[Steve C.]

In many parts of Texas our record number of straight days over 100 degrees and with little or no rain the serious drought all over Texas has created a big problem for hummingbirds.

This drought has reduced the number of flowers that provide nectar and nutrition for hummingbirds. There are hardly any native plants blooming and we are fast approaching the season for hundreds of thousands of migrating hummingbirds that fly through Texas going South during the Fall migration. Texas is the major migration route and at least 18 species of hummingbirds are expected to funnel through Texas.

Conservationists are urging people to help the birds by putting out stocked feeders during this September-October migration. Please help by keeping your feeders up and ready during this stressful time.







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[Cammer-6]

when I was a kid I used to think hummingbirds had clear wings like dragonflies.
those wings sure do burn up alot of calories.

[PMD1969]

THanks for the post! We have just one feeder but I keep it filled with fresh filter water / sugar water mix. We have cross vines which seem to attract them but we are having a tough time getting them to bloom regularly.

Not sure how to post a pic but here is a link to our CrossVines in full bloom

http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/i...9/DSCN2208.jpg

[Steve C.]

Wow, nice colorful vines ! I've tried them before but they fall prey to the dozens of deer we have around the property. In fact this year because of the lack of food due to the drought almost all of the native type plants that are susposed to be deer resistant have been eaten on. I now have four hummingbird feeders going. In past years during the height of the Fall migration I'll have more hung out and on a few occasions I've had to fill them as much as three times in a day with litterly hundrends of hummingbirds present for a few weeks. Hummingbird have been known to return to the same feeders year after year as they migrate.

[Bob Dillon]

Originally Posted by PMD1969

THanks for the post! We have just one feeder but I keep it filled with fresh filter water / sugar water mix.

Please don't use sugar water. Use the commercial hummingbird mix, which includes several nutrients the little buggers need, which sugar water does not.

It's also dyed red, which attracts more hummingbirds than sugar water.

[lrosen]

Originally Posted by Bob Dillon

Please don't use sugar water. Use the commercial hummingbird mix, which includes several nutrients the little buggers need, which sugar water does not.

It's also dyed red, which attracts more hummingbirds than sugar water.

Hummingbirds.net disagrees with you. In fact that article says to use white cane sugar and NO red coloring. Please read the article at the link below for more info:


http://www.hummingbirds.net/feeders.html

Excerpt:

The sugar water we use to fill hummingbird feeders is only a supplement to the birds' natural diet. It's not necessary to buy a commercial "nectar" mix that includes additional vitamins, protein, or other substances, because the birds get all they need from the flower nectar and insects they consume. All they want from us is the quick energy they get from ordinary white cane sugar. It's just fuel for chasing bugs, and causes no known health problems in hummingbirds, whose metabolism is significantly different from humans'.
...

Here's the recipe for artificial nectar (syrup):

* Use one part ordinary white cane sugar to four parts water.

* It's not necessary to boil the water. The microorganisms that cause fermentation don't come from the water; they are transported to the feeder on hummingbird bills.

* Store unused syrup in the refrigerator for up to two weeks.

This mixture approximates the average sucrose content (about 21%) of the flowers favored by North American hummingbirds, without being so sweet it attracts too many insects.

[ctgross]

Originally Posted by lrosen

Hummingbirds.net disagrees with you. In fact that article says to use white cane sugar and NO red coloring. Please read the article at the link below for more info:


http://www.hummingbirds.net/feeders.html

Excerpt:

The sugar water we use to fill hummingbird feeders is only a supplement to the birds' natural diet. It's not necessary to buy a commercial "nectar" mix that includes additional vitamins, protein, or other substances, because the birds get all they need from the flower nectar and insects they consume. All they want from us is the quick energy they get from ordinary white cane sugar. It's just fuel for chasing bugs, and causes no known health problems in hummingbirds, whose metabolism is significantly different from humans'.
...

Here's the recipe for artificial nectar (syrup):

* Use one part ordinary white cane sugar to four parts water.

* It's not necessary to boil the water. The microorganisms that cause fermentation don't come from the water; they are transported to the feeder on hummingbird bills.

* Store unused syrup in the refrigerator for up to two weeks.

This mixture approximates the average sucrose content (about 21%) of the flowers favored by North American hummingbirds, without being so sweet it attracts too many insects.

I agree...that's the mixture I use/have used the past four years with usually 3 feeders out...like right now watching about 40 birds. I just love'm I posted some pics of mine on here a couple of years ago, and thinking about a repeat the next few days.

[Old Goat 67]

Just filled mine up. Thanks

[Region Warrior]

Heard thier good eat'n...

[Mr-Bratt]

Originally Posted by Region Warrior

Heard thier good eat'n...

but takes ALOT of them to make a meal. LOL

[arbys]

I just remarked to my wife yesterday that I've never seen the hummingbirds empty the feeders so fast. Must be that they're loading up to skip over Texas.

[Bob Dillon]

Originally Posted by ctgross

I agree...that's the mixture I use/have used the past four years with usually 3 feeders out...like right now watching about 40 birds. I just love'm I posted some pics of mine on here a couple of years ago, and thinking about a repeat the next few days.

It's not that sugar water doesn't attract them-it does. My advice came from a local ornithologist, and the stuff is cheap at Petco in any case.

[Steve C.]

If you spend enough time looking into the subject you will find mixed responses regarding both boiling the water and the use of red food coloring. And in some instances some information will go as far as stating to NOT use commercial hummingbird mixes......

http://www.nectarartprints.com/hb_nectar.htm

http://www.hummingbirds.net/mixes.html

But most important if you make your own mixture ALWAYS use regular sugar only with the water.








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[Steve C.]

arbys comment about 'filling' up reminds me of this tid bit......

What may be even more amazing is that in the days before beginning a migrational trip, ruby-throats go into "hyperphagia," a sort of feeding frenzy in which they spend much more time than usual ingesting nectar and small insects. This increased intake of food causes the birds to put on considerable fat, so much so that a 2.5-gram male ruby-throat may nearly double its weight to 4.5 grams or more!
Laboratory ornithologists have calculated that the fat accumulated through hyperphagia is enough to enable a typical hummingbird to fly nearly 600 miles without having to re-fuel. This is significant when we note that some ruby-throats are believed to migrate from southern Florida to Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula-a distance of about 525 miles.
http://www.hiltonpond.org/articlehum...ationmain.html

And of interest....

A record 3,530 mile migration flight recorded !
http://ebird.org/content/ak/news/ruf...owbird-route-1





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[ctgross]

Originally Posted by Bob Dillon

It's not that sugar water doesn't attract them-it does. My advice came from a local ornithologist, and the stuff is cheap at Petco in any case.

I hear ya Bob, I was just stating that the formula he posted seemed good for us. I understand the recommended feeding varies greatly between the "authorities".