# Humming Birds



## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

Hummers really are fascinating little birds. 

When we still lived further North a Hummer would show up in the Spring and hover in the living room window as if saying, "Hey, where's the feeder?" Of course I hurried and got the feeder filled and set up and within a few minutes the bird was at the feeder.

Last week they showed me a new trick. This feeder will air lock. When it does a little female comes to the front window and hovers for a moment. The first time she did it, I could see food still there but I wondered what her message was. I checked, sure enough it was air locked. I removed the air and she was back at the feeder in moments.


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## powderhogg01 (Jun 4, 2013)

A lot of people do not know, but they will eat insects that frequent the feeders. I have honey bees, and in the early season before the bloom happens they get a lot of the food they need from the neighbors feeders. She has a high speed camera and has multiple pictures of bees and hummers in air battle. pretty neat pictures, she sells them on postcards and such.


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

But they don't tangle with wasps. We've watched them with the different kinds of bees but when they see a wasp on the feeder they take off.


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## Maryellen (Jan 21, 2015)

I think the wasp is more deadly with its venom and more nasty then the bees. 
I love hummingbirds, they are so unique. And yours are very smart!
I have a fuscia flower and it attracts them better then my two feeders


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

Now I need a Fuschia even though I don't care for them too much. The hubs saw a Hummer visit my orchids today. 

Heck, I had a flowered shirt on one summer and it attracted a humming bird. Very color visual are these little guys.


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## Maryellen (Jan 21, 2015)

My fiancé doesn't like the fuscia he says he could never get it to survive. I never had one before i got it cause it had purple flowers and purple is my color.
I plant wild flowers from tsc that always get the hummingbirds to show up.
Wow that must of been cool with your shirt


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

I just remembered I have to go out and refill. They're hitting it hard so far this Spring.

Wear a bright color and see what happens. The hubs and I were sitting on the porch one evening when one of them came over to us to check out what we were doing. 

I do need to consider planting something else out there that they would like. I know they like Rose of Sharon but I don't feel like messing with trying to kill all the seeds that germinate. We do have wild Honey Suckle here so they have that alternate food source.


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

New thing! I went out to break the air lock in the feeder. While I was still holding the feeder a little female flew up, hovered for a moment, moved in and poked my fingernail. Backed off, hovered for a moment then zoomed off.


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## Fiere (Feb 26, 2014)

Funny about the shirt! We have a screen porch and the dog put a tear in the screen so we stuck some of that red tape for vapour barrier on it to keep the bugs out. There was a humming bird that came every few minutes one day to poke at the tape. Went out and got him a feeder and he was quite the happy little buzzle who brought friends.
They aren't overly prevalent here due to our climate, but I've always liked them and try to encourage them to visit. My aunt lives in prime farm land about 7 hours from here (closer to Maine, as the crow flies anyway) and she has dozens at the feeders and in the garden all day every day. Enough hummers that she makes a gallon of sugar water every evening to keep them topped up.


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

Pinks and reds seem to be their favorite color. I can see them being drawn to that tape. 

I am probably am more like you, not a lot of them because most seem to head further North where it's cooler. We seem to have the largest numbers when the Fall is moving in and they begin to move South for the Winter.


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