A male hummingbird at the feeder. He has been sitting at this feeder for much of the day. He will periodically go to one of the others, but always comes back to this one. He will sometimes share it with a female. Other times, he will run her off. I love these little guys so much. I put out 4 feeders this year. I clean them out and replenish the nectar every other day. I have bought the Pennington brand of nectar, but will start making my own soon. Remember, the ratio is 1 part granulated white sugar to 4 parts water. Do not use any kind of dye. It is very harmful to them. By the way, it looks like the feeder is empty. It isn't. I checked it this afternoon, and the bottom still has nectar in it. I don't fill them all the way up, since I change the nectar every other day. I only add about a half a cup. If they start consuming more, I will add more. For now, though, a half cup at a time in each feeder is more than enough for the number of birds that I have, and I always make sure they can reach it.
I do want to share a bit of a sad story… or rather one that makes me angry, still to this day. A few years ago, an “acquaintance,” I will call her, "Judy," decided to start feeding hummingbirds on her back deck. After a brief time, she became incensed that one of them was dominating the feeder. Obviously, she never read up on them to know that this is normal behavior for them. Rather than educate herself, take the advice of the experts, and spend $4 on another feeder, or just take down the one feeder, and stop feeding them, she had her adult son shoot and kill the hummingbird with an Airsoft gun. He is the one who told me about it. This was after I told him not to do it. She later told me that she had him kill the hummingbird, “Because she hates a bully.” Her son had his teenage son bury the bird in the yard. Of course, it was a big joke, and none of them ever felt any remorse about it. They simply made excuses. I realize that we have to forgive people for their ignorance, but this still really bothers me. Perhaps, it's because I didn't unload my thoughts on her when I had the chance. At the time, I don't think I could have reacted to the situation with any degree of tact. If you can’t commit to feeding hummingbirds, or any other birds for that matter, and you aren’t willing, or able, to learn about their behaviors, and how to do things the right way, so as not to harm them, please don’t bother feeding them. They will find food elsewhere. With that being said, I am not trying to discourage anyone from taking up the hobby. It can be incredibly rewarding to feed birds, study their behaviors, and learn about them, and we should do what we can to help, since their natural habitats are disappearing due to urban spread. However, it requires a commitment of time and money, and sometimes, the ability to be creative and think outside of the box to make it all work (i.e. providing fresh food and water, cleaning the feeders and watering stations regularly, having multiple feeders and watering stations, etc). If you decide you want to feed hummingbirds, or other birds, there are tons of books, videos, and other resources that will teach you how to do things that will help and not harm these precious friends. And remember... anything you can do to help pollinators thrive, whether hummingbirds, bees, butterflies, and other species, will be highly beneficial to our planet and every living thing.
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