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Do hummingbirds nest here?

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bob_G

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Sorry for the dumb question, I feel it's something I should know.   But do hummingbirds nest here?

The reason I ask is, I've had my feeders  out for some time now.   Loads of activity, but up until recently it's all been males.   All of a sudden in the last few days there has been a huge influx of females.    

Therefore I'm wondering have the females been on nests all this time and haven't been able to feed?    Perhaps now that they're off nests this is why they coming to my feeders? 

Edited by bob_G

The Sultan of Sluggo

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32 mins ago, Gotcow? said:

Yes, they nest here.

 

Their nests are about the size of a golf ball.

 

Are these females or new fledged juveniles?

Good question, and I can't answer.   A couple of them have all but landed on my nose.

The Sultan of Sluggo

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Some help is appreciated!

 

Past 2 years I have very little activity at the feeders. I miss the little buggers.

Seems they come a couple days and no more. This is the past few years.

I've put out additional and different type feeders. 

Was great with lots of visitors and all summer.. Not any more.

 

Is this because they don't nest nearby anymore, maybe? How far will they travel from the nest area to feed?

 

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I've been wondering too. We've had constant activity at our feeders up until about 5 days ago and suddenly, nothing. Are they sitting on the nest? I've read that they won't travel far from the nest to feed so maybe the feeders are too far away from the nests. 

There have been at least 5 different ones visiting since spring and now I saw 2 yesterday at

5:30 AM and nothing all day yesterday or today.

 

Will they nest in a lilac bush?

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I've found a nest on the ground before and they are the size of a golfball. The neat thing was they shingled the entire thing in little flakes of lichen to waterproof it.

You can steal your neighbors hummers but putting out your nectar first and keeping it fresh. Oh yes as a sidenote they don't spend a lot of time at feeders when they have young to fledge. They don't feed the little one nectar, they feed them little insects. I guess it's a protein thing. The adults only spend as much time at the feeder as they need too for their energy. I dont know if the adults ever eat bugs? I haven't but you can train them to drink/eat right out of your hand. Funny little birds that get irritated if the feeder isn't out when they get back from South America..

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Yea, the adults eat tiny bugs, been watching them do it.  I began noticing each time I fired up my charcoal grill, hummingbirds began to show, and land in nearby trees.   They wait for the smoke to displace tiny insects, and they'd snap them from the air and eat them.

The Sultan of Sluggo

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The ones I've had over the years have a funny habit.

They will defend "their" feeder from others, will chase off other birds (sparrows, fiches, etc..) but for some reason they won't bother with bees. A bee comes to the feeder and the hummingbird will take off.

Big things it will confront, smaller things it runs and hides from?

I'd rather have a bottle in front of me than a frontal lobotomy!
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On 6/25/2020 at 1:20 PM, FishermanTim said:

The ones I've had over the years have a funny habit.

They will defend "their" feeder from others, will chase off other birds (sparrows, fiches, etc..) but for some reason they won't bother with bees. A bee comes to the feeder and the hummingbird will take off.

Big things it will confront, smaller things it runs and hides from?

Put it this way we see a small bee . A Humming birds looking at one about the size of it's head . If we had bees as big as our heads we'd be kicking rocks and hiding too. 

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When I lived in Orleans my neighbor came over all excited."Get the big camera you've got and come over to the house".From his bedroom window was a nest on a limb in an oak tree.It took abit of me searching but found it.Just a small bump of lichen and the females tail and beak  sticking up.Got a few butt shots and that was it.It's on a disc somewhere in my pile.If I find it I'll post it.Very tough to see.Lots of luck involved.

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I think their dependance on the feeders varies based on what flowers are blooming.  They still need other nutriance that they dont get from sugar water.  In other words if grapes, honeysuckle or other desireable flowers are blooming, i think they temporarily focus on the natural stuff and only return to feeders minimally durong that period.

 

If you had them for a couple years and they dissappeared, somebody else is probably feeding nearby.  

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On ‎6‎/‎27‎/‎2020 at 11:12 AM, MikeK said:

I think their dependance on the feeders varies based on what flowers are blooming.  They still need other nutriance that they dont get from sugar water.  In other words if grapes, honeysuckle or other desireable flowers are blooming, i think they temporarily focus on the natural stuff and only return to feeders minimally durong that period.

 

If you had them for a couple years and they dissappeared, somebody else is probably feeding nearby.  

Just like bees. If you have a drought year with fewer flowers around they will seek out feeders to supplement their dietary needs.

We had bad year a few years back and my hummingbird feeders were literally being drained almost daily by a swarm of bees and yellow jackets to the point where the birds couldn't get a shot. It was 95% honey bees and 5% yellow jackets. They would cover the entire feeders.

I figured that if I put out a couple of bowls of sugar water the bees/wasps would go to them more readily.

They did, enough where the birds could get their fill.

 

It was funny going out on the back deck and be in a swarm of bees and yellow jackets, and not get bothered by them.

I had to explain to family that they were there to feed. That's all, so if you didn't bother them they would completely ignore you.

Heck, I would put some sugar water in my hand and have them drink from it.

 

Gave me a food feeling knowing I was helping a honey bee hive survive during a tough time.

 

And the birds appreciated it as well.

I'd rather have a bottle in front of me than a frontal lobotomy!
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