Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire No hummingbirds for me

I've only seen one HB so far

I want to thank whoever read my post and did something about it. In the last couple days, my birds have arrived and they are hungry! The only thing I can think of that makes this year different from previous years, is how wet it was in April and May. Maybe a coincidence, maybe not. I'm just glad they're home. I hope they're back in PA as well.

About a month later here in CO @8000'. Here now though in good numbers.

LC

I'm in Centre County as well and we have had hummingbirds for the past couple weeks. We have quite a variety of birds at the feeders this year put have largely stopping feeding other than hummingbirds due to the bears tearing the feeders down and breaking them.

I had 2 come into the hanging petunia baskets but they don't like the feeder hanging off my smokehouse adjacent to the porch. I just moved the feeder. Next step is a new bottle of the nectur mix. I have been changing it but maybe the mix is somehow sour. I know they don't like old juice. At least they are in my area.

Can you go a week before changing feeders?

I go for 4 days or so. I use well water, so it may have starter microbes to make the juice bad. They do reject it at some point. I was using the concentrate from last year. It just came again, took one taste and flew off. I opened a new bottle of concentrate and put out a second feeder as a test. Something to do. Interesting to see if the new food works. Good excuse to sit on the back porch.

I have had my feeder out for about a month and nothing was coming in. Last week they started in on it now I am refilling every few days.

HBs are hitting both of my feeders hard now. Maybe the cardinal nest was an issue or we had tremendous full honeysuckle bushes as alternate food. I made the mix a bit richer than 3/1 water/mix. They seem to feed longer on the richer mix.

We have very few HBs here in Omaha. The most that I've ever seen in one place was at the base station of the Pike's Peak railroad in Colorado Springs.

no hummingbirds this year at our place in Ohio either

I just bring in the empty feeders and hang the full ones. Wife does all the mixing. I've never looked at the mix containers, do they contain sucrose,( cane sugar) or dextrose(from sugar beets)?

I always heard to use cane sugar, but don't know why. We buy some powdered mix, but just use a tiny bit to make the water rose colored, rest is the above. I put the little bit of bought in the measure and finish it to a cup of sugar, then put a cup of hot water and mix. Then finish the water with cold. miles

I was in Northern MN for a few weeks and there was no shortage of them. 4/1 well water/cane sugar is all I've ever used with good results.

I use a red premix from Lowes. I guess it does not matter but that juice has a preservative according to the label. They suggest mixing with 3 parts water to one part concentrate.

We have flowers and a feeder but no HB's other than an occasional that flys in and leaves before they test the flowers or feeders. What are we doing wrong??

kwg

I have hummers a plenty. Running two feeders that get filled up twice a week. No shortage of many, many birds at my feeders.

Maybe nothing. Maybe they just like some places better than others. I do think that they tend to come back to the same places year after year and you will get more as time goes on. miles

Here in the south hills near Eugene, Or. we have more hummingbirds than ever before.

Some times we will have a dozen buzzing around our feeder at once.

Usually refill the feeder once a day.

Also LOTS of Finches eating from a thistle seed feeder.

And lots of Mtn. Quail, Doves, and song birds.

Virgil B.

I saw one here last week. I don't normally put out a feeder, but I hope they make it your way soon. They are fun to watch.