have
I cleaned my hummer feeder out again, and put fresh hummer juice in it. I make the nectar the same way as you basod
Hummers have been around this evening, but no dice. They hate this feeder now apparently. At least my flowers are in bloom for them. http://www.birdfeeders.com/store/hummingbird-feeders/120tfn This is the one I have, got it last year.
Eh, the red dye is bad for them. So says people that apparently know better. They see the feeder, swing by, and say, nope. Then they go to the flowers.
They'd rather have the flowers is what it is. We saw the hummers around while a lot of spring flowers were still in bloom, but they wouldn't touch the feeders. Now that everything's stopped blooming, they're hitting the feeders a lot.
I've read that hummers will prefer feeding on flowers when there is something good in bloom so it isn't unusual to see what seems like fewer on the feeders at certain times. That seems to be what I see at my feeder.
It's normal when they have natural flowers to go to. Mine have been ignoring the feeders in favor of the Hosta that have bloomed prolifically this year. They are much more active on my feeders when no natural fauna exists. Very likely they are brooding this time of year and you won't see a bunch of activity during the day. ETA: don't let up on keeping the feeder clean and filled with fresh stuff, they will move on to a neighbors place if your stuff is funky and maybe come back maybe not
Interesting. We always have tons of flowers though. Even when there's flowers present, they hit the feeder in past years.. Yes, we've got honeysuckle blooming, petunias, calibrocha, jasmine, clematis and hibiscus are the ones they seem to like.
I'll tell you this is the first year(in 9yrs here) that my hummers have left the feeders full for two straight weeks of dump out, clean and replenish. They may have a good bug source as well, which is their main staple of protein. Hopefully the Hummers haven't decided to go on the (F)Atkins diet
