Post by Joe M on Apr 15, 2017 14:11:59 GMT -5
We often have questions and folks that remark "I see hummers in my yard using flowers but they don't use my feeders"!
The answer to the question is a bit complex but in very simple terms one must understand that feeders are a creation of "man" and "artificial". Hummers are not instinctively attracted to them.
Young birds are particularly "clueless" but if they observe an older, mature bird spending time at a feeder the young bird will investigate and often find the feeder port and start using the feeder.
However the young hummer's initial curiosity with the feeder is usually quite humorous to watch, as the bird pokes around the bottom, sides, all around, with little success. They are persistent though
and will not give up. They seem to know the older bird knows something that they don't and they will make several trips back to the feeder and eventually find the sugar source.
Young birds that fledge here in FL are the least likely to use feeders since the female parent will show them the flowers and make sure they are feeding on their own and then leave them to fend for themselves, within a few days.
I can't remember a time that I had hummers using the feeders in the summer here in my yard!
Young birds that fledge in our northern states are exposed to far more feeders per capita than here in FL and in most locales they will be able to see adults feeding from feeders and start using them long before they migrate south in our direction in the fall.
Now that I spend my summers in MA., I observe young birds learning and using feeders by the dozens upon dozens.
This seems to explain why hummers, whether they are immature or older, always seem to find my feeders in the fall here in FL when I put them up in late Sep. I surmise they have "learned" what a feeder is and how to use it "up north"!
The simple truth is that hanging a feeder will not guarantee that a hummer will use it. Don't buy large capacity feeders and fill them to the brim,you may be wasting a lot of solution! Our FL heat will spoil the solution in 2-3 days if the feeder is in the sun, even in the shade it will spoil in 3-4 days.
Keep the feeders clean (no mold) and refresh the solution at least every 3 days during the summer. I strongly suggest that folks in central and south FL. accept the fact that attracting hummers to feeders in the summer is very "if 'y", Your best opportunity is in the fall and winter, Sep. through Feb.
.
The answer to the question is a bit complex but in very simple terms one must understand that feeders are a creation of "man" and "artificial". Hummers are not instinctively attracted to them.
Young birds are particularly "clueless" but if they observe an older, mature bird spending time at a feeder the young bird will investigate and often find the feeder port and start using the feeder.
However the young hummer's initial curiosity with the feeder is usually quite humorous to watch, as the bird pokes around the bottom, sides, all around, with little success. They are persistent though
and will not give up. They seem to know the older bird knows something that they don't and they will make several trips back to the feeder and eventually find the sugar source.
Young birds that fledge here in FL are the least likely to use feeders since the female parent will show them the flowers and make sure they are feeding on their own and then leave them to fend for themselves, within a few days.
I can't remember a time that I had hummers using the feeders in the summer here in my yard!
Young birds that fledge in our northern states are exposed to far more feeders per capita than here in FL and in most locales they will be able to see adults feeding from feeders and start using them long before they migrate south in our direction in the fall.
Now that I spend my summers in MA., I observe young birds learning and using feeders by the dozens upon dozens.
This seems to explain why hummers, whether they are immature or older, always seem to find my feeders in the fall here in FL when I put them up in late Sep. I surmise they have "learned" what a feeder is and how to use it "up north"!
The simple truth is that hanging a feeder will not guarantee that a hummer will use it. Don't buy large capacity feeders and fill them to the brim,you may be wasting a lot of solution! Our FL heat will spoil the solution in 2-3 days if the feeder is in the sun, even in the shade it will spoil in 3-4 days.
Keep the feeders clean (no mold) and refresh the solution at least every 3 days during the summer. I strongly suggest that folks in central and south FL. accept the fact that attracting hummers to feeders in the summer is very "if 'y", Your best opportunity is in the fall and winter, Sep. through Feb.
.