I have had hummingbirds showing up to my feeders over the past week! Have some flowers out for them too. It did snow and rain the last couple of days so glad I had a rain cover that you sell over them to keep the hummingbirds dry as they eat!🥰
Mark - there's a channel I think you'll enjoy watching. It's Robbie and Gary Gardening Easy. Robbie has a large area she calls her bird garden, and she also has lots of hummingbirds all over their property. She's the 'bird lady' in southern California.
Always great to learn something new about feeding the hummingbirds. Thank you for making this video Mark. Appreciate your knowledge and bird know-how! :)
I was under the impression that it’s never good to drink water from the hot water faucet. So I boil filtered water for our hummingbird nectar, but I guess boiling is not necessary, just hot enough to dissolve the sugar. That’ll be a time saver. Thx.
How many ounces or cups of nectar does the nectar self-measure pitcher make? Four cups maybe? I definitely want this. I'm tired of the mess that I make with sticky nectar. Thanks
Hey Mark: What do you think about the product called Nectar Defender? It is supposed to extend the life of the nectar so you maybe only have to replace the nectar every week.
I spoke at length with the gentleman who invented it. I am more trusting of it now but still do not stock it. I prefer changing the water out frequently.
Mark first time caller! Excellent videos! I had a question...is it possible to not mix the sugar water enough to dissolve the crystals? I have found with my hummers they don't like the granules
Do you have a video about oranges? Who likes them, what kind of oranges to use (mandarin, navel, etc does it matter?), how long to leave them out, do the birds still like them after they've dried out? Will they still like them when they are saturated with rainwater? Can I add sugar water when they get dry or just replace them? Will a bird fly away with an orange piece?
I haven’t done a focus on oranges, just talk about them in oriole videos. All citrus will work so I don’t think they type is orange matters. I typically buy the cheapest ones. I leave them out until the are picked over pretty good but once the find the jelly, they don’t eat them much. Never thought of the sugar water trick.
They have many adaptations for high speed flight and diving including streamlined bodies, huge flight muscles and more. This video has more information: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-Sm96N4MR6Es.html
Today was the first of my regular customers. I’ve been seeing one at least once a day the past two weeks. Late today, however the last two hours of daylight I had one hitting every feeder I own in about every 10 minutes circulation and then hanging out in the trees between some of the drinks. I’m like 99% sure it’s been the same little female I’ve seen this year. NWAR
I have put out everything but a neon sign and still no hummingbirds. I usually have at least a couple that feeds all season. Im getting worried, i wonder what happened with them?
I am getting lots of similar reports from across the eastern US. It is something to keep our eyes on. Hopefully it is a short lived issue and they will rebound.
Thanks for the video! I've been feeding hummingbirds for about ten years. The first few years I had plenty coming around. Maybe 6 or so at a time. Now it's one or two at a time. Any suggestions as to why I see less? Looking back, I recall that about the time I started seeing carpenter bees more I started seeing hummers less. Any connection? Really, I'm not sure what caused this but I'm thankful I see the one or two. I can't imagine any of my neighbors have better nectar, lol. I'm careful to keep my feeders very clean and my nectar fresh. So, I know that isn't a problem. Thanks, Jeanette in West Virginia
It is so hard to know for sure but some possibilities are loss of favored nesting trees (any development in your area). The male who was there in those early years may have been killed in migration or died of a natural cause and the new male isn't as good at attracting the females. Sugar water isn't going to vary a lot so I don't think that would be it. Do you have a good variety of flowers? That can really help.
@@MarksBackyardBirds I used to feed my other birds in my backyard and the hummingbirds in my front yard. At one point, I started feeding all species of birds in my front yard. I gradually saw less and less of the hummingbirds over the years. So, on a hunch, I thought I would go back to feeding the other birds in my backyard only and the hummingbirds up front. That appears to have fixed the problem. I am seeing a lot more of my hummingbirds again. I'm a happy camper. Thought I would share in case anyone else is having an issue with seeing less hummingbirds.
@@jeanettecastle7916 That is interesting. I have generally fed my hummingbirds among all my other feeders but it certainly worth a try for folks who may be experiencing a decline. Hummers are pretty fearless for the most part.
@@MarksBackyardBirds My hummingbird feeders are emptying here lately. That hasn’t happened in years. I have lots of birds in my yard. Merlin has picked 150 species thus far. Maybe the hummers left because there were so many in my front yard? I have a lot of blue jays. Wonder if they were pushing the hummers around? Who knows though. And like you said, the hummers are pretty tough.
@@jeanettecastle7916 that is an outstanding number of species for a yard. Hummingbirds are fearless and not likely to be run off by other species. They are starting to move south in parts of the country now.
I don't suppose anyone knows how many, on average, starlings can live in an urban area? For example, 200 per square mile etc. I would imagine they population can change (ins and outs), but wondered if when they get to where they go, do they stick around and are countable.
That number would be extremely had to measure. With most bird populations we monitor trends through Christmas bird counts, project feeder watch, etc. For invasive species like starlings and house sparrows, many counts don’t register them.
