Hummingbird food

[khwoz]

Howard Williams, I agree with most of your message; thanks! You say that sometimes the less we meddle the better. Is not feeding the birds meddling? What about using processed white sugar? It is not at all natural. All I am doing is trying to help the birds as much as possible which is why I'm asking about vitamins.

[Dirt Doctor]

Well said! To both of you. Judy took our feeders down a few days ago and there are still just as many birds.

[Jim In Dallas]

We use raw sugar that we buy from Whole Foods for our hummers. We have a lot of them, and really enjoy the company and the beauty they provide.

[Leslie Finical Halleck]

I usually don't take my feeder down for a while. Hummingbirds will migrate if they need to even if you're providing them with a food source. Their drive to migrate is a hormonal response to the change in daylength. So you don't really have to worry about leaving your feeder up too long. In fact, some experts believe it is beneficial to leave your feeder up at this time, so that the birds can store up before their migration.

I would be interested to hear some stories on how any of you deal with feeder guarding/competion, and multiple feeders. Some folks say place feeders far apart, some say cluster together at different heights. Some even say to make one feeder with a slightly higher concentration of sugar and space it away from the other feeders to draw the more aggressive birds to it. All I know is "our" female ruby throated, Claudette (yes we had to name her), doesn't let anyone else get anywhere near our feeder! There is a male that tries, and sometimes he has success when Claudette isn't looking, but not often.

Anyway, I'd been interested in your experiences.

[Tony M]

Leslie-
Hummingbirds are very protective of their nectar sources. I have 5 feeders going and it's a chore to place them where they are not in a visible location. The resident hummer will get in the highest place in the yard where they can see all the feeders, and try to defend them all. A good secure place in under the soffit near a window. You have multiple sides on a house so it is not likely he/she will be able to get into a position that has sight of more than one.
We have rubys and black chinned. The BC are residents and the rubys are numerous during spring and fall migration. Several weeks ago you could see 8-10 at most times of the day zipping around the yard. One plant that people may not know much about is Coral Bean. It is native up to the red river, has the most vibrant red flowers and has come back from the root every year. The three most visited plants are the salvia, turks cap and coral bean. All are red, their favorite color.
I recommend NOT taking you feeder down as you also suggested. This is a critical time of the year for hummers. They have to convert nectar and a little protein to enough of a fat reserve to get them across the Gulf of Mexico to their winter grounds. Feeders allow them to get enough nectar to do this. Can you imagine how many flowers they would have to visit to get the same quantity of fluid and how much energy would be expended in the process? Also, the more flowers they visit the more chances they might run into a cat or some other danger. The 4-1 ratio is almost exactly the same as the nectar produced by flowers. It's not as "artifical" as some people suggest.
Most of my knowledge comes from visiting hummingbird hot spots and from Sheri Williamson who has written a book on hummers and has researched and banded literally thousands of birds. An interesting note, she has recaught one bird 8 years in a row. The data gained from this one bird has changed the way researchers think about these birds. Can you tell I'm a little hung up on Hummingbirds?
Tony