Insulted by a hummingbird

[DK]

I made some sugar syrup with 1 part sugar and 2 parts water, boiled it and put it out and waited.

The visitor arrived several hours later, stuck its beak in the solution and then flew off.

I was insulted.

[NSN]

The proper mixture is 1 cup water to 1/4 cup sugar. I use filtered water and have never bothered boiling. I change it every 3 days or when it starts to get cloudy .. depends on the weather.

[ds549]

he may have got a sugar buzz.. i use 1 part sugar to 3 parts water . i boil it because it makes the sugar stay in the water and not settle in the bottom. my little guys are about gone. i had one hanging on last week. lucas in ky.

[Rich256]

There is no "proper" mixture although the 1:4 mix is most popular. A

1:1 mixture is often more attractive to the bird. The bird needs a huge amount of food to stay alive. The 1:4 mixture is used to increase frequency. Some recommend starting with the high sugar mixture and then cutting back to get the birds to feed more often.

In the Colorado Mountains, even with the 1:4 mixture, you will be refilling it a couple times a day. The air battles are most entertaining.

This time of year they are migrating, perhaps most in the U.S. are already south of the border, a few stay near the gulf.

[Tater]

they got tiny brains, it'll take weeks for them to show up regularly.

I assume this is why you are insulted, that and maybe you expected them to gorge themselves, they don't, unless they know it is an established food source.

My parents got a hummer feeder on the edge of their porch. been there for years, they can expect 4 visits an hour at it in good weather, have even hed them perch there and even have males chase other males out.

I'd suggest one drop of red food coloring in the water. or a feeder of bright red coloring.

they come, they sip for less than 5 seconds then go. thats their nature

[Charles Pisano]

Is there a certain way to fashion a feeder to be more effective? Are hummers in certain parts of the country only? CP

[Rich256]

You must have good color in the feeder to attract them. Red of most any hue. Often you see them momentarily hover near the tail lights of a car.

Once I stopped at a restaurant in Three Rivers, CA. They had dozens of feeders on a balcony and the air was filled with hundreds of birds.

If there are lots of birds in the area and you put up more than one feeder, often one will try to take command of all the feeders. It will perch somewhere so it can watch for intruders. While off chasing off one several others will sneak in for a feeding.

[Al Bundy]

Rich256 wrote in news:nIOVg.35553$ [e-mail]:

Sounds like typical marketing strategy to me :-)

[Bob S.]

Go to:

to answer your question.

[Cheri]

The newsgroup rec.birds is a good place to get good info.

Cheri

[bamboo]

[George E. Cawthon]

What you heard is wrong. It causes tongue ulcers, which makes feeding difficult and painful.

[e-mail] wrote:

[aspasia]

No, no, no! No food coloring IN THE WATER! Check out the Web using keywords like "humming birds + food coloring" and you will see why!

Feeder can be red if you like, but best bet is to plant something underneath that has red flowers -- mine is fuschia - many other choices.

Aspasia