For the first several days the new hummingbird feeder’s customer base was limited to one or two green ones and one really aggressive red one that devoted his very life to chasing the green ones away. So actual nectar consumption wasn’t very great.
But in the past two days the feeder has been discovered like this week’s trendy urban nightclub, far exceeding any one pushy male’s capacity for keeping others away. It’s entertaining, but also making me work. I filled the thing yesterday morning, yesterday evening just before dark, and I’ll fill it again this morning after chicken chores. I’ve got a pot of nectar cooling on the counter as I type this.
So naturally I intend to compound my error in true Homer Simpson style by getting a second feeder. This will either ease the overcrowding or increase the workload past the point of no longer fun. Also I clearly need some nectar-boiling infrastructure – I’ll get another dollar-store pitcher and stop making it one cup at a time. Never tried to store it before and I’m interested to see how much sugar comes out of solution in storage.
At least I do store sugar by the bucket – the new feeder may stretch my patience but it won’t stress my supply.
For the most fun, put the second feeder a good distance away from the first, so that red one gets more exercise!
But you might have to give him mouth-to-mouth to resuscitate him if he passes out from heat exhaustion or whatever overworked hummingbirds get…
Ha! This should be entertaining. I learned the hard way back when my daughter was a youngster that if you provide it, they will come…in droves! I started with one feeder exactly like yours. This led to another, then another until I had six of them hung from the gutters in front of windows and the pines in the yard. I was going through most of a gallon of homemade nectar every day and cleaning bird shit off the windows weekly so I could see out! If I wasn’t promptly refilling the feeders as soon as they were empty the little bastards would hover by the windows looking in, even tapping on the windows! I kept at it ’cause my Daughter got such a kick watching the little guys but when Little Ponies and Barbie dolls became her favorite distraction I cut ’em down to a single feeder. Somewhere I have a picture of that last feeder and you can count at least 30 hummers around it like a swarm of bees. It was entertaining for a couple of Summers but eventually became just another chore. Good luck!
I’d be surprised if any sugar precipitates out once it’s dissolved.
Way back when, when severe, unrelenting boredom set in during Chem, we used to force super-saturated solutions to precipitate: dissolve higher concentration at temperature, cool slowly, then tap the beaker gently, and watch the snow fall. Sugar was one of the more reliable precips. I doubt, however, that you’ll build a SS solution for hummers, and IIRC you don’t have ready access to refrigeration.
Once you’ve attracted a larger bunch, just for S&Gs wear a red shirt and watch them go nuts trying to figure it out.
You don’t really need to boil the water – and as I hope you know – you don’t need to add any red coloring to the solution. I use hot water when I whip up a batch but that’s mostly as the sugar dissolves faster that way. What’s more important is to keep the feeder clean. That’s why I switched over to these feeders a couple years ago – simple and easy to clean.
HummZinger Ultra
Last time I saw some on A’zon they were running around $17 – and the extra one I found in a thrift store was only $2!
I used to keep out as many as 6 feeders for a few years but I was putting too much time tending them so I’m happily down to 2 now, I keep them a good distance apart to cut down on the fracas – but the competitive ones try to dominate both feeders anyway.
I think I saw the little red hummer in one of your pix a few days ago – but it wasn’t exactly clear. Looked like a Rufous. They’re notably petite and seriously aggressive for the size. For where you are he’s probably migratory and may not be around long – points as far N as Alaska may beckon it.
I think you’re probably too far N for this to come up – but down here there’s a migratory bat that is known for draining feeders overnight. I don’t recall the name offhand. Anyway – they arrive here like clockwork the 3rd or 4th week of July and leave around the first freeze – so I have to cover the feeders overnight in order to not run out of sugar and patience. In fact – I just started this again a couple days ago. But if you find a feeder drained overnight – it’s probably bats. With the feeders I have – an aluminum pie plate with a hole cut in the middle and a couple clothespins keeps the bats out.
If it weren’t for the cattle – I’d suggest sealing up a galvanized metal trash can lid and putting it out as a water dish within view of the porch. I’ve seen a great variety of animals this way in the early evenings – including deer and a momma bobcat and her 3 cubs – as well as birds and the usual variety of small varmints. That’s assuming you like that sort of thing… If nothing else – that and a salt block makes for easier poaching!
have read–have no personal experience–that sometimes the nectar becomes moldy and not to make in too large a batch.
From the Internet (so it must be correct) “…remember that during hot weather, sugar water ferments rapidly to produce toxic alcohol. ” Could that explain certain bird behavior?
It does ferment and it does get moldy. In hot weather a few days is about all you can count on. For either one the feeder needs rinsing and scrubbing with weak bleach solution and lots of rinsing afterward.
Yeah, it really doesn’t matter right now anyway. I finally got the Monday water run over with, and the only hummingbird feeder sold in the little town nearest where I live was an overpriced piece of crap. So I’ll keep brewing it up one cup at a time for the next few weeks anyway.