Great video as always! A couple of things I would add: during fall, you might get bee or wasp activity around your feeders. Make sure you have bee guards on the feeding ports. I also steer the honeybees away with some nectar in a dish placed a bit away from the feeder.. Second tip is to watch out for the large “writing spiders.” I lost a juvenile hummingbird to one of those large spiders when the web was close to the feeder. The young bird got tangled in the web and the spider injected venom quickly into the head of the bird, killing it. Now I move any large spiders to another area if I see a web near my feeders. I love spiders but not near my hummingbird feeders.
Thank you for the info. I typically leave my sugar water out for a while for the strugglers. They’ve used over 35 pounds of sugar this season. I always enjoy watching them. They are so remarkable tiny birds.
@@nesthollow5159 they absolutely deserve this. You should see when they first arrive in April, the winds out here (Northern AZ) can be at 40 mph and freezing. They’re typically males and work so hard to establish for their females. Kudos to these little guys💕
My county and many of the surrounding counties in my state are having a glut of cats. Currently, my county's Animal Shelter is 1) having an epidemic in the cat area, so full already of strays or surrendered cats/kittens until the epidemic is under control, 2) does not accept feral cats, and 3) there is not a spay/neuter organization active, as there is no Vet which makes it difficult to limit feral cat births in the cases of those with cat colonies by making these procedures affordable. Those of us who have bird feeders are in a tough spot as feral cats also want to eat. Those of us who are sponsoring cat colonies have to fund the spaying/neutering of feral cats out of our pockets, which is very expensive. It is definitely a tough place to be either way.
Wow. That is a really tough situation. I've lived in some pretty rural areas where a vet was a good drive away. I can see how it being inaccessible for a lot of people would make it hard to control the population
FYI: Only use CANE sugar, as it is not genetically modified. Plain "white" sugar is made from beets, and all beet sugar is GMO. Look for CANE on the bag. Thanks for helping our precious hummers. Also turn outdoor lights OFF at night. Lights create light pollution and confuses not only local moths and bats, it interferes with migrating birds. Encourage/educate your neighbors to keep yard lights off at night. Motion sensor lights are OK if security is needed, as they go off after a few minutes.
Keeping house cats indoors or put a bell on their collar is a great idea to protect our birds
Great video as always! A couple of things I would add: during fall, you might get bee or wasp activity around your feeders. Make sure you have bee guards on the feeding ports. I also steer the honeybees away with some nectar in a dish placed a bit away from the feeder.. Second tip is to watch out for the large “writing spiders.” I lost a juvenile hummingbird to one of those large spiders when the web was close to the feeder. The young bird got tangled in the web and the spider injected venom quickly into the head of the bird, killing it. Now I move any large spiders to another area if I see a web near my feeders. I love spiders but not near my hummingbird feeders.
Thanks. Those are great tips
My wife and I were just talking about this… we are in sync. Thanks for this!
What a coincidence! Good timing, it sounds like :)
Thank you for the info. I typically leave my sugar water out for a while for the strugglers. They’ve used over 35 pounds of sugar this season. I always enjoy watching them. They are so remarkable tiny birds.
Wow 35 pounds! Congratulations on so many hummingbirds this season. Sorry for your wallet ;)
@@nesthollow5159 they absolutely deserve this. You should see when they first arrive in April, the winds out here (Northern AZ) can be at 40 mph and freezing. They’re typically males and work so hard to establish for their females. Kudos to these little guys💕
As always, great info.
I've never owned a hummingbird feeder even though a see a few daily around here.
Tomorrow I will purchase a feeder.
Perfect timing to get ine depending in where you are since they're moving south right now. I've had more activity lately than all summer! Enjoy it 🐦🪶
@@nesthollow5159 N.E. Arkansas
My county and many of the surrounding counties in my state are having a glut of cats. Currently, my county's Animal Shelter is 1) having an epidemic in the cat area, so full already of strays or surrendered cats/kittens until the epidemic is under control, 2) does not accept feral cats, and 3) there is not a spay/neuter organization active, as there is no Vet which makes it difficult to limit feral cat births in the cases of those with cat colonies by making these procedures affordable. Those of us who have bird feeders are in a tough spot as feral cats also want to eat. Those of us who are sponsoring cat colonies have to fund the spaying/neutering of feral cats out of our pockets, which is very expensive. It is definitely a tough place to be either way.
Wow. That is a really tough situation. I've lived in some pretty rural areas where a vet was a good drive away. I can see how it being inaccessible for a lot of people would make it hard to control the population
FYI: Only use CANE sugar, as it is not genetically modified. Plain "white" sugar is made from beets, and all beet sugar is GMO. Look for CANE on the bag. Thanks for helping our precious hummers.
Also turn outdoor lights OFF at night. Lights create light pollution and confuses not only local moths and bats, it interferes with migrating birds. Encourage/educate your neighbors to keep yard lights off at night. Motion sensor lights are OK if security is needed, as they go off after a few minutes.
I have my feeder hung up and it's been very busy.
Yayyyy. You've got to be loving it!